A press release from the Waitt Institute for Discovery titled “Waitt Institute Launches Deep-Sea Exploration Program Featuring Robot Sub Tool Kit” discusses the launching of the CATALYST Program, an expedition involving the technologically advanced survey of “rare and vulnerable” deep coral reefs through a highly flexible and portable deep-sea tool kit and operations team.
Through the collaborative efforts of the Waitt Institute for Discovery and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the project uses Waitt Institute’s two newly-built Hydroid REMUS 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), to explore the depths of the ocean. The robots can dive to depths as deep as 6,000 meters (or 3.7 miles).
They also feature multi-sensor platforms that are outfitted with state of the art survey instruments that are able to generate comprehensive sonar maps of the ocean floor, conduct photo-imaging of deep-sea elements, and record significant oceanographic data.
Ted Waitt, founder and chairman of the Waitt Institute for Discovery, has recognized the vehicles to be the most efficient and versatile technologies for ocean exploration. Given this, the Institute has tasked itself to fully utilize these vehicles in order to advance and accelerate sustainable ocean policy, deep-sea exploration, and advanced scientific research. Moreover, the CATALYST Program is set to establish a long-term and advanced knowledge center for interdisciplinary research of the oceans.
Ted Waitt is an American billionaire who, aside from his Waitt Institute for Discovery, has founded the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention; the Waitt Family Foundation; and the private investment company Avalon Capital Group, Inc.
Prior to forming these groups, Ted Waitt co-founded Gateway, Inc., a computer hardware firm that has now become a subsidiary of Acer. With a net worth of $1.4 billion, it is no wonder that, as of 2008, Forbes ranks Waitt #355 among “The 400 Richest Americans.”
Waitt is also fond of sharing fractions of his fortune through his philanthropic foundation that funds a wide range of projects that are sometimes in partnership with the Waitt Institutes. In fact, Business Week has recognized him as one of America’s 50 most generous philanthropists.