Dr. Robert Ballard's "Nautilus" Begins 2011 Expedition

Robert Ballard's exploration vessel, Nautilus, has begun its four-and-a-half month exploration of the Black Sea, the western Mediterranean Sea and the coasts of Sicily and Israel in search of ancient antiquity, sites of Neolithic settlements, ancient ships and spectacular undersea geography. The entire expedition is being streamed live at www.nautiluslive.com so you can see every new discovery as it happens, as well as hours and hours of looking. You also hear all of the on board chatter. Yesterday, we were checking in and heard one team member reminding the others, "Remember what Dr. Ballard says...'You've gotta find a whole lot of nothing before you can find something.'"

Today, they really did think they found something as sonar showed what appeared to be a Cold War era submarine wreck off the coast of Turkey. But when they circled back around for another pass, the new angle revealed it to be just a geological feature.

The photo above was taken in the "Control Van" on board. If the crew member on the left looks young, it's because he's a rising high school junior! His job is to record data. Student involvement and education are extremely important to Dr. Ballard. What a great summer gig!

We expect that Ballard will have a great deal to share from this expedition, which will be in its final weeks when he addresses The Richmond Forum in November. We can't wait! Meanwhile, we'll keep checking in live. (It's addictive.)

A small number of seats are still available for the 2011-2012 season of The Richmond, just $155 for all five programs. Visit www.richmondforum.org or call 804-330-3993.

Quincy Jones & Robert Ballard Swap Forum Dates

In order to accommodate a special project that will take Quincy Jones to the Middle East this fall, his appearance at The Richmond Forum has been moved to our February 4, 2012 date. Dr. Robert Ballard, previously scheduled for that date, will now open our season with his presentation on November 12, 2011. In November, Ballard's exploration vessel, Nautilus, will be in the final weeks of a four-and-a-half month exploration of the Black Sea, the western Mediterranean Sea and the coasts of Sicily and Israel in search of ancient antiquity, sites of Neolithic settlements, ancient ships and spectacular undersea geography. We expect that he will have a great deal of exciting and timely news to share with The Richmond Forum in November!

Retired U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to Address The Richmond Forum

We are pleased to announce that newly retired Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has accepted an invitation to address The Richmond Forum on January 14, 2012. Gates retired on June 30th after serving four and a half years as Secretary of Defense under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, a tenure marked by two U.S. wars, U.S. military involvement in Libya, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and the killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden.

In total, Gates has served eight presidents in a number of leadership and advisory roles, including Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Deputy National Security Advisor. Gates was the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly elected President.

At a farewell ceremony for Gates, President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, and called him, "A humble American patriot; a man of common sense and decency; quite simply, one of our nation's finest public servants."

“Beginning last year, our subscribers have expressed a great deal of interest in seeing Secretary Gates speak at The Richmond Forum,” explained the Executive Director of the non-profit speaker series, Bill Chapman. “We are very pleased to be able to include him in our series next season.”

Gates is the final speaker announcement for the 2011-2012 season of The Richmond Forum. Other speakers for the season include music industry legend Quincy Jones, ocean explorer Robert Ballard, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer along with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and education experts Sir Ken Robinson and Rafe Esquith.

A small number of season subscriptions are still available for $155. Subscriptions are available through The Richmond Forum website or by calling (804) 330-3993.

The Richmond Forum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization. All programs are held at The Landmark Theater in Richmond, Virginia.