Peter B. Bennett (12 June 1931 – 9 August 2022)[1] was the founder and a president andCEO of theDivers Alert Network (DAN), a non-profit organization devoted to assistingscuba divers in need.[2] He was a professor ofanesthesiology atDuke University Medical Center, and was the Senior Director of the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology at Duke. Bennett is recognized as a leading authority on the effects of high pressure on human physiology.
Bennett was born inPortsmouth,Hampshire, England.[3] He was employed at the Royal Naval Physiology Laboratory near Portsmouth for 20 years, beginning in 1953. During this time, he formed and headed the Defence and Civil Institute for Environmental Medicine inCanada.[4]
Bennett is credited with the invention oftrimix breathing gas.[citation needed] In 1981, at Duke University Medical Center, he conducted an experiment called Atlantis III lasting 43 days, which involved compressing divers to an equivalent depth of 2,250 feet (690 m), and slowly decompressing them to surface pressure, setting a world record in the process.[7][8] In 45 years, Bennett published over 200 scientific papers and six books.[3][4]
Dr. Bennett received the 2002 Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) Reaching Out Award for his contribution to the diving industry, and theErnst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2002 award for contributions to business in the life sciences. He stepped down as President of the Divers Alert Network of America on 30 June 2003, after 23 years at the helm.[9] Bennett was pressured by board members to step down, in reaction to alleged improprieties in his handling of the organization's finances.[10][11]
From 2004 to 2007, Bennett served as Executive Director of the International Divers Alert Network.[12]
^Bennett, PB (2008).To the Very Depths: A Memoir of Professor Peter B Bennett, Ph.D. Best Publishing Company. pp. 229 pages.ISBN978-1-930536-47-0.
^abBennett, Peter B (2007)."Appendix: Curriculum Vitae".In: Moon RE, Piantadosi CA, Camporesi EM (Eds.). Dr. Peter Bennett Symposium Proceedings. Held May 1, 2004. Durham, N.C. Divers Alert Network. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved15 January 2011.
^abBrubakk, A. O.; T. S. Neuman (2003).Bennett and Elliott's physiology and medicine of diving, 5th Rev ed. United States: Saunders Ltd. p. 800.ISBN0-7020-2571-2.
^Bennett, P. B. (1965). "Psychometric impairment in men breathing oxygen-helium at increased pressures".Royal Navy Personnel Research Committee, Underwater Physiology Subcommittee Report No. 251. London.
^Camporesi, Enrico M (2007)."The Atlantis Series and Other Deep Dives".In: Moon RE, Piantadosi CA, Camporesi EM (Eds.). Dr. Peter Bennett Symposium Proceedings. Held May 1, 2004. Durham, N.C. Divers Alert Network. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved15 January 2011.
^Vann, Richard D (2007)."The History of Divers Alert Network (DAN) and DAN Research".In: Moon RE, Piantadosi CA, Camporesi EM (Eds.). Dr. Peter Bennett Symposium Proceedings. Held May 1, 2004. Durham, N.C. Divers Alert Network. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved15 January 2011.
