Second Annual GlobalSpec Great Moments in Engineering Award to be Presented to Engineering Team Behind Deep Water Vehicle Jason Jr.

TROY, N.Y.--July 12, 2006--

Team from Deep Submergence Laboratory of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to be Honored for Accomplishments in Undersea Discovery, Remotely Operated Vehicle Development

A team of engineering professionals from the Deep Submergence Laboratory of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, whose work in developing a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) prototype resulted in the first detailed deep-water photos of the sunken luxury ocean liner R.M.S. Titanic, will be presented with the 2006 GlobalSpec Great Moments in Engineering award on July 14.

Recipients of the award will be members of the 1986 Jason Jr. engineering team, who proved that operations by human-occupied submersibles near deep-water wrecks could be carried out safely and effectively, and a ROV could approach and investigate wreckage with the submersible remaining at a safe distance. The team has never been singled out and honored for its achievement on a national or international level.

The behind-the-scenes technical accomplishments of this team in 1986 resulted in the design and prototyping of a tethered robotic "video vehicle" 12,000+ feet deep in the North Atlantic, where it took stunning color video images of R.M.S. Titanic that were later seen by millions on television. Unknown to the public, Jason Jr. also had been developed for potential use by the U.S. Navy in obtaining detailed video of submarine wreckage of the U.S.S. Thresher and Scorpion, with the R.M.S. Titanic expedition by the ROV designed to divert public attention.

GlobalSpec, the leading specialized search engine, information resource and e-publishing company for the engineering, industrial and technical communities, will host a breakfast and award ceremony on the 20th anniversary of this event at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Jeff Killeen, chairman and CEO of GlobalSpec, will present the award.

"Twenty years ago, this talented team of engineering professionals embarked on a project that would result in countless other advancements in the areas of applied robotics, videography and deep sea forensics," said Killeen. "Jason Jr. helped open doors to a new understanding of our subsea world through the use of ROVs, with uses ranging from undersea oil and gas exploration, to marine archeology, to national defense and homeland security. GlobalSpec is honored to recognize this team for its engineering ingenuity and positive impact on people, science and industry."

Christopher J. von Alt, Jason Jr. principal engineer (1986) and president and CEO of Hydroid, Inc., will accept the award on behalf of the Jason Jr. engineering team. Also addressing attendees will be Dr. James Luyten, executive vice president and director of research for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The GlobalSpec Great Moments in Engineering award is presented annually to a person or group whose singular moment of engineering ingenuity produced a significant turning point for the application of technology and resulting benefits to people, science and industry. The 2005 award was presented to NASA engineers from April 1970 responsible for saving the lives of crew members during the harrowing flight of Apollo 13.

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