Rubicon Foundation, Inc. is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

devoted to contributing to the interdependent dynamic between research, exploration, science and education. The foundation, started in 2002, is located in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

and is primarily supported by donations and grants. Funding has included the

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

from 2008 to 2010.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm has more than 1,900 attorneys and 1,000 staff in 21 offices across the world, including North America, Europe, ...

has provided

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

services to assist in copyright searches and support. As of 2021, the Rubicon Research Repository is no longer available online.

History

In 2002, divers Brian Armstrong,

Gene Hobbs Eugene Weston Hobbs II, known as Gene Hobbs (born November 28, 1973) is an American technical diver and founding board member of the non-profit Rubicon Foundation. Hobbs has served as medical officer for the Woodville Karst Plain Project since ...

, and James Wagner formed the first board of directors for the Rubicon Foundation.

Rubicon Research Repository

The Rubicon Research Repository (RRR) was the foundation's premier project that started in 2006. The RRR was an online database of environmental physiology reports, including both

hyperbaric Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an increase in barometric pressure of typically air or oxygen is used. The immediate effects include reducing the size of gas emboli and raising the partial pressures of the gases present. Initial ...

and hypobaric medicine, as well as other environmental

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

topics. As of 2021 the Rubicon Research Repository is no longer available online. The RRR contains workshops and annual meeting proceedings from the

American Academy of Underwater Sciences The American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) is a group of scientific organizations and individual members who conduct scientific and educational activities underwater. It was organized in 1977 and incorporated in the State of California in ...

;

Divers Alert Network Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a group of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to improving diving safety for all divers. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina, United States, in 1980 at Duke University providing 24/7 telephonic hot-line div ...

's workshops and Report on

decompression illness Decompression Illness (DCI) comprises two different conditions caused by rapid decompression of the body. These conditions present similar symptoms and require the same initial first aid. Scuba divers are trained to ascend slowly from depth to av ...

, diving fatalities, and Project Dive Exploration publications spanning from 1988 to 2007; some of the Diving Science And Technology Corp/

Professional Association of Diving Instructors The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is a recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson. PADI courses range from entry level to advanced recreational diver ...

symposia and technical reports; many of the National Underwater Accident Data Center at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

diving accident and fatality reports spanning 1970 to 1989; workshops sponsored by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Scientific Diving Program; the

South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society The South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS) is a primary source of information for diving and hyperbaric medicine physiology worldwide. History The SPUMS was founded on May 3, 1971 in the wardroom of HMAS ''Penguin''. The founding mem ...

Journal spanning 1971 to 2005; as well as many theses about diving and hyperbaric medicine. The collection also holds journals, abstracts, and workshops from the

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) is an organization based in the US which supports research on matters of hyperbaric medicine and physiology, and provides a certificate of added qualification for physicians with an unrestricted li ...

such as: ''

Undersea Biomedical Research The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) is an organization based in the US which supports research on matters of hyperbaric medicine and physiology, and provides a certificate of added qualification for physicians with an unrestricted li ...

'' which spans 1974 to 1992; ''

Journal of Hyperbaric Medicine A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

'' spanning 1986 to 1992; ''

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) is an organization based in the US which supports research on matters of hyperbaric medicine and physiology, and provides a certificate of added qualification for physicians with an unrestricted li ...

'' started in 1993 to current was started to combine the previous journal content into one location; Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts starting 1974 to current; as well as many of the scientific workshop proceedings. Also available are technical reports from organizations that include: Defence R&D Canada; US

;

Royal Australian Navy School of Underwater Medicine The Royal Australian Navy School of Underwater Medicine (RANSUM) is an instructor-led training course based at Sydney, Australia. History Before 1961 medical support at the diving section of HMAS ''Watson'' was provided by the District Medica ...

;

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

; US Navy Experimental Diving Unit; US

Naval Medical Research Institute The Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) is an agency that performs basic and applied biomedical research to meet the needs of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Its areas of focus include study of infectious diseases, biod ...

; US

Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. It is a subordinate command of the Naval Medical Research Command. History and overview NSMRL was established during ...

; as well as US

Brooks Air Force Base Brooks Air Force Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio. In 2002, Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Developm ...

and The Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. Other publications they have made electronic that are not currently included in the RRR are some UHMS's ''Underwater Medicine and Related Sciences'' and the ''Hyperbaric Oxygen Review'' journal which was published from 1980 to 1985.

The Rubicon Review

The Rubicon Review was a

Yahoo! Group Yahoo! Groups was a free-to-use system of electronic mailing lists offered by Yahoo!. Prior to February 2020, Yahoo! Groups was one of the world's largest collections of online discussion boards. It allowed members to subscribe to various grou ...

with periodic updates of literature in environmental physiology. The project started in 2007 with the goal of helping researchers stay up-to-date with the most current information however it was ended in 2010 due to technical issues with the Yahoo service.

B-25 Recovery and Preservation Project

The

B-25c Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

bomber was ditched on 4 April 1943 and remained below the surface of

Lake Murray (South Carolina) Lake Murray is a reservoir in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is approximately in size, and has roughly of shoreline. It was impounded in the late 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to the state of South Carolina. Lake Murray is fed by ...

for 60 years. The recovery effort was headed by Dr. Robert Seigler and supervised by Gary Larkins of the Air Pirates. Rubicon Foundation divers participated in the recovery effort in 2005. The project was documented by the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

and televised on their show

Mega Movers ''Mega Movers'' is a television program on History Channel. It first aired on April 18, 2006. The program details the preparations and inside problems and details of large moves, such as historical buildings being relocated to new sites miles awa ...

. The plane is being preserved by the

Southern Museum of Flight The Southern Museum of Flight is a civilian aviation museum Birmingham, Alabama. The facility features nearly 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. This project carried

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

flag number 103.

Project Pink Tank

In 2010, Rubicon started Project Pink Tank with a goal to improve the knowledge available to

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

survivors about their engagement in scuba diving. The methods applied for this project will also affect further diving medical research.

Publications

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References

{{Authority control Aviation medicine organizations Underwater diving medicine organizations Non-profit organizations based in North Carolina Organizations based in Durham, North Carolina Discipline-oriented digital libraries Space medicine American digital libraries