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Dr. Robert J. Ballard
Dr. Robert D. Ballard founded the JASON Project in 1989 after receiving thousands of letters from school children wanting to know
how he discovered the RMS Titanic. The JASON Project is a non-profit educational organization working in partnership with teachers,
students, corporations, educational institutions and government to inspire in students a lifelong passion to pursue learning in
science, math and technology through exploration and discovery.
Dr. Ballard is the founder and head of the Institute for Exploration (IFE) at Mystic Marinelife Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. Specializing in deep-ocean 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 manned submersibles.
Dr. Ballard received his undergraduate degree in geology and chemistry from the University of California. He attended graduate school at the University of Southern California, the University of Hawaii's Graduate School of Oceanography and received his Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Rhode Island.
Dr. Ballard is a distinguished military graduate of the University of California with a Commission in Army Intelligence. Later, his Commission was transferred to the U.S. Navy. During the Vietnam War, he served on active duty as an Ensign, Lt. J.G. and finally as a Lieutenant. Dr. Ballard also joined the U.S. Naval Reserves as a Commander.
Dr. Ballard has led or participated in more than 100 deep-sea expeditions including the use of the deep-diving submersibles ALVIN, ARCHIMEDE, TRIESTE II, TURTLE, BEN FRANKLIN, CYANA and NR-1. These expeditions included the first manned exploration of the Mid-Ocean Ridge, the discovery of warm water springs and their unusual animal communities in the Galapagos Rift, the first discovery of polymetallic sulfides, the discovery of high temperature "black smokers," the discovery of R.M.S. Titanic, the discovery of the German battleship Bismarck, 11 warships from the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, The U.S.S Yorktown and exploration of the luxury liner Lusitania.
The summer of 1997 proved to be a summer of firsts for Dr. Ballard and a team of scientists conducting the first deep-ocean archaeological expedition. Using the Navy's deep-sea nuclear research submarine, NR-1, Ballard and his team returned to the Mediterranean Sea for an expedition to a previously identified debris field suggesting the presence of a fleet of ancient Roman shipwrecks dating to the fourth century A.D. What they found in this landmark trip were ships complete with their cargo of shipping containers and column stones spanning five centuries of Roman history beginning in the first century B.C.
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Last modified on May 23, 2002.