Deep in the heart of North America, far from any salt-water shore, a scientific conference that focuses on the world’s oceans will be held at Gustavus Adolphus College. While the location might seem unlikely, that impression is superficial since the earth’s oceans have a massive influence on the well-being of all of humankind, regardless of location. Humanity, in turn, has a massive reciprocal impact on the state of the oceans. Despite these strong mutual influences, knowledge of the biology, chemistry, and geology of the oceans is minimal at this point in human history, and an enormous amount remains to be learned. Dr. David Gallo has dedicated his career to expansion of fundamental knowledge of the oceans, delineating the complex relationships between humanity and the oceans, and communicating the wonder of ocean exploration and discovery to the general public.
Dr. Gallo has been highly active in oceanic exploration, and has pioneered the use of advanced technologies such as manned submersibles and robots to explore formerly inaccessible regions of oceans around the world. His expeditions include collaboration with Robert Ballard in the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic, discovery of new deep-ocean communities of life that derive energy not from the sun, but from hydrothermal vent heat and chemistry, and numerous other expeditions that span the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. His passion for exploration and scientific understanding of the oceans has been widely communicated through many public media venues, including the Discovery Channel, History Channel, National Geographic, PBS, and TED Talks.
Dr. Gallo is director of special projects at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in geological science from the State University of New York at Albany and a Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. In 1987 he was invited by Dr. Robert Ballard to join his team at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as the assistant director of the Center for Marine Exploration. He was a major contributor to the development of the Jason Project, the FIRST Lego League Ocean Odyssey, and the Liquid Jungle Laboratory of Panama. He is the recipient of a Computerworld-Smithsonian Award and the John J. Conley medal for communicating science to the public.
I hope that you can join us for Nobel Conference 48, “Our Global Ocean,” on October 2 & 3 to learn more about Dr. Gallo’s work as well as that of our other presenters. Tickets are on sale now. For ticket information and information about the Conference, the speakers, and the Nobel concert, visit the Nobel Conference website.