Andreas Rechnitzer | |
|---|---|
 Crew of the Bathyscaphe Trieste. Rechnitzer is third from the left | |
| Born | November 30, 1924 |
| Died | August 22, 2005 (aged 80) |
| Alma mater |
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| Awards | Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Oceanography |
| Thesis | A serological approach to the systematics of the viviparous sea-perches, family Embiotocidae (1955) |
| Doctoral advisor | Carl Hubbs |
Andreas Buchwald Rechnitzer (November 30, 1924 – August 22, 2005) was an American oceanographer. With Carl Hubbs, he discovered the striped yellow butterfly fish that served as the logo of Birch Aquarium. He helped develop the first SCUBA diving training program for ocean scientists, which included such innovations as ditch-and-don, buddy breathing, and the buddy system. He was a member of the US Navy Office of Naval Research team that negotiated the purchase of the bathyscape Trieste, and was the scientist in charge of Project Nekton in 1960, during which the Trieste entered the Challenger Deep, the deepest surveyed point in the world's oceans. For this he received the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He joined the scientific staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, where he was the Oceanographer of the Navy from 1970 to 1984, and was the Senior Scientist at Science Applications International Corporation from 1985 to 1998.