Dr Kathryn Sullivan, ‘the most vertical person in the world’, is the only person to have walked in space and descended to the deepest point in the ocean.

Today DEEP announces that Kathy is coming on board to advise the ocean engineering company as it builds subsea human habitats. She brings a wealth of experience of conducting missions in extreme environments, leading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and advising the White House on science and technology.

DEEP’s Strategic Advisory Council consists of a group of distinguished experts and professionals across various fields related to ocean engineering, expeditions, marine science and technology, commercial diving, medicine, government and regulated bodies. The Council’s diverse experience plays a crucial role in guiding DEEP’s mission to make humans aquatic.

Kathy stated: “It’s undeniable we need to know more about the ocean. DEEP’s habitats can help us gain that knowledgemuch quicker,since they’ll allow scientists to live underwater for days or weeks, instead of needing to surface after just a few minutes or hours.I’m excited by the research potential this will unlock and look forward to helping with this extremely bold project.”

DEEP President Sean Wolpert added: “Part of the reason DEEP wants to make humans aquatic is to vastly improve our understanding of the ocean. Kathy’s unmatched career isn’t just research and policy advising, it’s decades of hands-on, applied experience that’s critical for us. Having her practical know-how on the Strategic Advisory Council is exactly what DEEP needs as we deploy our pilot habitat this year – the first significant underwater living advance since the late 1980s and a bold leap forward for humanity.”

About Kathy Sullivan

Kathy is an American geologist, oceanographer, former NASA astronaut and US Navy officer. She was a crew member on three space shuttle missions.

A Short History of Kathy Sullivan

Some of Kathy’s career highlights:

  • Joined NASA in 1978, breaking barriers as one of the first six women in the astronaut corps.

  • Served on three space shuttle missions, including the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990.

  • In 1984, became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk.

  • Confirmed by the US Senate as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of NOAA in 2014.

  • Appointed as a member of President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in 2021.

  • Continued to break boundaries and in 2020 became the first woman to dive to the lowest point on Earth, to Challenger Deep inside the Mariana Trench.