Joseph Dituri (born 8 December 1967) is an American biomedical researcher, and former Naval Commander. ^{[1] [2]} Also known as "Dr. Deep Sea"., ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} his research includes life support equipment design, high carbon dioxide environments, hypobaric medicine, and traumatic brain injury. He has made contributions in the field as a researcher, speaker, lecturer, and writer, including Exploration and Mixed Gas Diving Encyclopedia: The Tao of Survival Underwater. ^[7]

In 1967, Dituri was born in Long Island, New York. ^[8] After graduating from Lindenhurst Senior High School, ^[9] he went on to obtain his B.S. in Computer Science at the University of South Carolina in 1995. ^[1] He obtained his M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2006. ^[1] In 2018, he received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of South Florida. ^{[1] [10]}

In 1985, Dituri enlisted in the United States Navy. ^[11] He consistently served aboard naval vessels and at shore stations, engaging in tasks such as hyperbaric system maintenance, saturation diving, search and rescue operations, and ship repair. ^{[1] [11] [12] [13] [10]} In 1995, he was commissioned into the Special Operations Officer pipeline and after serving three diving tours, he became the Engineering Duty Officer. ^[11]

Upon completing his M.S. in 2006, ^[1] he assumed the role of Officer-in-Charge at the Deep Submergence Unit (DSU) Diving Systems Detachment (DSD). ^[11] Under his leadership, DSD certified the 2,000 feet sea water Atmospheric Diving System for deployment across the fleet. ^[11] Following the implementation and initial testing phase, Commander Dituri's team introduced the Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System into Naval service, deploying it on two international engagements. ^[11]

His final position in the United States Navy was in the Research Development and Acquisition Center – Maritime Systems at Special Operations Command. ^[11] He served as the Chief Engineer, Program Manager for Undersea Systems Technical and Certification Program, as well as Deputy Program Manager for Combat Craft. ^[11] After 28 years of active service, Dituri retired in 2013. ^[14]

Dituri is a biomedical researcher in the field of life support equipment design, high carbon dioxide environments, hypobaric medicine, and traumatic brain injury. ^{[1] [2]} During his career, he has been a contributing author, co-author, and author in publications, books, and articles including: Secrets in Depth, ^[15] Hyperbaric Medicine Practice, ^[16] “Over The Counter” Remedy For DCIs, ^[17] My Daddy Wears a Different Kind of Suit to Work, ^[18] and more.

Dituri is a biomedical engineering lecturer at the University of South Florida ^{[5] [1]} and instructor of hyperbaric medicine. He serves as a Director of the International Board of Undersea Medicine (IBUM). ^{[2] [19]}

Dituri spent 100 days living underwater at the Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida. ^[2] During his stay, Dituri earned a spot in the Guinness World Records for the longest time spent living underwater in a fixed habitat. ^{[20] [3] [21] [6]}

Dituri was granted a United States Patent for a device and system he designed during his Ph.D. dissertation on systems and methods for monitoring heart rate variability. ^[22] The processing device monitors heart beat data, and executes a heart rate variability program to detect physiological distress, essential in the prevention of hypercapnia, hyperoxia, and decompressive stress ^[23]

Dituri is a certified pilot of the U.S. Navy ADS2000 (Atmospheric Diving System), also known as the One Atmosphere Suit. ^[24]

Dituri was invited to inspect the Deepsea Challenger that James Cameron piloted to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, at a depth of 10,908 metres (35,787 ft) ^{[10] [25]}