Tool Pusher/Core Technician When
most 12-year-olds were thinking about what’s for dessert
or whom they want for their next boyfriend/girlfriend, Bubba was
already working. He got his first job working after school in a
filling station and this began his work as a mechanic. It did not
take long for Bubba to know that he was very good at figuring out
how things work. When he was 17 he moved to Wyoming and got his
first job in an oil field. In those days it was on-the-job training;
you started at the bottom and if someone got hurt or quit, you
got a promotion. After a year he applied for a job in Alaska on
an offshore rig and that was the beginning of his ocean drilling
experience.
Bubba was hired to work for the Deep Sea Drilling Project, the first phase of the drilling program now known as the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. As the program evolved, he was always asked to stay with the organization. Bubba has been working at sea for approximately 30 years and is currently the Tool Pusher/Core Technician on the JOIDES Resolution. As the Tool Pusher/Core Technician he is responsible for the drill floor, overlooking the mechanics of the drilling. As part of his duties, Bubba is also responsible for repairing and building tools necessary for each job. To keep up with new technical equipment delivered by the drilling business, Bubba has continued his education by going to school and learning more skills that will qualify him to work with the new technology. One of the most exciting and challenging things he has done is to go down in ALVIN, a submersible, to gather information from data recording equipment placed on the ocean floor. This required good computer skills as well as photography skills to bring back the information and the photographs from the bottom of the ocean floor. Bubba enjoys his job because it is always different. He believes that Mother Nature offers some pretty interesting puzzles that must be solved to get the task completed in a safe manner. Staff Name: Bubba Attryde Majors: Mechanics, Engineering Education: High school diploma, on-the-job training Courses: Mechanics of machines, Mechanics of materials, Ocean drilling, Ship construction, Electrical machines laboratory, Marine electrical technology, Marine machinery/System design Experiences: Mechanic internships IODP Experience: Every other expedition during DSDP, ODP, and IODP Interests: Driling, repairing and building tools, systems technology, information technology, photography Interests: Working with the Sheriff's Department, search and rescue missions, crime scene security Downloadable File(s): | |
