Scuba Palooza Seminars
Diver Alert Network (DAN): Nick Bird, MD Vice President, Medical ServicesDAN, a nonprofit organization, exists to provide expert information and advice for the benefit of the diving public. DAN's historical and primary function is to provide emergency medical advice and assistance for underwater diving injuries, to work to prevent injuries and to promote diving safety. Second, DAN promotes and supports underwater diving research and education particularly as it relates to the improvement of diving safety, medical treatment and first aid. Third, DAN strives to provide the most accurate, up-to-date and unbiased information on issues of common concern to the diving public, primarily, but not exclusively, for diving safety. DAN is Your Dive Safety Association.
Dr. Nicholas Bird was raised in California and pursued his interest in diving from a young age. An avid diver, he was certified in 1984 and became a PADI Instructor in 1989 and actively taught diving both in southern and northern California. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1992. After college, he worked as a lifeguard, EMT, swim and scuba instructor and ultimately pursued a degree in medicine graduating from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1999. During his time in Ireland, he co-founded a scuba club and captained the swimming club. Following medical school, he completed a residency in Family Medicine with the University of Washington in 2002. With interests in operational medicine, he joined the US Air Force as a flight surgeon and was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom serving in Iraq during the initial months of the war. As part of his clinical duties at his home station at Travis AFB, he worked as an inside attendant in their premier hyperbaric center and was ultimately recruited as a staff physician in the hyperbaric/wound center. As part of his initial hyperbaric training he underwent both the US Air Force hyperbaric course and attended the International ATMO program.
When Dr. Bird separated from the military in 2005, he pursued his interest in hyperbaric medicine and completed a fellowship at the University of California at San Diego in 2006. In addition to the fellowship, he attended the NOAA Diving Medical Officer course. After completing his fellowship, he was hired as a Medical Director of a new hyperbaric medicine department at the Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah. Both during his fellowship and in the years afterward, he has remained an active clinical instructor in hyperbaric medicine and wound care. He is an active member of the UHMS, serving on the Diving Medicine Committee and has attended multiple conferences on diving and hyperbaric medicine. Dr. Bird joined the Divers Alert Network in June of 2009 and is the Vice President of Medical Services.
Seminar Title: The World of Hyperbaric Medicine and the Diversity of that Therapy’s Application - The basic goal of Dr. Bird's talk will be on the scientific fundamentals of hyperbaric medicine and a few case reports to demonstrate the incredible effects. The cases he has chosen are wounds which give a graphic depiction of what HBO docs face and the outcomes they can achieve.
Glen Butler, commercial, military, and NASA hyperbaric technology pioneer - Life Support Technologies:Glenn Butler has more than 35 years of military and commercial diving experience, and is well regarded as one of the foremost experts in clinical hyperbaric operations. He was a founding member of the National Board Certification for Hyperbaric Technologists and is a member of the NFPA-99 and UHMS Hyperbaric Safety Committees. He has authored several HBO related U.S. Patents and published more than 35 scientific documents. He is the President and CEO of Life Support Technologies, and has made huge advances in the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Glenn has been a steadfast supporter of TSSC, BTS, LIDA and an important advocate for the diving community for many years.
Seminar Title: Extreme Life Support: Walking In Space - One of the greatest stories of American technology transfer took place in order to “fix” the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. Launched into space in order to take high resolution images of deep space objects from outside the Earth’s atmosphere, a manufacturing flaw in a mirror caused blurry images and severely compromised the telescope’s capabilities, as well as NASA’s reputation and the future of the Space Program. Up until then, the longest “Spacewalk” had been three hours. To fix the Hubble’s problem, two astronauts would have to perform three days of ten hour long EVA missions. This is the story of the engineering of the protocols under which these missions were performed, and the simulation systems used to train the astronauts, presented by the man who supervised their development.
Captain Chuck Wade:Captain Chuck was born and raised on the eastern end of L. I. and has spent most of his life on the water in one way or another. Chuck's credentials include; USCG Master Near Coastal License, PADI Instructor, Trimix, CCR Cave and Commercial diving certifications. Diving is not only a business it's a passion! Visit his Sea Turtle Dive Charters Web site.
Seminar Title: North East Atlantic Scuba Diving - This seminar will include a presentation by Captain Wade on some of his exploits in the Atlantic Ocean off of Montauk Point. His specialty dives include wrecks and shark dives.
Shark Savers:Shark Savers' first and ongoing program educates people about the value of sharks to the ecosystem and counters the myths that keep people from caring about their plight. We develop and deliver educational presentations and create materials so that others may further the cause of shark conservation in their community. Shark Savers was founded in November 2007 by six divers with a long-held passion for the oceans, the quality of the ocean environment, and sharks. Becoming more aware of how sharks are being destroyed on a massive scale, and understanding the important role they play in the oceans, we wanted to become active in saving sharks. Web address: www.sharksavers.org
Seminar Title: Sharks - Predator or Prey? Sharks face the threat of extinction in every part of the world due to over-fishing. The over-fishing is driven by the high demand for shark fins, but it is also due to unintended catch called 'bycatch'. Complicating matters is man's fear and ignorance of sharks, which results in people either not caring about sharks, or thinking that it is a good thing to kill them. Shark Savers debunks the negative stereotype generally associated with sharks by stating the facts that sharks have more to fear from man, and highlighting the magnificence of these apex predators and the important role they play in maintaining the health of the ocean ecosystem
Mark Snyder:Mark Snyder was diving in Cozumel, Mexico, when he found himself in the midst of migrating eagle rays. He recalls three dive during which they counted over 120 rays. When he looked for an underwater photograph as a memento of these dives he could not find a single one. He picked up the basics of underwater shooting from Maria Hults and Bob Ricke, the couple who started him off in diving. Ricke also showed him a book by Yousuf Karsh, a famed studio portrait photographer, which proved an epiphany for Snyder. Karsh was a master of light positioning, which Snyder, who already had a serious “above water” photography background, eventually translated into underwater photography. Needless to say, when he got back home from his Cozumel trip, he went shopping for an underwater rig. Since then, Mark Snyder has won a number of awards and has taught his methods and techniques to many divers around the world. He spends several months of the year as a consulting diver for dive boats and resorts in the Maldives and Indonesia. You can see some of his work at www.starknakedfish.com.
Seminar Title: Underwater Photography - Mark will show some of his world class underwater pictures taken from around the world. Mark always gives some helpful tips on techniques ranging from lighting to cropping a photo using Photoshop.
