Robert Ballard

Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is noted for his work in underwater archaeology (maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks) and marine geology. He is best known by the general public for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989, and the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in 1998. He discovered the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 in 2002 and visited Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who saved its crew. Ballard discovered hydrothermal vents, undersea volcanic features that emit plumes of hot, nutrient-laden water which support the only ecosystems on Earth entirely independent of the Sun. He was quoted as saying that "finding hydrothermal vents beats the hell out of finding the Titanic". His mother later agreed, commenting "It's too bad you found that rusty old boat... they're only going to remember you for finding [it]". Ballard also established the JASON Project, and leads ocean exploration on the research vessel E/V Nautilus.