In 1985, Ballard made his most famous discovery: the wreckage of the . However, the mission itself was actually a top-secret Navy project to survey two lost nuclear submarines, the USS Thresher and USS Scorpion . Only after completing the military objective was Ballard permitted to use the remaining time to search for the famous liner.
His discovery was made possible by revolutionary "telepresence" technology—unmanned, camera-equipped robots like and Jason that allowed him to see the seafloor without being physically present in a submersible. Beyond the "Rusty Old Boat" Bob Ballard: An Explorer's Life
Bob Ballard: An Explorer’s Life Dr. Robert "Bob" Ballard is arguably the most famous underwater explorer of our time. While the world primarily knows him as the man who found the , his life’s work spans over 150 expeditions that have fundamentally changed our understanding of the ocean floor, biology, and human history. A Childhood Dream Realized In 1985, Ballard made his most famous discovery:
Well-preserved Roman and Byzantine vessels in the anoxic (oxygen-free) waters of the Black Sea. Inspiring the Next Generation While the world primarily knows him as the
Spent decades at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and later joined the University of Rhode Island. The Titanic and the "Secret" Mission
Earned undergraduate degrees in chemistry and geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara .