Legendary oceanographer and TED Prize winner Sylvia Earle will visit DeKalb on Thursday, Feb. 22, for an Egyptian Theatre screening of “Mission Blue,” a film looking at her personal mission to save the world’s oceans.
Earle will make brief remarks prior to the film’s screening at 7 p.m. After the screening, she will take questions from audience members.
A National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence and former chief science officer for NOAA, Earle has spent six decades exploring the oceans. She has led more than 100 expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater.
“Sylvia is the most famous and inspirational oceanographer in the world,” said Reed Scherer, an NIU Board of Trustees Professor of Geology. Earle’s company, DOER, built specialized gear used by Scherer and colleague Ross Powell in their Antarctic research.
“We’re honored that Sylvia is visiting DeKalb, especially since NIU students and the public will have an opportunity to interact with her,” Scherer added. “Sylvia tells a compelling story and is a particular inspiration to young women considering careers in science.”
The screening at the Egyptian is part of the Green Lens Film Series, a collaboration between DeKalb environmentalist Nancy Proesel, NIU scientists Scherer and Pat Vary, and NIU film scholar Jeff Chown.
Shot during a three-year period in numerous locations around the world, “Mission Blue” traces Earle’s remarkable personal journey, from her earliest memories exploring the ocean as a young girl to her days leading a daring undersea mission in the Virgin Islands.
The film weaves her unique personal history with the passion that consumes Earle today—creating a global parks system for the ocean. Earle believes that the ambitious plan is the best way to restore ocean health. But as she travels the Gulf of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, the Coral Sea and beyond, the daunting challenges become clear.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Professor Scherer at reed@niu.edu.