Jeff Morris

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Expedition Titanic

Search for Amelia Earhart

On July 2, 1937, Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished without a trace during her attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world at the equator.

In early 2009, the Waitt Institute conducted an extensive deep-sea search for Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra aircraft in the area of the South Pacific where many researchers believe she crashed. The expedition, known as CATALYST 2, involved assembling a diverse group of experts from multiple backgrounds and institutions to identify areas to search for Earhart’s plane. The CATALYST team then utilized the Waitt Institute’s REMUS 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles to survey over 2,000 square miles of ocean floor at an average depth of 5,200 meters.

The Electra was not found during the expedition, but the data from the sea floor created a 2,000 square-mile exclusion zone where we now know the plane is not located. For the benefit of future researchers, the Waitt Institute is sharing all of these results, as well as a provocative, first-hand account of life aboard ship, at a specially designed new website known as Search for Amelia. One of the most comprehensive digital records on the life and legacy of Amelia Earhart available today, Search for Amelia is a collaborative site where comments and ideas about Earhart and her final flight are invited and encouraged.

Explore the expedition’s website

View videos from the CATALYST 2 Expedition Log

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.

Funding Partner

Protecting our oceans, restoring the seas to full productivity and inspiring us to make informed choices.

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Director and Principal Underwater Scientist, Azulmar Research, LLC

Jeff Morris
Director and Principal Underwater Scientist
Azulmar Research, LLC
Port Republic, MD

Waitt Expeditions:
Turks & Caicos: Endymion Rock (Director of Survey Operations)
Mexico: Lost Fleet (Director of Survey Operations)

Biography
Prior to establishing his own companies, Mr. Morris worked for the US Government as a Senior Data Analyst. In that position he managed the collection, analysis, reporting, briefing, and end product development of advanced sensor data. Throughout his career with the US Government Mr. Morris served as an underwater archaeological consultant to several clients including East Carolina University, Nauticos Corporation, and the Maryland Historic Trust’s Maryland Maritime Archaelogical Program (MMAP). For ECU Mr. Morris served as the Principal Investigator on two remote sensing projects for NOAA’s Sanctuaries and Reserves Division. For Nauticos Corporation, Mr. Morris identified a group of underwater historic research projects and developed archaeological standards for the company. He also has participated in several at-sea missions, where he was responsible for remote sensing data collection, analysis, and ultimately report production. One such project was the discovery of Kaga, a WWII Japanese aircraft carrier lost during at the battle of Midway.

Before going to work for the US Government, Mr. Morris worked as an office manager, maritime historian and archaeologist for Tidewater Atlantic Research, Inc. While there, he directed and participated in 28 underwater and terrestrial historic resource projects. He was responsible for remote sensing survey, historic research, data analysis and fusion, and report preparation as well as diving operations and archaeological mapping. Throughout his career, Mr. Morris has worked as a consultant for clients in the fields of marine archaeological and underwater surveying and has authored numerous professional and technical papers on underwater archaeology and the application of advanced remote sensing techniques.