Sylvia A. Earle is a National Geographic Explorer at Large; Founder, Chair and President of Mission Blue, a Founding Ocean Elder, Council Chair, Hartre Research Institute, Founder, Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, IUCN Patron of Nature and Former Chief Scientist of NOAA. Author of  250 publications, leader of more than 150 ocean expeditions, she is a graduate of Florida State University (BS) and Duke University (MA, PhD)with 34 honorary degrees. Her research concerns the ecology and conservation of marine ecosystems and development of technologies for access to the deep sea. She is the reciepirent of more than 150 national and international awards including Time Magazine's First Hero for the Planet, Library of Congress Living Legend, Netherlands Order of the Goldne Ark, the TED Prize, Princess of Asturias Prize for Concord, Tallberg Leadership Prize, Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, American Prairie Ken Burns Award, the Explorers Club Meda, Royal Geographic Society Patrons Medasl and the National Geographic Hubbard Medal.