Robert Ballard

As a boy growing up on California's coast, Robert Ballard was fascinated by marine geology and life underwater.

While working for the U.S. Navy, he built his expertise in the new technology of submersibles, which served him well in later expeditions.

In the 1970s, Ballard took part in several key discoveries in marine science, including direct proof of the theory of plate tectonics and the first sightings of hot water vents and colonies of unique organisms that surround them on the deep-sea floor.

But Ballard's most famous expedition found the remains of a famed luxury liner - the RMS Titanic - in 1985.

In the years that followed the Titanic discovery, his expeditions sought shipwrecks from both world wars.

This absorbing new title shares the life and work of Robert Ballard as he combs the deep for the answers to science's secrets.