Dominic Landucci is an American professional
aquanaut with the
University of North Carolina Wilmington
The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students eac ...
(UNCW). He served as the Network Analyst at the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
's
Aquarius Reef Base
The Aquarius Reef Base is an underwater habitat located 5.4 miles (9 kilometers) off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is deployed on the ocean floor 62 feet (19 meters) below the surface and next to a deep coral reef nam ...
, the world's only
undersea research laboratory.
Early life and army career
Landucci was born in
St. Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in
Albany, Oregon
Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, jus ...
, graduating from
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in 1986. He subsequently enlisted in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
, where he specialized in
communications
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
. Landucci underwent
basic training
Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...
at
Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training (BCT), and is located within the city of Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army gene ...
. He later served at
Fort Gordon, Georgia and with the
3rd Infantry Division in
Kitzingen
Kitzingen () is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Landucci joined NOAA's
National Undersea Research Center (NURC) in 1993.
Aquarius
Landucci serves as the Network Analyst and Network Administrator at
Aquarius Reef Base
The Aquarius Reef Base is an underwater habitat located 5.4 miles (9 kilometers) off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is deployed on the ocean floor 62 feet (19 meters) below the surface and next to a deep coral reef nam ...
for NURC.
As the person in charge of Aquarius'
computer network
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
, Landucci has introduced improvements in
broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
access for researchers aboard Aquarius.
To that end, Landucci assisted in the attachment of
Orthogon Systems antennas onto an offshore buoy in heavy seas. Landucci commented, "We now have a better learning environment. Without the hassle of inadequate technology to deal with, the scientists conducting experiments within Aquarius, as well as the receivers of data at the land-based office, can focus all their efforts on their mission and the important data being gathered."
He instituted a "
hoot and holler" voice system linking the habitat and the onshore Watch Desk, where safety instruments are monitored during Aquarius missions.
In 2006, when Aquarius received the
InfoWorld
''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...
100 award for innovative use of wireless solutions, Landucci commented, "By using OS-Gemini, we overcame tremendous challenges, such as rough seas, great distances and unpredictable weather, to deploy a reliable connection between our land base and the Aquarius laboratory at the bottom of the ocean."
NURC also received a CIO 100 award for information technology innovation in 2006.
Landucci received a Staff Award of Excellence from UNCW in August 2006.
Landucci has used
webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral ...
s inside and outside Aquarius to transmit live video and audio to classrooms around the United States.
![NEEMO-12-jsc2007e21809](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/NEEMO-12-jsc2007e21809.jpg)
Landucci has taken part as a habitat technician in two of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (
NEEMO
NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three ...
) missions, a series of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
-NOAA missions which use Aquarius as an
analog environment for space exploration. Landucci served as a habitat technician during the following missions:
*
NEEMO 10: July 22–28, 2006
*
NEEMO 12: May 7–18, 2007
During the NEEMO 12 mission, Landucci assisted with the computer technology aspects of a
telesurgery demonstration for the
American Telemedicine Association
The American Telemedicine Association (ATA), established in 1993, is a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology (alternatively referred to a ...
meeting in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
.
References
External links
Dominic's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landucci, Dominic
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American underwater divers
Aquanauts
People from Albany, Oregon
United States Army soldiers
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Professional divers