Join us for lunch with Alfred Scott McLaren, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Ph.D.
Hotel Boulderado, The Corner Bar, 2115 13th St. Boulder, CO
Recently in the news is Captain Alfred Scott McLaren, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Ph.D., Explorers Club President Emeritus, and former chapter chair of the Rocky Mt. chapter. Fred has relocated to Chapel Hill, N.C., but has time to join us for lunch during an upcoming visit to Boulder on July 19.
Fred received his Ph.D. in the Physical Geography of the Polar Regions from the University of Colorado Boulder (1986), an M.Phil. in Polar Studies from Cambridge University (Peterhouse), England (1982), and a M.S. in International Affairs from George Washington University (1968). A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Engineering (1955), the U.S. Naval War College (1968), and the U.S. Navy Major Shore Commanders Course (1978), Captain McLaren was among the first 50 selected by Admiral H.G. Rickover to attend the newly inaugurated Nuclear Power School on 1959.
In 2000 he received The Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Medal for Ocean Exploration and in 2012, The Explorers Club’s highest honor, The Explorers Medal, for “his extraordinary contributions to Arctic exploration and deep-sea research, including the first survey of the entire Siberian Continental Shelf.”
He is also President Emeritus of the 86-year-old American Polar Society, a former National Geographic Global Perspectives lecturer, author, research scientist, and consultant on the role of the Polar Regions in global climate change and on the development of deep-sea submersible technology.
As a naval officer from 1955 to 1981, Captain McLaren made three Arctic expeditions on nuclear attack submarines, one on board the USS Seadragon (SSN-584) during the first submerged transit of the Northwest Passage during the summer of 1960; two others on theUSS Queenfish (SSN-651): a Baffin Bay cruise during the winter of 1967, and a North Pole expedition during the summer of 1970 that included the first and only survey under ice of the entire Siberian Continental Shelf (5,200 km). He commanded the Queenfish during the latter expedition and for a total of four years.
As such, he was recently the go-to expert on submarines and submersibles and provided numerous media with insight on the Titan disaster. After spending a cumulative five years underwater, I’m sure you’ll be interested in his take on what went wrong, and how the disaster will lead to future changes in underwater exploration.
Fred will be accompanied by his wife Avery Russell, MN ’02. No fee. Guests welcome. Just pay for whatever you eat.