Sylvia Earle

She is a phenomenal woman, and we share a deep respect and love for our oceans. This video, recorded in 2009, is even more timely today than it was then. With the tragedy that is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, and more devastation to come - - many lessons to be learned. Dr. Earle is coming to our campus at Texas A&M University as she is chair of the advisory board for the Harte Research Institute that is associated with my university. She will be part of a panel discussion regarding the oil spill in the Gulf as we have several oil spill experts in the institute. I plan to be there, but am not expecting the news to be good.


Sylvia Alice Earle (born August 30, 1935 in Gibbstown, New Jersey) is an American oceanographer. She was chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992. She is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, sometimes called "Her Deepness" or "The Sturgeon General".[1]
Earle received a B.S. degree from Florida State University (1955), M.S. (1956) and PhD. from Duke University (1966). She was Curator of Phycology at the California Academy of Sciences (1979-1986) and a Research Associate at the University of California, Berkeley (1969-1981), Radcliffe Institute Scholar (1967-1969) and Research Fellow or Associate at Harvard University (1967-1981). She led the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite Project in 1970. In 1979, she made an open-ocean JIM suit dive, setting a women's depth record of 1250 feet (381m); she also holds the women's record for a solo dive in a deep submersible(3280 feet, 1000m). From 1980 to 1984 she served on NACOA (the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere).In 1985 she founded Deep Ocean Engineering along with her husband, engineer and submersible designer Graham Hawkes, to design, operate, support, and consult on piloted and robotic sub sea systems. In 1987 The Deep Ocean Engineering team designed and built the Deep Rover research submarine, which operates down to 1000 meters. She left the company in 1990 to accept an appointment as the Chief Scientist for NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration).
In 1992 she founded Deep Ocean Exploration and Research to further advance marine engineering. Today, Earle serves as Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society and the company known as DOER Marine is run by her daughter. The company continues to design, build and operate innovative equipment for the deep ocean and other challenging environments.
Earle has led more than 400 expeditions worldwide involving in excess of 7000 hours underwater in connection with her research.[2] From 1998 to 2002 she led the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a five year program to study the United States National Marine Sanctuary sponsored by the National Geographic Society and funded by the Goldman Foundation. An expert on the impact of oil spills, she was called upon to lead several research trips during the Gulf War and following the spills of the ships, Exxon Valdez and Mega Borg.