Presidential speaker series: Dr. Robert Ballard

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The new presidential speaker series envisioned by WKU president Timothy Caboni starts tonight with the keynote speaker Robert Ballard, the man who discovered the location of the Titanic and changed a great deal about how we understand chemistry, biology and the makeup of the deep sea.

Ballard spoke to a press pool today in an upstairs room of Van Meter Hall on WKU campus about his life, his accomplishments and even how he views his own dyslexia as a blessing. Ballard also shared some of his feelings about the recent Ocean Gate Titan disaster that saw five people killed when their craft imploded due to pressure.

“In 1960, we went to the deepest depths of the world’s oceans with the bathyscaphe Triassic. That was in 1960. All through since then, we have never lost a single person. Because we dove in certified pressure holes,” Ballard said.

Ballard will be speaking at seven p.m. in Van Meter Hall on WKU campus. The event is free and open to the public.