David Gallo was one of the first oceanographers to use a combination of submarines and robots to map the undersea world. The Director of Special Projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, he has taken part in an exploration of RMS Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck using the Russian MIR submarines, as well as a recent expedition to find the lost WWII submarine USS Grunion.

Jane Lubchenco, University Distinguished Professor at Oregon State University, is a marine ecologist with expertise in the ocean, climate change, and interactions between the environment and human well-being.

Louie Psihoyos (rhymes with Sequoias) has been widely regarded as one of the top photographers in the world. He was hired directly out of college to shoot for National Geographic and created images for the yellow-bordered magazine for 18 years.

Peter Staley has been a long-term AIDS and gay rights activist, first as a member of ACT UP New York, then as the founding director of TAG, the Treatment Action Group. He served on the board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) for 13 years.

Suzanne Carbotte is a marine geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Her research interests span from the global, focused on magma chambers beneath deep-sea mid-ocean ridge volcanoes, to studies closer to home of sedimentation within the Hudson River.

David Holland is a physical climate scientist who studies phenomena relating to the polar regions and their impacts on global climate. His current research focuses on the computer modeling of the interaction of the Earth’s ice sheets with ocean waters.

Given the choice, Marah J. Hardt prefers to be under the sea. As a marine scientist she has swum with sharks, watched corals being born, and had her teeth cleaned by shrimp—all in an effort to better understand how healthy oceans work. Today, Hardt works more on land in order to help businesses invent solutions to problems such as overfishing, and other threats to marine life.

Nicole Stott has explored from the heights of outer space to the depths of our oceans. In awe of what she has experienced from these very special vantage points, she has dedicated her life to sharing the beauty of space — and Earth — with others. A veteran NASA Astronaut, her experience includes two spaceflights and 104 days spent living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS).

Lee M. Morin was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in 1996 and took part in the 13th space mission of the shuttle Atlantis in 2002 as it traveled to the International Space Station. After the Atlantis mission, Morin served in the State Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Science, Space, and Health in the Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science.

Keith Ellenbogen is an award-winning underwater conservation photographer that works at the intersection of art, science, and technology. He is 2015-16 Visiting Artist in Residence at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Margaret Flanagan is a native New Yorker, who after years of serving as a classroom teacher, brought her marine education expertise out to the waterfront full time. While sailing, she continued inspiring students and community members to better understand and appreciate our valuable natural resources.

James R. Irons is director of the Earth Sciences Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). He leads over 1400 scientists and support staff, all dedicated to studying the Earth as an integrated system that includes the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, cryosphere, and geosphere.

Vicki Ferrini is a Senior Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). Her research focuses on using mapping techniques to understand the processes that shape the seafloor in …

Dr Helen Scales teaches at Cambridge University, where she completed her PhD in Marine Biology. She is an avid scuba diver, and  author of several bestselling books, most recently The …

Victor Vescovo is the first person to dive “The Five Deeps” – the deepest point in all five of the world’s oceans. He is the first person to dive the …