List of Undersea Explorers - First Generation Diving Safety Officers

First Generation Diving Safety Officers

A diving safety officer (DSO) is a person appointed by the an institution's responsible administrative officer or designee. He or she must be trained as a scientific diver, be a full member of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences and be an active underwater instructor from an internationally recognized certifying agency. He or she is responsible, for the conduct of the scientific diving program of the institution, including the conduct of training and certification, approval of dive plans, maintenance of diving records, and ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations.

This organizational structure goes back to the model developed at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the early 1950s. The model spread from there to the other campuses of the University of California, then to other California institutions and then nationwide. It served as the model accepted by the American Academy of Underwater Sciences and OSHA.

Those individuals who were part of the first generation of Diving Officers often had the opportunity to participate in many different undersea exploration programs and made singular contributions to those programs as well as the world of diving and submersibles.

• Connie Limbaugh - Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Jim Stewart - Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Dave Owens - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Walt Hendricks Sr. University of Puerto Rico
• Lee Somers - University of Michigan
• Lloyd Austin - University of California at Berkeley
• Glen Egstrom - University of California at Los Angeles
• John Duffy - California Department of Fish and Game
• Phillip Sharkey - University of Rhode Island
• Richard Bell - University of California at Davis
• Tommy Thompson - Moss Landing Marine Laboratory
• Dennis Divens - University of California at Santa Barbara
• John Erickson - University of Washington