AIAC CHAIRMAN HONORS OCEAN EXPLORER DR. SYLVIA EARLE AT THE UNITED NATIONS
For Immediate Release
June 1, 2025 - New York, NY At an ceremonial evening program and reception held at the United Nations, AIAC Chairman and Explorers Club Trustee and Poet Laureate L. M. Levie celebrated world renowned oceanographer and conservationist, Dr. Sylvia Earle. This event commemorated Oceans Week at the Explorers Club, the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, and Dr. Earle’s birthday. Over two hundred invited dignitaries from the diplomatic community along with Directors, Officers, Members and Fellows of the Explorers Club and from Mission Blue, Dr. Earle’s foundation, attended.
The event was held in the UN’s main lobby and hall adjacent to the General Assembly. The program was hosted by Ted Janulis, President Emeritus of the Explorers Club, and Board Member of Gannett Corporation, the largest newspaper company in the US, and the Duke University School of the Environment.
Mr. Levie recited the following poem:
Following the recital, Dr. Earle, addressed the guests, expressing her sincere appreciation and her passion to protect the oceans.
Mr. Levie commented, “As a Trustee of The Explorers Club, I was privileged take part in this ceremony at the United Nations to recognize Dr. Sylvia Earle. I chose to do so in verse, because poetry, like the ocean itself, speaks to the depths of the human soul. For over five decades, Sylvia has not explored our oceans—she has been their most eloquent voice, their most passionate defender, and their most dedicated guardian. Her groundbreaking research and fearless advocacy have opened our eyes to the magnificent underwater world that sustains all life on Earth, while her unwavering commitment to conservation has inspired countless souls to join the fight for our blue planet's future. She is truly an international treasure.”
AIAC and its affiliates, SuperAlloy Manufacturing Solutions, Bradford Space, Champlain Cable, and Canadian Kraft Paper Industries are Partners of the Explorers Club and Sponsors of the Explorers Club Annual Dinner, World Oceans Week, and Climate Week.
About Dr. Sylvia Earle
Sylvia Earle is one of the world's most renowned marine biologists and oceanographers, often called "Her Deepness" or "The Ocean's Living Treasure." Born in 1935 in New Jersey, she developed a passion for the ocean early in life and has dedicated her career to exploring and protecting marine environments.
Earle earned her PhD in phycology (the study of algae) from Duke University in 1966. She's been a pioneering deep-sea explorer, setting numerous records including the deepest solo dive by a woman in 1979 when she walked untethered on the ocean floor at a depth of 1,250 feet in a specialized diving suit called Jim.
Her scientific contributions are extensive - she's authored over 200 publications and led more than 100 expeditions. She served as chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1990-1992, becoming the first woman to hold this position.
Earle founded Mission Blue in 2009, a foundation dedicated to protecting critical ocean habitats she calls "Hope Spots." These are areas that deserve special protection because of their wildlife significance and ability to give the ocean a chance to recover. She's also been a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence since 1998.
Her advocacy work focuses on ocean conservation and raising awareness about the threats facing marine ecosystems, including pollution, overfishing, and climate change. She's received numerous awards including the TED Prize in 2009, which she used to launch her "blue miracle" campaign to create a global network of marine protected areas.
At nearly 90 years old, Earle continues to dive and remains an active voice in ocean conservation, inspiring new generations of marine scientists and environmentalists.
About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing and distribution sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia-New Zealand. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, Ahlstrom, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, food, confectionary, beverage, civil engineering and infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, education, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial and consumer products and serve as critical suppliers for the construction of major airports, schools, hospitals, performing arts and sports centers, offices and hotels throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a leading manufacturer of building, street, and highway signage in Europe, signage and illumination structures in North America, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, the European Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler-Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC controls and sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary. AIAC affiliate, Metallwarenfabrik Gemmingen GmbH, located in Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes high performance, emergency portable power generators utilized in global conflict zones and during natural disasters.
About AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, and exploration. The exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which they actively support include the Explorers Club, the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
AIAC and its affiliates, SuperAlloy Manufacturing Solutions, Bradford Space, Champlain Cable, and Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, are Partners of the Explorers Club, and sponsor the Explorers Club Annual Dinner. AIAC Chairman L. M. Levie serves as Trustee and Poet Laureate of the Explorers Club.
In 2024, AIAC Companies proudly served as a corporate sponsor of Hubert Sagniere’s historic circumnavigation of the earth in a single engine plane (www.flightaroundtheglobe.com).
AIAC’s other beneficiaries include the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc., the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Gates Philanthropy Partners, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institut Française des Relations Internationales, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Crisis Group, the International Rescue Committee, the Japan Society, the JFK School of Government of Harvard University, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the Sierra Club, and the Trilateral Commission.
For further information, see:
https://www.aiac.com/our-values
About the Explorers Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based, international, multidisciplinary professional society with the mission of promoting and supporting scientific exploration and field study on land, sea, and space. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for explorers and scientists worldwide. Members of the club have been the first to explore the North Pole, South Pole, Mount Everest, the Mariana Trench, and to walk on the Moon.
The club's notable current members or honorees include Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Richard Branson, James Cameron, Ray Dalio, Wendy Schmidt, and Jane Goodall. In years past, prominent members have included President Theodore Roosevelt, Sir Edmund Hillary, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Thor Heyerdahl, Walter Cronkite, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
The Explorers Club’s historic clubhouse, at 46 East 70th Street in New York City, is a museum and monument to the “Famous Firsts,” the greatest explorers and expeditions of all time.
For further information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_explorers_club
Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
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icarro-toro@aiac.com