J. RICHARD STEFF'S lifelong interest in ships and seafaring was directed toward nautical archaeology in the mid-1960s. Since then, he has been involved in numerous shipwreck excavation projects in Europe, Asia, and North America. His most recent research has been directed toward ancient and early medieval craft. He was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in 1985 in recognition of his contributions to the field. He was the Sara W. and George O. Yamini Professor of Nautical Archaeology, Emeritus, at Texas A&M University and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology.