The
CLUE Team
David
VanZandt, Director and Chief Archaeologist
David
is the (Semi-Retired) Senior Principal Engineer for ZIN Technologies,
Inc., specializing
in space
flight hardware for
NASA Glenn Research Center and has more
than forty years of experience designing,
building, testing, and operating fluids and combustion
experiments on the Space Shuttle, sounding rockets, and
International Space Station. He is also the Distinguished Engineer for the consulting firm Holt / Murphy Advisors, Ltd. principaled by CLUE member Lorry Wagner. David
began his diving career in
1995 and currently
holds dive certifications up through trimix
and AIMA/NAS Level
3. He
began searching for and finding shipwrecks off his boat Sea
Dragon in
2001 when he founded
the Cleveland Underwater Explorers
(CLUE). David
graduated from Madison Heights High School in 1972 and Purdue University in 1981 with a Bachelor
of Science in Nuclear Engineering. He is also a graduate
of Flinders University and holds several archaeology
degrees including a Masters of Maritime Archaeology. David
is on the Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA)
and is a member of the Ohio Archaeological Council (OAC),
the
Association of Great Lakes Maritime History (AGLMH),
the Great Lakes Historical
Society (GLHS),
and the
Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA).
He is
also a fellow in The Explorers Club (FN'08).
Tom
Kowalczk, Deputy Director
Tom
is currently retired and an avid shipwreck hunter
off his boat Dragonfly. He is a lifelong
resident
of
Ottawa county Ohio and grew up fishing and diving
in Lake Erie.
Tom
began diving shipwrecks in 1965 and has been researching
Great
Lakes
history ever since. He holds an International certification
of safe
scuba
diving from NASDS and is a past scuba diving instructor.
Active
in
the Great Lakes community, he is a past board member
of The Association of
Great
Lakes Maritime History (AGLMH), a member of
the Great Lakes Historical Society
(GLHS), and Save Ontario’s Shipwrecks
(SOS). Tom is an experienced researcher,
side scan sonar operator,
and
scuba diver.
Jim
Paskert, Director of Archival Research
Jim
is a Production Planner for ZIN Technologies, Inc. He learned
to dive in 1966 and began researching Great Lakes shipwrecks,
ultimately making his first discovery, the steamer Sand Merchant,
in 1969. Jim has been researching and discovering shipwrecks
in the Great Lakes ever since. For over 40 years he has been
involved with locating the majority of the shipwrecks in the
Cleveland, Ohio, area of Lake Erie. An accomplished researcher,
Jim has assembled a massive library on Great
Lakes maritime history.
Specializing in primary sources for his information, his collection
includes data not commonly found in traditional shipwreck research.
His resume includes a long list of diving, shipwreck finds,
and related accomplishments.
Rob
Ruetschle, Research, Remote Sensing, and Diver
Rob is currently Semi-Retired and the former CEO and founder of Assisting Hearts Home Care, of California. He is currently consulting other owners of Home Care Organizations and Assisted Living Communities with recruitment, training, marketing, and how to operate a compassionate, profitable, and compliance-oriented business serving our vastly expanding and sensitive senior communities. He holds
a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and
worked exclusively in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing field
for 25 years before becoming involved in the home health care business. Rob
was raised around the water in the Great Lakes area where he
learned to fish, water ski, and scuba dive in the Great Lakes
with his family, who all are certified divers, and have been
diving since early 1970’s. Soon after that he and his father
became extremely interested in the history of the Great Lakes
and began
researching shipwrecks through the public libraries and museums
around the Great Lakes. After locating several shipwrecks, they
teamed up with Jim Paskert and Bob Tindal and became fully engaged
in researching, locating, and documenting shipwrecks. Rob
is an experienced researcher, side scan sonar operator, and scuba
diver. He currently
searches for and documents shipwrecks from his 32 foot Marinette
Grand Sportsman, Scavenger.
Chris Kraska, Deputy Director of Archaeology
Chris is the son of an Irish mother and Polish Father who met and married in Scotland at the height of WWII. His father was a seaman in the Polish Navy and served aboard the escort destroyer ORP Kujawiak which sank in the Mediterranean during Operation Harpoon in June of 1942 after hitting a mine while escorting a convoy to Malta. Chris was part of the team which located the wreck in 2014 and recovered its bell in 2017. He is a divemaster and has made hundreds of dives in warm waters as well as on Lake Erie and served as the chairman of the board of the Maritime Archaeological Survey Team (MAST) from 2012 until 2018. During which time he was the project manager for the survey of the Brig Sultan, which sank in Lake Erie in 1864. Chris has a BA in political science, an MED in education, a BA in anthropology, and is working on an MA in anthropology. He is a member of the Explorer's Club (MN '18) and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers. He has been involved in searches for World War II bombers in the Mediterranean and a missing World War II submarine in the north Atlantic. Most recently Chris was elected president elect of the Ohio Archaeological Council. Chris has taught public school in Cleveland for over 23 years and lives in Twinsburg with his wife Laurie.
Ken
Marshall, Technical Diver and Surveyor
Ken is a retired Senior Consulting Engineer specializing in forensic engineering conducting root cause investigations and damage analysis. He has over 35 years of experience in the design, fabrication, assembly, operation, and maintenance of custom industrial equipment. Ken graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He also earned a Master in Business Administration from Cleveland State University. Ken is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.). He began his diving career in 1979 eventually becoming a YMCA/SEI O/W Instructor (retired). In addition, he holds certifications in numerous specialties including: gas blending, tri-mix, SCR rebreather, ice and cave. Ken’s interest in shipwrecks expanded in 1999 after taking the GLHS/MAST Nautical Archaeology for Divers Workshop, eventually earning his Underwater Archaeology Instructor certification. Ken is a past chair of the MAST Board of Directors and was a driving force behind the MAST historic shipwreck mooring program. Ken has managed that program since 2005, which provides seasonal dive boat mooring buoys for the protection of shipwrecks in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie's central basin. Ken continues as a member of the Great Lakes Historical Society (GLHS) and the Maritime Archaeological Survey Team (MAST).
Lorry
Wagner, Survey Diver
Dr.
Lorry Wagner, President of Lake Erie Energy Development
Corporation (LEEDCo), has a 35 year history of engineering
and consulting expertise in a wide range of industries
including
electrical, industrial, nuclear, and financial
services. A
pioneer
in
the design and development of proprietary processes
for industry, he
has
been awarded two patents, a trademark, and was
the Purdue
University
Distinguished Engineering Alumnus for 1999. His
current endeavor is developing a pilot off-shore
wind turbine energy generation program in Lake
Erie to develop
green electricity for North East Ohio. Lorry
started
diving in 1976 and holds an Open Water dive certification.
In
his
off time, he coaches swimming for the Solon Stars
USA Swimming
Club.
Kevin
Magee, Survey Diver
Kevin
is the co-founder of CLUE and was
certified for scuba in 1984.
He
moved to the Cleveland,
OH, area in 1993 and discovered
shipwreck
diving in the Great Lakes shortly afterwards.
He
enthusiastically
practices diving shipwrecks in Lake Erie as well as the
other
Great Lakes.
He was trimix certified in 1999 and has visited
many of the pristine deep water wrecks that technical
diving
allows. Kevin has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering and a Masters of Science in Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering. He is a
Senior Mechanical Engineer for
ZIN
Technologies,
Inc., and is a contract engineer at the NASA Glenn Research
Center. Kevin designs, builds, tests, and operates
fluids and combustion experiments for the Space Shuttle,
sounding
rockets, and International Space Station. Kevin is
a member of the Great Lakes Historical Society (GLHS) and
several local scuba clubs. He also maintains his own web
site on diving
Great Lakes shipwrecks.
Cindy
LaRosa, Survey Diver
Cindy
began diving the Great Lakes in the early 1990s and has over
1,000 logged dives and holds numerous dive certifications up
through Advanced Nitrox. She is an Official
Court
Reporter for Cleveland Municipal
Court, which makes her uniquely qualified for recording the oral
histories of Great Lakes maritime history. Cindy is a published
author of an oral history and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Criminal Justice from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Master
of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Justice Administration
from Tiffin University. She
is a Registered Professional Reporter with the National
Court Reporters Association (NCRA), is a Certified Reporting
Instructor, and has taught court reporting theory at a local
college. Cindy is a member of the Great Lakes Historical Society
(GLHS), Maritime Archaeological Survey Team (MAST), and several
local scuba clubs. She regularly assists in the shipwreck survey
work performed by CLUE.
Ken
Kusanke, Survey Diver
Ken is a retired mechanical engineer after a long career in the automotive, aeronautical, and aerospace fields. He holds a Bachelors of Science and Masters
of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Cleveland State University. He has been a certified diver since 1977 and assists CLUE with shipwreck searching and surveying.
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