PETER BENCHLEY, DR. RICHARD PYLE, BOB EVANS AND LEE SELISKY SELECTED FOR 2005 NOGI AWARDS The Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (AUAS) has announced its 2005 Recipients of the NOGI Award: Peter Benchley (Arts) Dr. Richard Pyle (Science), Bob Evans (Sports and Education) and Lee Selisky (Distinguished Service). The NOGI Award was created in the 1950s and it is the oldest and most prestigious award in the diving industry. Over the last five decades, the NOGI has been bestowed on a select cadre of divers who rank at the top of their field in Arts, Science, Sports and Education and Distinguished service. NOGI Recipients are selected by their peers and the roster of NOGI Recipients is a virtual "Who's Who in Diving." The NOGI Awards are administered by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (AUAS). Each NOGI is a large statuette which resembles the Hollywood Oscar statuette, thus earning it the title, "the Academy Award of Diving." The 2005 NOGI Recipients will be presented with their statuettes at the annual NOGI Awards Dinner in Orlando in November, 2006. AUAS President, Hillary Viders, Ph.D., remarked, "the 2005 NOGI Recipients are outstanding individuals who have made major contributions to the world of diving and undersea science. Their selection reflects the high standards upheld by The Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences."

BOB EVANS (Sports and Education)

Photo by: Brent Winebrenner

Bob Evans is Founder and President of Bob Evans Designs, Inc., the corporate entity behind Force Fin. He is a world class photographer, visionary, and noted inventor who has been awarded over 33 patents for his revolutionary fin designs, including fins that use lift as opposed to drag forces to propel a diver, fins that snap to increase diver efficiency and fins that are split. His Tan Delta Force Fin is part of the permanent collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art and along with his Extra Force Fin, is part of the collections of the Costume Institute of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Evans' diving career began in 1964 when he learned to free dive and purchased his first Nikonos. From 1966-73, he was employed by Dive 'N Surf in Redondo Beach, California and was certified by Bob Meistrell, County of Los Angeles Instructor No. 1. In 1967, he was trained as a commercial diver and over the years, he has made over 850 dives documenting life below platforms in Santa Barbara Channel under contracts with Exxon, Shell Oil Company, Atlantic Richfield, Union Oil, Western Oil & Gas, and American Petroleum Institute. As a photographer he is best known for his Channel Islands Collection, which includes images he took on and in the waters surrounding the California Channel Islands. Bob Evans is an original SSI Platinum Pro 5000. He was awarded an Honorary Masters of Science by the Trustees of his alma mater, Brooks Institute of Photography for extraordinary contributions to art, science and photography. Evans' photography has appeared in over 300 publications including Time, Life, and National Geographic. He has published two books, "The Living World of the Reef" and "The Channel Islands Collection." Bob Evans has designed underwater camera housings for time-lapse systems, camera towing systems and a buoy system to carry cameras to preset depths. He was Chief Photographer of the SCCWRPP's study of artificial reefs managed by Willard Bascom and John Isaacs of Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Atlantic Richfield Foundation funded Evans' productions for the Cabrillo Marine Museum. Santa Barbara's Sea Center opened with an exhibit of his photographic work. In the 1980's, Evans received a research grant from Kennedy Foundation to study the feasibility of harvesting and canning mussels from the offshore oil platforms of the Santa Barbara Channel.

Please visit Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (AUAS) Website for the complete press release and to learn more about all NOGI recipients.