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Slideshow 2.jpgOffshore Exploration in Gabon

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michael-dessner1-259x150.jpgDessner Reporting from the Atlantic Ocean Seamounts

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Titanic

NGS/Waitt Grants

The National Geographic Society/Waitt Grants Program helps qualified and experienced individuals launch the most difficult stage of a project for which to secure funding—the search. Grants are made for exploratory fieldwork that holds promise for new breakthroughs in the natural and social sciences. NGS/Waitt Grants applications are processed throughout the year and grants are awarded expeditiously to help researchers take advantage of immediate opportunities. The NGS/Waitt grants are an initiative of the National Geographic Society and the Waitt Institute.

Funded through a five-year grant from the Waitt Foundation, the NGS/Waitt Grants Program is administered by National Geographic Mission Programs and makes approximately one hundred grants annually of $5,000 to $15,000. Proposals are considered as they are received and awards are made within weeks of application.

The Waitt Grants Program upholds rigorous standards of review and scientific merit, but does not shy away from risky or unproven ideas. In that spirit, NGS/Waitt Grants support projects at the cutting edge of technology and research. The Program encourages applicants to think big—but travel light—as they look toward new frontiers around the globe. Grants are made to explorers and scientists in research fields such as biology, anthropology, and the geosciences who are working across disciplines and reacting quickly to field opportunities.

The NGS/Waitt Grants Program targets nascent initiatives and untested concepts that may have trouble finding funding through traditional sources. Where time is short and the stakes are high, NGS/Waitt Grants can ensure that opportunities for discovery are undertaken. The NGS/Waitt Grants Program is a collaboration of the National Geographic Society and the Waitt Institute, and is made possible by a grant from the Waitt Foundation.
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In The News

The News All Over about Waitt Institute

gp027ne.jpgExpedition to the Bering Sea with Greenpeace

Point Hope, AK - July, 2012
The expedition aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza included Waitt Institute’s Dual Deepworker submersible.  News coverage include Nightline from ABC News, Deep Sea News.  >>Read More>>

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Titanic

3D sonar image of the bow of the RMS Titanic

Rediscovery of the RMS Titanic

North Atlantic Ocean - August-September, 2011
A joint research team from Waitt Institute and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution completed a six-week long expedition to the the north Atlantic Ocean. While there, the Waitt Institute’s AUV’s were used to map the entirety of the RMS Titanic and her wreck site, creating a shockingly vivid three dimensional image based on the sonar images captured by the AUVs.  News coverage was extensive, including New York Times, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Fox News as well as more scientific pieces from ASME, The Tech Journal, Archaeology Magazine, and International Ocean Systems. >>Read More>>

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Air France 447

Sonar image of Air France 447 Wreckage

Discovery of Air France 447 Wreckage

Atlantic Ocean - March-April, 2011
Working jointly with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Air France and aircraft manufacturer, BEA, Waitt Institute’s AUV package helped to locate the missing wreckage of Air France 447.  The flight had disappeared two years earlier during a flight from Brazil to France.  Coverage included Popular Mechanics. >>Read More>>

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A 17th century cannon, found near the Lajas reef near Fort San Lorenzo, Colon. The cannons are in conservation at the Patronato Panama Viejo laboratory in Panama City, Panama. The cannon most likely belonged to Captain Henry Morgan's lost fleet of 1671.

A 17th century cannon, found near the Lajas reef near Fort San Lorenzo, Colon. The cannons are in conservation at the Patronato Panama Viejo laboratory in Panama City, Panama. The cannon most likely belonged to Captain Henry Morgan's lost fleet of 1671.

Recovery of the Lost Cannons of Captain Morgan

Panama City, Panama - 2008-2011
In January, 2008, the Waitt Institute partnered with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) and the Instituto Nacional de Cultura de Panama (INAC) for this exploratory survey on the Rio Chagres in Panama. Leading the expedition as Principal Investigators were Dr. James P. “Jim” Delgado and Frederick “Fritz” Hanselmann.  Discovered during the expedition were the remains of what are thought to be the ships of the privateer, Captain Henry Morgan.

News coverage has come from CNN, National Geographic, Fox News and more.  >>Read More>>

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