Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D. – Founder/CEO of the Ocean Exploration Trust; Professor Emeritus of Oceanography/ Graduate School of Oceanography, URI. He is an Explorer-At-Large at the National Geographic Society, Commissioner for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and a Research Scholar at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Served in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years and continues to work with the Office of Naval Research. A pioneer in the development of deep-sea submersibles and remotely operated vehicle systems, he has taken part in more than 165 deep-sea expeditions. In 1985, he discovered the RMS Titanic, followed by the German battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown, and John F. Kennedy’s boat, PT-109. He has also discovered hydrothermal vents and “black smokers” in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979. 
Author of numerous books, scientific papers, and articles, he has been featured in several National Geographic television programs, He was a special advisor to Steve Spielberg on the futuristic television show seaQuest DSV.  Has 23 Honorary Doctorates, National Geographic’s highest award, the Hubbard Medal, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. Elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. 
His autobiography, INTO THE DEEP, was released in 2021 and a National Geographic television special, “Bob Ballard: An Explorer’s Life” is streaming on Disney+.  The Secretary of the US Navy named a Pathfinder class Navy Vessel the USNS Robert Ballard, which was christened in February 2026.