2005 Distinguished Explorer Announced
Nearly 20 years ago, Dr. Robert D. Ballard ushered in a new era of exploration by reaching into the depths of the ocean with innovative technologies and finding the wreck of the Titanic.
This sensational discovery fueled a string of notable finds–from the Bismarck to underwater World War II graveyards in the Pacific to John F. Kennedy’s PT-109– and it propelled Ballard into the role of celebrity scientist.
Six decades earlier, Roy Chapman Andrews gained comparable fame for a series of paleontological finds–including the first complete nests of dinosaur eggs–that he recovered from the unknown reaches of Mongolia. Andrews was well-decorated for his successes, earning, among other awards, a coveted Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society. That same honor, among many others, would be bestowed generations later on Ballard, as well.
