The 2024 Captain Don Walsh Award Award for Ocean Exploration from the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) has been awarded to Martin Klein.
The award recognizes the huge contribution that Klein has made to ocean exploration. Amongst his many other accolades, many nicknamed him as the “father of side-scan sonar.”
Klein had had an illustrious career stretching as far back as 1961, when he was first introduced to Jacques Cousteau and other marine pioneers. Since then, he has helped build an entire ocean exploration industry that is thriving today.
According to SUT President Benj Sykes:
“On behalf of the SUT, it is my pleasure to congratulate Martin Klein as the chosen nominee for the Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration, 2024. Marty’s dedication to and support of ocean technology and its applications in ocean exploration, along with his contributions to education, make him a worthy recipient. His work has inspired the next generation of ocean professionals.”
Klein himself commented on the award:
“I am humbled and honored. When I was a student at MIT, I read with fascination the Life Magazine cover story about the historic deep dive to 35,813 feet in the Challenger Deep/Mariana Trench by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in the Bathyscaph Trieste. Little could I know that three years later, just as I was beginning my career, the nuclear submarine USS Thresher would sink, the Trieste would be called from San Diego to assist the project, and I would become intimately involved in the first-ever deep-water search. During that search, the great Don Walsh became a hero of mine and an invaluable friend and mentor.”
