Nereus is a hybrid autonomous underwater vehicle (HROV, a type of remotely operated underwater vehicle) built by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Constructed as a research vehicle to operate at depths of up to 36,000 feet (11,000 m), it was designed to explore Challenger Deep, the deepest surveyed point in the global ocean. Nereus, named for Greek sea titan Nereus (who has a man's torso and a fish-tail) through a nationwide contest of high school and college students, began its deep sea voyage to Challenger Deep in May 2009 and reached the bottom on May 31, 2009.

On this dive the Nereus reached a depth of 35,768 feet (10,902 m), making the Nereus the world's second deepest-diving vehicle currently in operation, and the first since 1998 to explore the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean known.

I was commissioned to create a 3D model of this submersible by WIRED magazine for the DECEMBER 2010 edition of the print magazine, website and iPad edition.