Hans K. Van Tilburg, Ph.D.

Hans K. Van Tilburg currently serves as the maritime heritage coordinator and unit diving supervisor for NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in the Pacific Island region, supporting survey, assessment, and preservation of underwater cultural resources under federal jurisdiction. Dr. Van Tilburg holds a B.A. in geography from University of California Berkeley, an M.A. in Maritime Archaeology/History from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Hawaii, where he ran the graduate program in Maritime Archaeology and History for six years. Dr. Van Tilburg continues to teach the University of Hawaii's Maritime Archeology Survey Techniques MAST course.

Dr. Van Tilburg has published over 30 articles, chapters and book reviews, as well as two books. He has served as principal investigator for 21 site projects throughout the Hawaiian archipelago, American Samoa and Alaska, including diving, ROV, remote sensing and manned submersible operations. He is the program chair for the annual maritime heritage conference in Hawaii (now in its 24th year) and chair of the Asia Pacific International Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage (APCONF 2014).

Dr. Van Tilburg is also a consultant for UNESCO's cultural heritage program and co-instructor for UNESCO's UCH Foundation courses in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, and co-author of the UNESCO Underwater Cultural Heritage Training Manual. He serves as the NOAA sanctuary system's tribal and indigenous cultural resources liaison for resource protection.