Speakers

As an informative and entertaining forum dedicated to the advancement of diving knowledge, presenters at OZTeK'11 will again include many of the world's foremost authorities in their respective fields of diving expertise.

Featuring one of the largest gatherings of diving celebrities ever seen in this region of the world, information on speakers will be regularly added to this section.

Organisations and individuals who are interested in giving presentations at the Conference are invited to contact the organisor at: admin@diveoztek.com.au

        Speakers listed alphabetically by surname

Samir Alhafith

Founder and team leader of the, The Sydney Project - an association of technical divers involved in researching and discovering important historical wrecks in depths between 75 and 135 metres on the NSW south coast of Australia more...

Leigh Bishop

Leigh Bishop is a world-renowned deep shipwreck explorer. His specialist deepwater photography alongside his own research has led to the documentation and discovery of many famous shipwrecks. more...

Dr Stuart Cannon

Stuart first dived on a shipwreck off the Cornish coast soon after his fourteenth birthday with his local BSAC club. His passions for shipwreck diving ultimately lead him to study naval architecture at university, with the primary aim of finding out what he was diving on. more...

John Dalla-Zuanna

John Dalla-Zuanna completed a diving course in 1973 and began Cavediving in that same year after a club trip to Mt. Gambier. more...

Kevin Denlay

Kevin Denlay is a Fellow International of The Explorers Club (New York) and has been involved in deep shipwreck exploration since his 1995 participation in the very first scuba dives on the USS Atlanta more...

Richard Evans

Originally hailing from California and now living in Australia, Richard Evans served in the US Navy during the Vietnam conflict, followed by 12 years as a police officer in Los Angeles. He holds a degree in the Administration of Justice and has been employed by PADI for the past fifteen years.more...

Grant W. Graves

Grant has been freediving since he was six and diving for over 28 years having completed over 5,600 dives. Growing up in Malibu the waters of Southern California were his playground. Grant has a BS degree in marine biology from Long Beach State. more...

Karen Gowlett-Holmes

Born in England in 1959, Karen migrated to Australia with her family in 1965, and lived for many years in Adelaide, South Australia, where she attended school and college, graduating from the University of Adelaide in 1980 with a BSc in botany and zoology more...

Kevin Gurr

Kevin Gurr was the first Technical Diving Instructor outside of the USA and is an IT at all levels. He was the first engineer to develop an EANx dive computer in the late 1980, is the co-author of Proplanner Decompression software more...

Dr Richard Harris

Richard Harris (or Dr Harry as he is better known), is an Adelaide based tech diver and underwater photographer. To pay for this expensive addiction he works as an anaesthetist and hyperbaric physician! more...

Paul Haynes

Paul first learned to dive in a professional capacity during 1990 whilst serving in the UK Royal Marine Commandos and from there quickly developed a passion for the sports side of diving. more...

Jarrod Jablonski

Widely regarded as one of the world's most capable and talented exploration divers, Jarrod Jablonski is an avid explorer, researcher, author, and instructor teaching and diving in oceans and caves around the world. more...

Trevor Jackson

Trevor Jackson is arguably Australias' most experienced dive boat captain. For 13 years he operated the famed Esperance Star out of Brisbane, researching and locating more than a dozen previously unknown shipwrecks. more...

Richie Kohler

Richie Kohler's passion for technical scuba diving and maritime history has led him to explore some of the most challenging and dangerous shipwrecks in the world, including the Andrea Doria and HMHS Britannic. more...

John Lippmann

John Lippmann began diving some 38 years ago and developed an avid interest in diver rescue and first aid, decompression, deeper diving and marine animal injuries. He has been involved in researching, teaching, writing and consulting on safe diving, more...

Jamie Macleod

British diver, Jamie Macleod, a PADI CD, Technical Instructor Trainer and Thai diving veteran, is a passionate deep water explorer and self-confessed wreck ferret. more...

Casey McKinlay

Casey McKinlay is a renowned aquatic explorer with more than 20 years of active research and discovery experience. Casey is currently responsible for directing operations for the Woodville Karst Plain Project (WKPP) more...

Michael Menduno

Responsible for coining the term "technical diving," writer and technologist Michael Menduno founded, published and served as editor-in-chief for aquaCorps: The Journal for Technical Diving (1990-1996), which helped usher tech diving into the mainstream of sports diving. more...

Pete Mesley

Pete's passion for diving started in the cold English waters over 16 years ago. This is where his "Lust for Rust" was created and from then onwards he has dedicated himself to researching more...

Agnes Milowka

It didn't take long for Ag to become hooked on blowing bubbles - after her first underwater breath she thought 'this is what I want to do with my life!!' Indeed since then diving has been at the very centre of her existence. more...

Associate Professor Simon Mitchell

Simon is an anaesthesiologist and diving physician. His diving career has spanned many disciplines including sport, scientific, commercial, and military diving. He remains an avid diver, and uses rebreathers to pursue his interest in deep wrecks and photography. more...

Des Paroz

Des Paroz is a Sydney-based diver, underwater photographer and instructor. His passions in diving include underwater photography, wreck diving, and sharing the underwater world with others. more...

Simon Pridmore

Simon Pridmore is a former Hong Kong Police Officer and Assistant Political Adviser to the Governor of Hong Kong. Over the last 15 years, he has been at the sharp end of the scuba diving scene in Asia more...

Lance Robb

Lance Robb started diving in the early 1970's and has remained an avid diver throughout the years. Like many others, Lance's passion started as a snorkeler and his first SCUBA dive was on a homemade set made of WWII more...

Mark Ryan

After learning to dive in 1986 in Melbourne, Mark became an Instructor in 1995. His technical diving career started in 1990, when as an active club member Mark arranged decompression dives on sites like the Euro & Piggott in Melbourne's Shipwreck Graveyard. more...

Steve Trewavas

Steve Trewavas was spear fishing before he left primary school and began to scuba dive at the age of 15 in the temperate waters of New Zealand. He has been exploring the underwater world ever since. more...

Shane Wasik

Shane Wasik, a Scot currently based in New Zealand, has been diving since 1996 when he joined the British Sub-Aqua Club as a teenager. Progressing through the ranks, he is now qualified as a First Class Diver and Advanced Instructor. more...

Mike Wells

A 19-year veteran of Freediving and an SSI Freediving Instructor Trainer, Mike Wells has literally immersed himself in the oceans of the world over the last 25 years, exploring and engaging in adventures involving every sea creature imaginable. more...

Des Williams

Always fascinated by the sea and maritime history, Des Williams merged his two interests when, in 1968, he took up diving and began to visit - and search for - shipwrecks in Australia and overseas. more...

Andrew Wight

Andrew Wight, an underwater explorer and filmmaker, has produced over 45 films including television documentaries, live television specials and 3D IMAX films. His company, Great Wight Productions, has an international reputation for making award-winning adventure documentary films and television programs. more...