Senior Fellows

Michael Lang

Senior Fellow

Dr. Michael A. Lang, called “Master of the Deep” by SMITHSONIAN, currently serves as President of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences and director of the Divers Alert Network. His career has emphasized the importance of placing the trained scientific eye under water to record and interpret the marine environment and enhancing the safety and effectiveness of scuba diving. Lang’s research projects have effectively bridged the international diving and marine science communities with impact on decompression sickness risk management through the use of advanced technology and procedures, marine natural history education through Smithsonian Journeys expeditions, scientific and popular articles, and providing training courses and facilitating work in extreme polar (Antarctica and Svalbard) and remote tropical environments (Clipperton, Palmyra, Eastern Tropical Pacific and South Pacific Islands) in the study of global change and marine biodiversity. His most recent books include Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to IPY Science; Smithsonian Marine Science; The Future of Diving: 100 Years of Haldane and Beyond; Science Diplomacy: Antarctica, Science and the Governance of International Spaces; and, Research and Discoveries: The Revolution of Science through Scuba.