Jim Delgado

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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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President and Nautical Archaeologist, Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University

Jim Delgado
President and Nautical Archaeologist
Institute of Nautical Archaeology
Vancouver, British Columbia

Waitt Expeditions:
Panama: Rio Chagres (Principal Investigator)
Panama: Submarine Explorer (Principal Investigator)
Expedition Titanic

Biography
Dr. James Delgado has led or participated in shipwreck expeditions all over the world, including dives on the RMS Titanic, the Carpathia (the ship that rescued survivors of the Titanic) and the notorious “ghost ship” Mary Celeste. He has conducted surveys of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, the polar exploration ship Maud in the Arctic, and the 1846 wreck of the United States naval brig Somers, whose tragic story inspired Herman Melville’s Billy Budd. His archaeological work has included the excavation of ships and collapsed buildings along the now-buried waterfront of Gold Rush San Francisco and he recently led the crew that restored Ben Franklin (PX-15), a 130-ton oceanographic research submersible originally built in Switzerland for famed undersea explorer and scientist Jacques Piccard.

Dr. Delgado ended his 15-year career as Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Vancouver, British Columbia in June 2006 and in July, took up a new position as Executive Director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology <http://www.inadiscover.com>. As of April 2008, he moved into the role of President. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of the Explorers Club, Dr. Delgado is the author or editor of over 30 books and numerous articles, including two international best-sellers. He also co-hosted The Sea Hunters along with best-selling author Clive Cussler, from 2001 to 2006.

From Jim:
What keeps me fired up with a passion for the past are the connections I make with everyday people whose lives have been irrevocably changed by their interactions with the sea, including some of history’s greatest disasters. No matter how many times I dive, how many shipwrecks I see and touch, the awe, the excitement and the thrill of discovery are always there.