George W. Kittredge is the designer of the K-250 and K-350 personal submarines often constructed by home-made enthusiasts. A retired US Navy Captain and author of the book 'I found Israel's Atom Bomb Factory', he founded Kittredge Industries and manufactured personal submersibles in the late 1970's and early 1980's from his home base in the state of Maine. Kittredge is often considered the father of modern day personal submersibles for the home-built enthusiast.

R. Frank Busby worked for the US Navy Oceanographic Office and is most notably known for his book entitled 'Manned Submersibles'. While employed by the US Navy, Busby participated in the Ben Franklin Gulf Stream drift along with five other researchers. In 1969, the Ben Franklin submerged to an average depth of 1,000 feet and drifted with the Gulf Stream from Florida to Nova Scotia, a total of over 1400 miles in 30 days. In the 1980's, Busby founded Busby Associates and performed research for various organizations.

Edwin A. Link designed the first practical flight simulator for the Army Air Corps in the mid-1930's. In the 60's and early 70's, Link turned his attention to underwater archaeology and exploration. In 1971, he designed and built the Johnson Sea-Link at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and is credited for the design of many innovative components used to make research submersibles both practical and safe.

Edward L. Beach was a retired US Navy Captain who performed submarine patrols during World War II and commanded the USS Triton in an 84 day submerged circumnavigation of the world in 1960. Beach authored numerous books the most notable being Run Silent, Run Deep which was subsequently made into a Hollywood movie of the same name starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster.