| Phil Nuytten | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, deep-ocean explorer, scientist, inventor |
| Years active | 1955-present |
| Employer | Self |
| Organization | Nyteco Research Ltd. |
| Known for | Newtsuit |
Phil Nuytten (born 1941) is a Canadian entrepreneur, deep-ocean explorer, scientist, inventor of the Newtsuit, and founder of Nuytco Research Ltd.[1][2][3]
He has pioneered designs related to diving equipment,[3] and has worked with NASA for more than 25 years on applications related undersea and space technologies.[2]
Today, his equipment is used by a wide range of organizations, including the National Geographic Society, NASA, and is standard for almost a dozen navies. [3]
Contents |
Nuytten was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is a Métis. He was subsequently formally adopted into the Kwakiutl nation.[3] While still in his teens, he began to design diving gear, and opened the first dive shop in Western Canada.[3]
Nuytten has worked in numerous countries as a commercial diver. In his work for the commercial, scientific, and military industries, he has developed equipment and deep-water diving, and technical diving techniques.[2]
During the 1960s and 1970s, Nuytten was involved in the development of mixed-gas decompression tables. He was part of a team that accomplished the first 600 fsw ocean "bounce" dives on Project Nesco.[2]
In the 1970s, he co-founded of Oceaneering International, Inc., This company became one of the largest underwater skills companies in the world.[2]
In 1983, Dr. Nuytten appeared on the cover of National Geographic Magazine due to his dives into arctic waters to the HMS Breadalbane.[2][4]
Resulting from his contributions to marine diving technologies, Nuytten has appeared in the media numerous times, including: National Geographic Magazine, Time, Newsweek, Popular Science, Discovery, Fortune, Scientific American and Business Week.[2]
For twenty years, Nuytten has been featured in, and worked on the production of films and television programs based on technology he developed, such as:[5]
His Newtsuit is featured in the IMAX movie Flight of the Aquanaut.[6]
Nuytten provided the submersibles and was the senior technical advisor for the film The Abyss. [7]
In 1979, Nuytten started work on the Newtsuit, a one-atmosphere diving suit. The revolutionary new design features fully articulated rotary joints. This patented breakthrough design is now used in many subsequent atmospheric diving suits.[2]
In 2000, Nuytten announced that he is developing a new type ultra lighweight powered exoskeleton called the Exosuit. This new designed is being consider for use as a submarine escape device by the Canadian Department of Defense.[2]