The 29th annual Faculty Lecture will be given by Don Barthelmess, professor of Marine Diving Technology, where he will talk about the diving technologies that emerged in Santa Barbara during the 1960s.
Each year, the lecture is considered the highest honor for a faculty member and must be based a scholarly subject of general interest.
Barthelmess’ lecture, “Diving into Santa Barbara,” will take place at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 9 in the Garvin Theatre on Santa Barbara City College’s West Campus, with a reception immediately following.
“It’s an unbelievable honor to receive this,” said. “It’s nice to be acknowledged once in a while.”
This year’s lecture will revolve around the development of diving technologies from Santa Barbara in the 1960s. Barthelmess will talk about several of the local diving pioneers and the history of diving in Santa Barbara. One story he focused on was of diving pioneer Dan Wilson. In 1962, Wilson started the “Santa Barbara Helium Rush” by diving down 400 feet, just to prove that he could. This led to new deep water work and the blossoming of Santa Barbara diving.
Barthelmess will dedicate the lecture to SBCC’s own Bob Christensen. A former Navy SEAL, Christensen was an early pioneer of deep mixed-gas diving, and left that career to help establish the Marine Technology Program at SBCC in 1969.
“Bob never got the credit for what he has done, Barthelmess said. “He gave back by passing on his expertise.”
“Bob was a great friend and advisor.”
Barthelmess has been a part of the SBCC staff since 1989, and was the director of the Marine Technology program from 1994 to 2003. He received his associate degree in underwater technology at the Florida Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in vocational education at California State University at Long Beach. He also earned a master’s degree in educational technology from Pepperdine University.
Barthelmess later went on to pilot submersibles, and in the course of his career he set two depth records. In 1982, Barthelmess set a depth record of 1,972 feet while trying to retrieve a stuck drill pipe in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I didn’t even know I broke a record until the told me over the radio,” Barthelmess said. “I was too tired to care. I had been up for 62 and a half hours trying to get this drill unstuck.”
Barthelmess was born and raised in Long Island, NY in the town of Patchogue.
“My parents were boaters,” he said. “I spent nearly every weekend on a boat.”
His first experience with diving came from his uncle.
“My uncle was a diver, and one day my cousin and I were watching him. He came up and asked us if we wanted to try, so we did.”
“Knowing what I do now, it probably wasn’t very safe,” he said with a grin.
Barthelmess teaches advanced diving courses at SBCC. In order to take the course, a person must be basic certified.
“I’m most proud of our safety record,” he said. Barthelmess added that no matter what skill level a person may be, the first five weeks must be spent in the training tanks. “You’re only as good as your last dive.”
