INA's founder Dr. George Bass pioneered the science of underwater excavation in the 1960s through work at Cape Gelidonya and other ancient shipwreck sites off the coast of Turkey.
Hundreds of archaeologists have received their training at Texas A&M and today, after more than four decades of the Nautical Archaeology Program's existence.
INA's members apply standards of science and art to locating, excavating, recording, preserving, and publishing shipwrecks and other archaeological sites of maritime significance all over the world.
Three-quarters of the earth is covered by water, and in the fabric of human history, the most pervasive thread is our association with the planet's oceans, rivers and lakes.
INA's professional and volunteer members and affiliates have conducted fieldwork in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Americas, and Europe.