Rubicon Foundation, Inc. is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

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 includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

has provided

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

services to assist in copyright searches and support. The Rubicon Foundation projects make it easy for recreational divers, aviators, and researchers worldwide to find the answers to questions on

diving medicine Diving medicine, also called undersea and hyperbaric medicine (UHB), is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of conditions caused by humans entering the undersea environment. It includes the effects on the body of pressure on gases, the diag ...

aerospace physiology Aerospace physiology is the study of the effects of high altitudes on the body, such as different pressures and levels of oxygen. At different altitudes the body may react in different ways, provoking more cardiac output, and producing more eryth ...

, and

space medicine Space medicine is the practice of medicine on astronauts in outer space whereas astronautical hygiene is the application of science and technology to the prevention or control of exposure to the hazards that may cause astronaut ill health. Both ...

, as well as historical information. 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 20 ...

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

Rubicon Research Repository

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

hyperbaric Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure ...

and

hypobaric A hypobaric chamber, or altitude chamber, is a chamber used during aerospace or high terrestrial altitude research or training to simulate the effects of high altitude on the human body, especially hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypobaria (low ambien ...

medicine, as well as other environmental

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

topics. 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. Cronin was originally a NAUI instructor who decided to form his ...

symposia and technical reports; many of the

National Underwater Accident Data Center National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

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 the state of Rhode Island ...

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 and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

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 membe ...

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 underwater environment is the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some charac ...

such as: '' Undersea Biomedical Research Journal'' 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 what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'' spanning 1986 to 1992; ''

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal The underwater environment is the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteris ...

'' 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 Medical ...

;

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

; US Navy Experimental Diving Unit; US

Naval Medical Research Institute The Naval Medical Research Center (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, biodef ...

; US

Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The laboratory's mission is to protect the health of American sailors, focused on submarines and scuba diving. It is a su ...

; 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 Developmen ...

and The Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. See als
Rubicon Foundation's suggested reading list
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 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 Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

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 th ...

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 The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

and televised on their show

Mega Movers ''Mega Movers'' is a television program on The 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 mile ...

. 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 to ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. 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 fo ...

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 cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

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

Publications

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

Rubicon Foundation
main web site * * Facebook page fo
Rubicon Foundation
* Twitter accoun
@rubiconfdn
*

GuideStar Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations.Wyland, Michael. "GuideStar Introduces Program Metrics Section for Nonprofit Profile ...

listing for th
Rubicon Foundation
{{Authority control Aviation medicine organizations Diving medicine Diving organizations Diving engineering Non-profit organizations based in North Carolina Organizations based in Durham, North Carolina Discipline-oriented digital libraries Space medicine American digital libraries