2008 Woodie Awards
'Water Is Pretty Magic Stuff'
Kerin E. Lazzaro
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: Entertainment
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Gallo's presentation had a great turnout, filling the Young building's ballroom. He reminisced about his college years, receiving his PhD from the University of Rhode Island. After high school, Gallo sold shoes for 7 years, but always had a buried passion for being a scientist. He wanted to explore the underwater world. He was driven by curiosity and in 1987 he ventured into the Mediterranean Sea with Bob Ballard. "After the first thousand feet or so, the jobs get a lot tougher," joked Gallo about both professions.
One of the first oceanographers to use a combination of manned submersibles and robots to map the ocean floor, Gallo was most recently the co-expedition leader during an exploratory search of the Titanic using a type of Russian submarine. His experience made him crave to learn more about life on the ocean floor.
Today, Gallo explores the ocean in all areas of the world aboard the ship Atlantis and its submarine Alvin. It takes 10 hours to complete an underwater trip; 2 ½ hours to get to the bottom, five hours of exploration, and 2 ½ on the way up. Gallo stumbled upon many fascinating areas such as the mid ocean ridge, measuring 40 miles long and underwater volcanoes.
Gallo stressed that our planet is constantly changing; Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami being wake up calls to us. Global Warming is also a growing concern. He informed the audience that many people think the Earth is more covered by water than land, however there is not a lot of water. Only 1 percent of the Earth's water is drinkable. He believes it is better if the Earth's population remains the same.