Michael Lang was recruited in January 1990 as the Smithsonian Scientific Diving Officer. Concurrently, he has directed the pan-institutional integration and management of the Smithsonian Marine Science Network since 1998. In the Office of the Under Secretary for Science he served as senior staff member to the Smithsonian Science Commission (2001-2003). Lang was employed as a staff biologist at San Diego State University for 8 years prior to his arrival at the Smithsonian. His efforts in diving safety research have produced 13 symposium volumes and workshop proceedings and contributions to the UNESCO Code of Scientific Diving Practice, NOAA Diving Manual, and the Physiology and Medicine of Diving. Lang is a founding member and past-President of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, recipient of the DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year and the UHMS Craig Hoffmann Diving Awards and serves as the National Science Foundation Polar Programs Diving Officer since 2001.