Mike Gil

Founder & Director, Marine Biologist

Dr. Mike Gil, Ph.D., is a first-generation Argentine American and was raised by a single mother in a working-class household. Science was never on his radar as a career option. In fact, Mike thought he hated science, growing up in a small oil town in Texas, where science was taught ‘to the test’ in school. Mike earned scholarships to become a first-generation college student, and as a lifelong animal lover, he began as a journalism major, with high hopes to one day become a writer/photographer for National Geographic. However, everything changed when he studied abroad as a freshman in college. On a remote island in the Great Barrier Reef, Mike discovered what science truly is: a boundless creative process of discovery that changes the world. Mike is now a marine biologist, TED Fellow, and National Geographic Explorer, who studies how marine ecosystems function and serve humankind. He is also passionate about helping science to better serve humankind. This is why Mike created SciAll.org: to connect the public with science on a personal level. It is only when science is inclusive and, consequently, embraced by people of all backgrounds that it can guide our species to a sustainable and prosperous existence.