Titanic discoverer here during Research Week

World renowned  deep-sea explorer Robert Ballard, best known for his historic discoveries of hydrothermal vents, the sunken R.M.S. Titanic, the German battleship Bismarck, and numerous other contemporary and ancient shipwrecks around the world, will be the keynote speaker during Oklahoma State University Research Week, Feb. 18 – 22. 

Now in its 10th year, Research Week is an annual event celebrating the research and scholarly activity of students and faculty at OSU.  

Ballard will deliver his keynote address: “Adventures in Deep Sea Exploration: Living the Dream,” Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. at the Wes Watkins Center.

Ballard shares his remarkable experiences and discusses the technology that allowed him to accomplish what he did. He encourages deep-sea exploration, for as he notes, “Fifty percent of our country that we own, have all legal jurisdiction, have all rights to do whatever we want, lies beneath the sea, and we have better maps of Mars than that 50 percent.”

During his long career, he has conducted more than 120 deep-sea expeditions using the latest in exploration technology and he is a pioneer in the early use of deep-diving submarines.

Featuring speakers, symposiums, performances and presentations, Research Week provides an excellent opportunity for those inside and outside the university to experience the value and impact of research. 

This year’s theme, “You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Research,” highlights the ways OSU students and faculty are addressing the many pressing questions still left unanswered in our society: How are we going to meet future energy demands? How early can we detect cancer? Can we engineer crops capable of surviving historic droughts? How can our economy be more competitive? Are there better ways to predict natural disasters? How can we make our country safer and more secure?

While these questions seem daunting, researchers at OSU and beyond are hard at work trying to answer them.