Robert Ballard Autographed Photograph
Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an oceanographer, who is well known for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks. He is most widely known for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic, the battleship Bismarck, the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, and the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109. He is currently a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.
Ballard holds undergraduate degrees in chemistry and geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a Master’s degree in geophysics from the University of Hawaii's Institute of Geophysics; and a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Rhode Island.
While completing his undergraduate studies, he enrolled in the US Army's ROTC program, which resulted in him being commissioned as an Army officer in Army Intelligence. In 1967 he was called to active duty. Upon his request, Ballard was transferred from the Army into the US Navy as an oceanographer. The Navy assigned Ballard as a liaison between the Office of Naval Research and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
After leaving active duty and entering into the Naval Reserve, Ballard continued working at Woods Hole persuading organizations and people to fund and use Alvin for undersea research. In the 1990s Ballard founded the Institute for Exploration, which specializes in deep-sea archaeology and deep-sea geology. In 1999, it joined forces with the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. They are a part of the non-profit Sea Research Foundation, Inc. In 2003, Ballard started the Center for Ocean Exploration and Archaeological Oceanography.
Photograph in collection is autographed by Robert Ballard.
Ballard holds undergraduate degrees in chemistry and geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a Master’s degree in geophysics from the University of Hawaii's Institute of Geophysics; and a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Rhode Island.
While completing his undergraduate studies, he enrolled in the US Army's ROTC program, which resulted in him being commissioned as an Army officer in Army Intelligence. In 1967 he was called to active duty. Upon his request, Ballard was transferred from the Army into the US Navy as an oceanographer. The Navy assigned Ballard as a liaison between the Office of Naval Research and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
After leaving active duty and entering into the Naval Reserve, Ballard continued working at Woods Hole persuading organizations and people to fund and use Alvin for undersea research. In the 1990s Ballard founded the Institute for Exploration, which specializes in deep-sea archaeology and deep-sea geology. In 1999, it joined forces with the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. They are a part of the non-profit Sea Research Foundation, Inc. In 2003, Ballard started the Center for Ocean Exploration and Archaeological Oceanography.
Photograph in collection is autographed by Robert Ballard.