Don Walsh Honored

See the Forum posting by Jack Wildman

Don Walsh (born 2 November, 1931) is an American oceanographer, explorer and marine policy specialist. He and Jacques Piccard were aboard the bathyscaphe "Trieste" when it made a record-breaking descent into the Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the world's oceans. The depth was measured at 35,813 ft (10,916 m), but later and more accurate measurements have put it at 35,798 ft (10,911 m).

Biography

Dr. Walsh has been associated with ocean science, engineering, and marine policy for over 30 years. He became a United States Navy commissioned officer after graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1954. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and held the rank of captain at the time of his retirement. He spent 15 years at sea, mostly in submarines, and was the commanding officer of a submarine. In addition, he worked in ocean-related research and development for the U.S. Navy. A former Dean of Marine Programs and Professor of Ocean Engineering at the University of Southern California, Dr. Walsh founded and directed the university's Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies. In 1989, his company, International Maritime Incorporated, formed a joint venture with the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology to establish an underwater maintenance company, Soyuz Marine Service, which continues to operate in the Russian Federation.

Honors

Dr. Walsh has a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master's degree in Political Science from San Diego State University, and a Master's degree and a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from Texas A&M University. He was appointed by Presidents Carter and Reagan to the U.S. National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, was a member of the Law of the Sea Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of State, and served as a member of the Marine Board of the U.S. National Research Council from 1990 to 1993.

Dr. Walsh was named one of the world's great explorers by "Life" magazine. On the submersible MIR Submersible, he dove on the "Titanic", German battleship "Bismarck", and Mid-Atlantic Ridge. He has spent more than five decades traveling the world conducting research in, on, and around the oceans.