FSU PANAMA CITY’S DIVE SYMPOSIUM EXPLORES THE CHALLENGES OF THE DEEP
PANAMA CITY, Fla. –On Thursday, June 20 from 3:30 to 6:30 pm, Florida State University Panama City will present “Deep Submergence: Past, Present and Future of Ocean Exploration”. The program will feature renowned scientists and adventurers on the cutting edge of ocean engineering and deep sea exploration Don Walsh, PhD, Kurt Uetz and Chris Welsh. The event is free, open to the public and will be held in the Holley Academic Center Lecture Hall.
SPEAKER BIOS
Kurt Uetz: DSV Alvin Project Manager
Kurt Uetz is the Project Manager at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for the modernization of the Alvin deep submergence vehicle. Uetz’s oversight of this $40 million project to redesign and implement major upgrades to the Alvin submersible systems will increase its working depth from 4500 meters (2.8 miles) to 6500 meters (4.04 miles) and its operational capability with the Naval Sea Systems Command.
Captain Don Walsh: USN (Retired), PhD:
Don Walsh is an oceanographer, ocean engineer and retired Navy Captain. In 1960, he, along with his co-pilot, Jacques Piccard, descended to the ocean’s deepest point aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste. More than fifty years later, in 2012, film director James Cameron made the second manned descent to Challenger Deep in his submersible Deep sea Challenger.
Chris Welsh: Virgin Oceanic, USA
Chris Welsh is an accomplished entrepreneur, sailor and aviator who co-founded the business venture Virgin Oceanic with Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson in 2009. The company’s mission is “to explore the possibilities of enabling adventurers and pioneers to participate in oceanic exploration.” The Virgin Oceanic deep sea submersible, Deep Flight Challenger, is currently being developed and tested to dive to the depths of Challenger Deep. The sub’s innovative design prefigures the future of deep sea passenger vehicles.
