Hannes Keller
Encyclopedia
Hannes Keller is a Swiss physicist, mathematician, deep diving
pioneer, and entrepreneur. In 1962, he reached a depth of 1000 feet in open ocean.
In the 1970s through the 1980s, Keller made himself a name as an entrepreneur in the IT
industry. Keller is also an amateur classical pianist
who produced two CD
s and occasionally performed for audiences of up to 2000 people.
Keller studied philosophy
, mathematics
, and theoretical physics
at the University of Zurich
. He became interested in deep diving and developed tables for mixed-gas decompression, supported by Albert A. Bühlmann
who suggested suitable gases. Keller successfully tested his idea in Lake Zurich
, where he reached a depth of 400 feet, and Lake Maggiore
, where he reached a depth of 728 feet. In 1962, he set a new world record when he reached a depth of 1000 feet off the coast of California
, together with Peter Small. This major achievement was overshadowed by the tragic end of the mission: Keller was lucky to survive while Peter Small and Chris Whittaker, a young UCLA student and supporting diver, lost their lives.
In the following years, navies
and hospitals bought decompression chambers constructed by Keller.
s in Switzerland. He developed a series of software products (Witchpen, Ways for Windows, and Wizardmaker) which provided automatic spell checking
, literal machine translation
, and macro recording.
He now runs Visipix the largest Fine Art and Photo Museum online with 1.3 million exhibits, all with Free Copyrights for any use.
Since 2005, Keller has been a full-time artist.
In 2009, Keller joined the advisory board for the United States Historical Diving Society
.
Deep diving
The meaning of the term deep diving is a form of technical diving. It is defined by the level of the diver's diver training, diving equipment, breathing gas, and surface support:...
pioneer, and entrepreneur. In 1962, he reached a depth of 1000 feet in open ocean.
In the 1970s through the 1980s, Keller made himself a name as an entrepreneur in the IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
industry. Keller is also an amateur classical pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
who produced two CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s and occasionally performed for audiences of up to 2000 people.
Deep diving
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, and theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
at the University of Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
. He became interested in deep diving and developed tables for mixed-gas decompression, supported by Albert A. Bühlmann
Albert A. Bühlmann
Professor Albert A. Bühlmann was a Swiss physician who was principally responsible for a number of important contributions to decompression science at the Laboratory of Hyperbaric Physiology at the University Hospital in Zürich, Switzerland. His impact on diving ranged from complex commercial and...
who suggested suitable gases. Keller successfully tested his idea in Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. It lies approximately at co-ordinates ....
, where he reached a depth of 400 feet, and Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
, where he reached a depth of 728 feet. In 1962, he set a new world record when he reached a depth of 1000 feet off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, together with Peter Small. This major achievement was overshadowed by the tragic end of the mission: Keller was lucky to survive while Peter Small and Chris Whittaker, a young UCLA student and supporting diver, lost their lives.
In the following years, navies
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
and hospitals bought decompression chambers constructed by Keller.
Career after diving
In the 1970s, Keller sold his own line of computers and in the 1980s became a leading vendor of IBM PCIBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
s in Switzerland. He developed a series of software products (Witchpen, Ways for Windows, and Wizardmaker) which provided automatic spell checking
Spell checker
In computing, a spell checker is an application program that flags words in a document that may not be spelled correctly. Spell checkers may be stand-alone capable of operating on a block of text, or as part of a larger application, such as a word processor, email client, electronic dictionary,...
, literal machine translation
Machine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
, and macro recording.
He now runs Visipix the largest Fine Art and Photo Museum online with 1.3 million exhibits, all with Free Copyrights for any use.
Since 2005, Keller has been a full-time artist.
In 2009, Keller joined the advisory board for the United States Historical Diving Society
Historical Diving Society
The Historical Diving Society was formed in 1990 in the United Kingdom by a group of enthusiasts whose aim is to preserve and protect diving heritage. The Society has since grown into an international organisation with affiliated national societies across the world...
.