Robert Ballard, discoverer of Titanic, to speak at UB April 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Oceanographer Robert Ballard, best known for his 1985 discovery of the Titanic, will speak at the University at Buffalo at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, in Alumni Arena, North Campus, as part of the UB Distinguished Speakers Series.

A National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence and a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, Ballard has succeeded in tracking down a number of other shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck; the lost fleet of Guadalcanal; the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown, sunk in the World War II Battle of Midway; and John F. Kennedy’s boat, PT-109.

While those discoveries have captured the imagination of the public, Ballard, who has a PhD in marine geology and geophysics, believes his most important discoveries were of hydrothermal vents and "black smokers" in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979, along with their exotic life forms living off the energy of the Earth through a process now called chemosynthesis.

His current ship of exploration, E/V Nautilus, operated by his Ocean Exploration Trust, beams back his exploration around the clock on the Nautilus Live website.

Ballard’s talk will focus on the past, present and future of deep-sea exploration as illustrated through his work. During his program, audio and/or video photography, as well as still photography, will be limited to the first five minutes of his lecture. Ballard is expected to begin speaking at approximately 8:10 p.m. He is not available for interviews.

Working media may reserve tickets for the program by contacting Christine Vidal in the UB Office of Communications at 645-4607 or vidal@buffalo.edu no later than noon on Wednesday, April 1. Reserved tickets may be picked up at the will-call window in Alumni Arena prior to the program. Media may need to show press credentials in order to be admitted to the program.