Dr Joseph MacInnis Biography

Dr. Joseph MacInnis was born in 1937 in Ontario, Canada. Long before MacInnis became famous as the first scientist to dive beneath the North Pole, he grew up in the Toronto area, raised by his mother after his father – an airline pilot – was tragically lost in a plane crash when Joseph was still an infant. After learning to scuba dive in the early 1950’s, Joseph MacInnis became an accomplished competitive swimmer before entering medical school in pursuit of his M.D.

During his studies, Joseph MacInnis took a particular interest in diving medicine and deep diving. After graduating, MacInnis was offered a fellowship to study at the University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Christian J. Lambertson; within a few years he had become the medical director of the program, and the work for which he is best known today was under way.

Since that time, Dr. Joseph MacInnis’s accomplishments as a diver and an expert in diving medicine have made him the era’s most notable expert on the subject. He is well-known for his artic research, largely conducted in the 1970’s; in 1974 he became the first scientist to dive beneath the North Pole. By the 1990’s, MacInnis had participated in hundreds of dives and expeditions, including the discovery of the RMS Titanic wreckage in 1985. The expeditions to the Titanic resulted in the film Titanica, an award-winning IMAX feature film. MacInnis also accompanied director James Cameron to the wreckage as part of Cameron’s quest to complete the film Titanic, and the resulting footage became the 3D film, Aliens of the Deep (2004.)

Today, Dr. Joseph MacInnis is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for his work, including the Queen’s Anniversary Medal and six honorary degrees. MacInnis continues to serve as the president of his own consulting company, Undersea Research Ltd. He is also a frequent keynote speaker for many Fortune 500 companies.