CAPTAIN DON WALSH FOR OCEAN EXPLORATION

Dr. Jyotika Virmani has spent her career pushing the boundaries of how we explore and understand our Ocean. She is the Executive Director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a philanthropic organization accelerating research by providing global scientists free access to the state-of-the-art research vessel Falkor (too) and cutting-edge marine technology in exchange for open-source sharing of Ocean data.

Before this, Jyotika was Executive Director of Planet & Environment at XPRIZE overseeing global competitions that inspired breakthrough technologies in marine sensors, seafloor mapping, and biodiversity. She sits on the MBARI Board of Directors and is a Plymouth Marine Laboratory Trustee. She also 
Co-Chairs the UN Ocean Decade Technology & Innovation Working Group and serves on the National Academies Ocean Studies Board and the National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research & Exploration. She is a Fellow of The Royal Meteorological Society, The Explorers Club, and the Marine Technology Society. Marine Technology Reporter Top 100 List ranked her amongst their top 5 Global Ocean Influencers in their Top 100 List in 2020, featuring her again on the list in 2023. In 2024, Forbes recognized her in their 50-over-50 list.

She has a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida and, as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar, she earned a M.S. in Atmospheric Science from SUNY at Stony Brook. She also has a B.Sc. in Physics from Imperial College London and is an Associate of the Royal College of Science.