If someone approached you and suggested you try living in an underwater habitat the size of a college dorm for three months, would you do it?

Aquanauts Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain jumped at the chance and even ended up breaking a world record while they were at it.

“I developed my passion for marine science while in the Navy and have continued to study it throughout my career,” explains Cantrell, associate professor of biology at Roane State Community College.

“I was honored to have the opportunity to raise awareness about issues affecting our oceans, promote the value of underwater habitats and to offer an amazing learning experience for my students.”

Cantrell began teaching at Roane State in 1992. He has numerous diving certifications and logged more than 200 hours in the underwater habitat before he eventually called it home.

Since 2005, Cantrell has taken his students to the Marine Resources Development Foundation in Key Largo, Fla., to participate in educational programs hosted at the MarineLab Undersea Laboratory, the world’s longest continually operated underwater research facility.

In the fall of 2013, the foundation’s founder and president, Ian Koblick, approached Cantrell about conducting educational programs, which would soon be known as Classroom Under the Sea.

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