 Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures and Rear Admiral Evelyn J. Fields, director of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operation, and first woman and first African-American director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps, are among this year's twelve recipients of the Explorer's Club Lowell Thomas Award. Photo Courtesy: Leslie Leaney, Historical Diving Society |
(New York, NY) - Jean-Michel Cousteau was presented with the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award by the Explorers Club for his contributions to marine exploration. Jean-Michel was honored as one of world's greatest undersea explorers along with twelve award recipients at the Award Dinner on November 28. Clive Cussler, renowned author and explorer, was the keynote speaker.
Also attending was Master of Ceremonies Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D., The Explorers Club's first woman honorary president. She holds the record for the deepest solo dive of 3,281 ft. (1000 m), set in 1985; and Don Walsh, Ph.D., who piloted the bathyscaphe "Trieste" in 1960 to a depth of 35,800 feet in the Marianas Trench.
Each honoree was presented with the Club's Lowell Thomas Award, named for the famed explorer, war correspondent and radio/TV newscaster who was a member for over 50 years. In 1965, it was Lowell Thomas who played a key part in obtaining the Club's world headquarters, where it remains to this day at 46 East 70th Street, New York. The award, established by The Explorers Club in 1980, has previously been given only seven times since 1980.
The guests of honor included:
· Rita R. Colwell, Ph.D., director of the National Science Foundation and producer of the award-winning film, "Invisible Seas."
· David Doubilet, underwater photographer for National Geographic and author of "Pacific: An Undersea Journey," a compilation of 25 years of underwater photography.
· Rear Admiral Evelyn J. Fields, director of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operation, and first woman and first African-American director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps.
· Capt. Alfred S. McLaren, Ph.D., USN (Ret.), past president of The Explorers Club and U.S. Navy Submarine Commander of three Arctic expeditions.
· Theophil "Phil" Nuytten, regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern commercial diving industry, is the creator of the "Newt Suit" and other deep submergence vehicles.
· Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir John Rawlins, KBE, who helped in the development of techniques to allow pilots to escape sunken aircraft, and he was also part of the SEALAB program.
· Capt. Andreas Rechnitzer, Ph.D., first American to reach an ocean depth of 18,500 feet, he studied the scientific effects of underwater explosions and the hyperbaric effects on marine life. Capt. Rechnitzer shared prominently in the development of scuba diving methods used as standards for scientific diving.
· Prof. Anatoly Sagalevitch, chief scientist for Russian "Mir" submersibles aboard the Soviet research vessel "Akademik Mstislav Keldysh." He has led expeditions to the "Titanic" and crippled modern-day submarines.
· Larry Shumaker, executive officer of the submersible "Trieste" and pilot and operations officer for the "Alvin" submersible.
· Edward B. "Teddy" Tucker, M.B.E., marine archeologist, oceanographer and noted ichthyologist who has found over 250 shipwrecks throughout the world and over 100 around his native Bermuda.
· Ralph B. White, award winning cinematographer and submersible pilot.
The Explorers Club is a multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore.
Established in 1904 by a group of celebrated explorers including Admiral Robert E. Peary, it has 3,000 members worldwide and is headquartered at:
46 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021.
Tel. (212) 628 8383.
More information is available at www.explorers.org.
