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NY Post
New York Post
16 May 2023


NextImg:Florida professor dubbed ‘Dr. Deep Sea’ sets world record for longest time spent living underwater

A Florida professor has set the world record for the longest time spent living underwater without depressurization.

Dr. Joseph Dituri, 55, has spent 74 days living in Jules’ Undersea Lodge at the bottom of 30-foot-deep lagoon in Key Largo as of Saturday and plans to spend at least 100 days there, according to the Associated Press.

The duration breaks the previous record of 73 days that was set by two professors who also lived in the lodge in 2014.

“The curiosity for discovery has led me here,” Dituri, who teaches at the University of South Florida (USF), told the outlet. “My goal from day one has been to inspire generations to come, interview scientists who study life undersea and learn how the human body functions in extreme environments.”

Dituri, who also goes by the name “Dr. Deep Sea,” has been underwater since March 1 as part of a project called “Project Neptune 100,” which is analyzing how the human body reacts to long-term underwater pressure.

Diving explorer and medical researcher Dr. Joseph Dituri peers out of a large porthole inside the Jules' Undersea Lodge, in a Key Largo lagoon, Florida Keys, Florida, on May 13, 2023.

Diving explorer and medical researcher Dr. Joseph Dituri peers out of a large porthole inside the Jules’ Undersea Lodge, in a Key Largo lagoon, Florida Keys, Florida, on May 13, 2023.
via REUTERS

Organized by the Marine Resources Development Foundation, which owns the deep-sea lodge, the project joins medical and ocean research with education.

Researchers have been monitoring and conducting medical tests of Dituri’s physical and psychological health throughout the project.

Diving explorer and medical researcher Dr. Joseph Dituri waves to scuba diver Thane Milhoan inside the Jules' Undersea Lodge near the Florida Keys on May 13, 2023.

Diving explorer and medical researcher Dr. Joseph Dituri waves to scuba diver Thane Milhoan inside the Jules’ Undersea Lodge near the Florida Keys on May 13, 2023.
via REUTERS

“The record is a small bump and I really appreciate it,” Dituri said. “I’m honored to have it, but we still have more science to do.”

“The idea here is to populate the world’s oceans, to take care of them by living in them and really treating them well,” he added.

In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Dr. Joseph Dituri peers through a porthole into the Jules' Undersea Lodge habitat 30 feet below the surface in a lagoon Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Key Largo, Fla. Dituri submerged to begin a planned 100 days in the habitat, establishing a new record for underwater human habitation at ambient pressure while conducting medical and marine science research. He also intends to teach online classes and lead marine science exercises to help young divers become certified aquanauts. (Frazier Nivens/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)

Dr. Joseph Dituri peers through a porthole into the Jules’ Undersea Lodge habitat 30 feet below the surface in a lagoon on March 1, 2023, in Key Largo, Fla.
AP

Dituri, who was in the Navy for 28 years, continues to teach biomedical engineering classes at USF while in the lagoon.

“The thing that I miss the most about being on the surface is literally the sun,” Dituri said. “The sun has been a major factor in my life. I usually go to the gym at 5, and then I come back out and watch the sunrise.”