Dr. Robert D. Ballard, GSO Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Center for Ocean Exploration, has been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Members of the Academy come from academia, business, the arts and sciences, and educational and philanthropic organizations. Others members of this year’s class of 204 honorees include winners of the Nobel Prize; the Wolf Prize; the Pulitzer Prize; National Medal of the Arts; MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Fulbright Fellowships; and Grammy, Emmy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. An induction ceremony will be held in October at the Academy’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, headquarters.

Dr. Ballard, best known for discovering the wreck of the Titanic, also serves as President of the Institute for Exploration and President of the Ocean Exploration Trust. He has been a pioneer in the development of advanced deep submergence and “telepresence” technology. Although his PhD is in Marine Geology and Geophysics from GSO, his scientific interests run the gamut from the volcanic, tectonic, and hydrothermal processes of the mid-ocean ridge to deep-sea archaeology and maritime history. He has authored numerous number one best seller books about his undersea archaeological explorations, received Best Documentary Emmy awards for Search for Battleship Bismark and Last Voyage of the Lusitania, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film. Dr. Ballard also spends a great deal of his time involved in various educational outreach programs including the JASON Project, Immersion Learning, NAUTILUS Live, and television programs for the National Geographic Society, where he is an “Explorer-in-Residence.”
Photo by Alex DeCiccio