LakeNET -Thomas Kent Dettweiler

Mr. Dettweiler earned Engineering Degrees from Purdue University and the University of Miami. He is a leader in the industry of Deep Ocean Exploration and participated in the development of the Deep Ocean Manganese Nodule Mining Industry. He served as the Science Officer on Jacques Cousteau's CALYPSO and also as the Deep Submergence Laboratory Operations Director at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, under Dr. Robert Ballard. In this role, he led expeditions including the discovery and exploration of the RMS TITANIC and many other well know discoveries. He them moved on to become the Executive Vice President of the Nauticos Corporation and led expeditions to discover the I-52 gold-carrying Japanese submarine, and conducted a live broadcast from the TITANIC for the Discovery Channel. The recent acquisition of Nauticos by Oceaneering International allows Mr. Dettweiler to continue the exploration of the oceans worldwide. Mr. Dettweiler is a frequent lecturer and author within the field, and is on the board of the SeaWord foundation which creates educational opportunities for students and teachers in the ocean. He has been featured in numerous documentaries and books about projects he has led, including the recent National Geographic Channel documentary "Mystery of the Dakar" The DAKAR is a lost Israeli submarine that Mr. Dettweiler found for which he was recently awarded a specially commissioned medal by the president of Israel for his services.