Titanic Explorer Robert Ballard Comes to UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Best known for his 1985 discovery of the Titanic, Dr. Robert Ballard has tracked down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown and John F. Kennedy’s boat, PT-109.

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the internationally renowned oceanographer and explorer is coming to The University of Alabama to speak about his deep-sea discoveries.

His lecture, “Eternal Darkness,” begins at 7 p.m. in Sellers Auditorium at the Bryant Conference Center on campus. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for admission.

Tickets for the lecture can be reserved at ua.tix.com.

Though Ballard’s shipwreck explorations have captured the imagination of the public, Ballard believes his most important discoveries were of hydrothermal vents and their exotic life forms in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979.

In addition to being a National Geographic Society Explorer-In-Residence and a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, Ballard is the president of the Ocean Exploration Trust.

He has a doctorate in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Rhode Island. He spent 30 years at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he helped develop telecommunications technology that allows hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren to accompany him from afar on undersea explorations around the globe each year.

In 2001, he returned to the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, where he is  a tenured professor of oceanography and the director of the Center for Ocean Exploration.

Ballard has 22 honorary degrees and six military awards. He was also a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving in the Navy from 1967 to 1997. He received the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal in 1996 for “extraordinary accomplishments in coaxing secrets from the world’s oceans and engaging students in the wonder of science.”

In 2014, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ballard has published numerous books, scientific papers and a dozen articles in National Geographic magazine.

Dr. Samantha Hansen, an associate professor in the department of geological sciences, has helped to organize Ballard’s visit.

“His discoveries have captured the imagination of people around the world,” Hansen said. “And, this event will provide a first-hand opportunity for UA faculty and students, as well as the public, to hear about Dr. Ballard’s adventures and discoveries.”

The lecture is sponsored by Canon Solutions America, National Geographic, and The University of Alabama’s College of Arts and Sciences, department of geological sciences, and the Barbara and John T. Oliver Endowed Support Fund through the Blount Scholars Program.