On the morning of June 27, SHOU awarded Kevin Hardy an honorary doctorate. At 2018 Postgraduate Graduation Ceremony and Degree-Awarding Ceremony, President Cheng Yudong declared the decision of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council on granting an honorary doctorate to Kevin Hardy and awarded him a certificate of honorary doctorate. Therefore, Kevin Hardy became the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from SHOU.
Kevin Hardy, the founder of the US Global Marine Design Company, has successfully developed the first full sea depth lander in the United States and published important research results. His experience and knowledge in deep sea are an important guidance for the construction of our abyss center.
Kevin Hardy said at the awarding ceremony that he was inspired by marine explorers in his early age and devoted himself to exploring the deepest part of the ocean for a lifetime. He was grateful to SHOU for the recognition of his work, hoping that in the future, he could continue to cooperate with SHOU to explore the deepest part of the Earth's ocean.
In 2017, the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council agreed to grant the honorary doctorate to Kevin Hardy, the founder of the US Global Ocean Design Company as recommended by Mr. Cui Weicheng, the director of the Abyss Science and Technology Research Center of SHOU, and the first batch of Changjiang Scholar Award Program in China, Fang Jiasong, the deputy director of the Abyss Science and Technology Research Center of SHOU, Chen Duofu, dean of College of Marine Ecology and Environment, and the winner of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and others.
On the afternoon of June 27, Kevin Hardy gave a lecture entitled 'Unfathomable: A Quest for the Deepest Ocean Depths' at the Tuwen Center. In this lecture, he presented to the audience the history of human exploration into the deepest part of the ocean, especially his personal experience. In October 2011, he was recruited by James Cameron into the Deep Sea Challenge Exploration Team, using a manned submersible and two unmanned landers to penetrate into the 'Challenger Abyss' of the Mariana Trench. He is the chief designer of these two unmanned landers, and his lander has been successfully grounded to the Kemadak, Tonga, Aleutian, Puerto Rico, Mariana, New Britain and Peru-Chile trenches.
As reported that Kevin Hardy enjoys a high reputation in the field of marine technology. He was the head of the marine equipment R&D department of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The leading position of the institute in marine scientific research is inseparable from lots of advanced testing equipment he has ever developed. In the Cameron Challenge Abyss Extreme Project, he was invited to be the head of the development project of two full sea depth landers, successfully developed the first full sea depth lander in the United States, and photographed many organisms in the New Britain Trench and Mariana Trench. The research results were published in the world-renowned magazineDEEP Sea Research I.Kevin Hardy is one of the important organizers of academic activities of the American Ocean Technology Association.