IU Foundation magazine features Academic Diving Program

Charlie Beeker

Dr. Charlie Beeker and the IU Office of Underwater Science and Academic Diving were recently featured in the IU Foundation’s fall issue of Imagine. The article highlights Dr.  Beeker’s investigation of the newly discovered remains of a shipwreck believed to be the famed Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus’ flagship vessel, in the Dominican Republic.

Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science and Academic Diving and associate clinical professor of kinesiology in the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, said recent investigations look promising, based on scientific diving and visual inspection of the site and evaluation of remote sensing data and historic records.

"The evidence looks very compelling, and Indiana University will conduct a full investigation to determine whether this is the Santa Maria, hopefully as early as this summer," Beeker said. "We are very excited about the potential of this discovery and very pleased to help protect sites such as the Santa Maria for future generations as Living Museums in the Sea."