Don Walsh

Don Walsh is an oceanographer, ocean engineer, and retired Navy Captain. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, he holds graduate degrees from Texas A&M (MS and PhD) and San Diego State University (MA). He served as the Officer-in-Charge of the Bathyscaph Trieste at the Navy Electronics Laboratory in San Diego from 1959-1962. In 1960, along with Jacques Piccard, he piloted the Trieste to the deepest point in the world's oceans at 35,840 feet, a record for the deepest manned dive in human history. His extensive contributions to undersea engineering over his career were recognized when he was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2001.

In addition to his undersea work, he has been involved with polar operations since 1955. He has made 25 expeditions to the Arctic, including 5 to the North Pole, and 27 to the Antarctic, including a 74-day circumnavigation of the continent. His significant contributions to polar exploration were honored in 1974 when the “Walsh Spur” in Antarctica was named after him. He has also participated in over 50 polar expeditions and his travels have taken him to about 112 nations.

Currently, Don Walsh is the president of Oregon-based International Maritime Incorporated, a consulting practice. He is the Honorary President of The Explorers Club and an Honorary Life Member of both The Explorers Club and The Adventurers Club. Walsh's professional life has been almost entirely in the design, manufacture, and operations of undersea systems, and he has authored over 200 ocean-related publications. He continues to contribute to the field with his involvement in diving operations using more than two dozen manned submersibles, including notable dives to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the wreck of the "Titanic," and the WWII German Battleship "Bismarck."