"Just look at all those guys," she says with an unadulterated glee that causes her students to crowd around and look again more closely.

This passion is classic Greengrove. Whether she's talking about water samples, navigational charts and Doppler equipment, or her own research on harmful algal blooms, Greengrove exudes an enthusiasm that makes it all seem intriguing. This zeal drives her students to push themselves.

"I never worked so hard for college credit than I did in that class," says Jeff Hubert, an environmental science major, about Water Resources and Pollution, "but I learned a lot too. Cheryl is so enthusiastic, it's contagious."

As a physical oceanographer and professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences at UW Tacoma, Greengrove delights in sharing her love of the ocean with others. "It is really easy to get people excited about oceanography because of where we live," she says. "People are naturally interested in Puget Sound, and I help them delve into the parts that interest them most."

To do this, she takes students out on research vessels like the Barnes to get hands-on experience in the study of oceanography. Aboard boats that cruise from Tacoma to the San Juan Islands, students sample and analyze water, plankton and sediments, often teaming up with community agencies, such as the City of Tacoma and the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, to conduct relevant scientific studies.

One of those studies has to do with harmful algal blooms, an organism that poisons shellfish and causes red tide alerts in Puget Sound. Greengrove serves as principal investigator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on a project to study the distribution of these organisms in Puget Sound. She involves undergraduate and graduate students in the project.

While she loves research and is a self-described "science nerd," Greengrove says that teaching is her first love.

"Ever since I was a kid, whenever I learned something, the next thought I had would be how to explain it to somebody," she says.

Over the years, she honed those skills to fit the needs of her students, and now whether teaching science to non-majors or working with environmental science majors, Greengrove starts with where they are.

"Not everyone will be a scientist," she says. "We want to create better-educated citizens — people who feel confident enough to observe the world around them, to ask questions and get answers."

She starts by helping to build a student's confidence level.

"Students typically come in with a lack of confidence," Greengrove says. "They know something, but they don't recognize how much they know. Our role is to provide opportunities that take students to the next level, whatever that level may be."

That sentiment shows up in the form of a seemingly tireless energy and dedication that students say inspire them to do their best.

"I've never seen a professor so motivating," says Simone Hoffer, who works with Greengrove as a research assistant. "It's energizing to be around her. Cheryl really wants people to succeed."

Rita Horner, senior faculty, UW School of Oceanography, agrees.

"Cheryl devotes a tremendous amount of time in putting her classes together and in getting students involved," says Horner, who works with Greengrove on the NOAA project. "She has a real desire to impart information to students, and she is always there for them."

Greengrove says that teaching is what gives her energy.

"It's so refreshing to work with students," she says. "Really, this job combines all that I love — science, the outdoors, teaching and people. Life is just too short to do something you hate or don't feel is important."

On this day as the Barnes rumbles through Quartermaster Harbor, off Vashon Island, one gets the sense that the sound is not only Greengrove's laboratory, but her playground as well.

Her students, who quickly learn that much will be expected of them this quarter, also learn something else: Their professor's enthusiasm for science is contagious.