Robert Ballard

Biography

Dr. Robert Ballard is founder and president of the Institute For Exploration (IFE) at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. Specializing in deep-sea archaeology, IFE's goal is to establish this new field of research utilizing evolving technology, such as advanced mapping and imaging systems, underwater robotics and remotely operated vehicles. Another Institute for Exploration objective is to share Ballard's most recent discoveries with millions of visitors at the new "Challenge of the Deep" exhibit, completed as part of a $52 million expansion at Mystic Aquarium.

After 30 years, Dr. Ballard retired from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where he was a senior scientist and director of the Center For Marine Exploration. Dr. Ballard is presently an Explorer-in-Residence for the National Geographic Society and a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Ballard is also the founder of the JASON Project. JASON was established in 1989 after Ballard received thousands of letters from school children wanting to know how he discovered the RMS Titanic.

Publications

This compelling, illustrated book is a journey back in time to the tragic sinking of the Titanic in 1912; a hard look at the present salvaging and natural deterioration of the wreck; and a blueprint for future conservation of this icon. Says Ballard, "every possible book has been written on the Titanic, and Titanic addicts have them all. They will not have this." RETURN TO TITANIC brings new dimension, visually and factually. First, the incomparable hi-tech cameras Ballard created to document wrecks on the Mediterranean seafloor in summer 2003 will be used to reveal the changes in Titanic since the first images were made by National Geographic in 1985. Second, he will analyze the salvaging of the wreck by private groups, as well as the natural deterioration since 1985; finally he will establish the global conservation ethos that this and other wrecks be revered as "pyramids of the deep," rather than ransacked. TITANIC has 5 chapters in 192 pages, with 125 images, diagrams, and maps. Images will include period pictures and drawings from the early 1900s, pictures of the 1985 discovery of the wreck, and modern images, culminating in the hi-tech images of the June 2004 expedition.TITANIC is ghost-authored by award-winning historian and journalist Mike Sweeney, whose books for National Geographic include From the Front and America on the Move. Sweeney is a first-rate storyteller whose "can't-put-it-down" narrative is peppered with eye-opening anecdotes. For Titanic the anecdotes are endless. Sweeney's deft hand combines with Ballard's own intriguing story of discovery, his masterminding of robots and hi-definition cameras to document the wreck, and his commitment to conservation in the 21st century. The human element plays a big part in RETURN TO TITANIC, as Ballard and Sweeney clarify that technology and conservation are but means to preserving the spirits of the humans lost in the tragedy. Sidebars throughout, identify the artifacts of survivors, such as letters, watches, clothing, and tell their stories.

Titles

Adventures in Deep Sea Exploration
Dr Ballard relates his experiences, successes and failures, in an energetic presentation that highlights career first such as the discovery of the RMS Titanic, WWII battleships such as the Yorktown and PT-109, and ancient Roman shipwreck in the Black Sea. He focuses on the changes in technology from manned submersibles to underwater robotic vehicles, and he discusses educational opportunities for alternative education and after school programs via "telepresence" connecting students directly to the scientists on-board ship during expeditions.