The LAMP Team

Chuck Meide, LAMP Director

Chuck Meide came to LAMP in March 2006. He was born and raised in the coastal town of Atlantic Beach, Florida, in Duval County north of St. Augustine. He attended Florida State University, receiving both Bachelor's (1993) and Master's (2001) degrees in Anthropology, with a focus on Underwater Archaeology. At FSU, Chuck had the opportunity to participate in and supervise a wide variety of maritime archaeological projects, including investigations of submerged prehistoric hunting and occupation sites and the wrecks of 16th- and 17th-century Spanish galleons, a 1622 Spanish patache or dispatch vessel, a Confederate ironclad and Union supply ships, the earliest Western river steamboat excavated by archaeologists, and La Salle's ship La Belle lost in 1686. He has worked on maritime archaeological sites throughout Florida and also in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Vermont, Bermuda, a number of Caribbean islands, and Ireland. He is currently completing his PhD research through the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Chuck is also an active NAUI scuba instructor, and taught basic and scientific diving courses at the FSU Academic Diving Program from 1992 to 2000.

Sam Turner, Director of Archaeology

Dr. Turner also started at LAMP in March 2006. He traveled extensively in South America with his family as a child and spent many years living in both Argentina and Puerto Rico where he became fluent in Spanish. He received a BA in History as a Social Science from Antioch College where he began to acquire his specialized knowledge of the early Spanish Colonial period in the New World. He did his MA in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University and received his Ph.D. in Spanish and Spanish American Studies from King’s College of the University of London in 1999. Dr. Turner has worked on shipwrecks and terrestrial maritime sites in the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. He also conducts extensive research in numerous archives and repositories in Europe and the United States working with both English and Spanish documents.

Brendan Burke, Archaeologist and Logistical Coordinator

Brendan has been at LAMP since July 2007. Originally from Amelia County in Virginia, Brendan earned a BA in Anthropology/History from Longwood University in 2003 and his MA in Historic Archaeology from the College of William and Mary. His thesis work focused on 17th century Anglo-Powhatan trade within the early colonial frontier. During his graduate work Brendan participated in the Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study, a project that searched for and discovered lost escaped slave settlements from the 1680-1865 period. In the summer of 2006, after completing his MA, Mr. Burke moved to Wyoming and Utah to work in compliance archaeology. His maritime and diving experience includes participation in the 2004 Achill Island Martime Archaeological Project in County Mayo, Ireland, and a 2005 survey of 17th century ballast piles in the eastern Chesapeake Bay. From 2007-2009 Brendan served as the Logistical Coordinator for LAMP's First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project, a $281,000 research project funded by the state of Florida. He has many research interests, including steam technology, side scan sonor data analysis and interpretation, and the local abd regional history of shrimp boat building. Brenan is licensed captain and is responsible for maintaining our research vessel fleet in addition to his role as a research archaeologist.

Kathleen McCormick, Director of Collections

Kathleen McCormick is a native of Detroit, Michigan, where she received a B.A. in Fine Arts from Wayne State University. For twelve years she was employed in the Conservation Department at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, where she worked with a wide variety of material culture ranging from jewelry to steam engines. She has also served as the Conservator and Artist in Residence at the historic McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan. In addition to her conservation duties, she also developed educational programs for the Detroit Science Center, Detroit Institute of Arts, and other such institutions. In the fall of 2004 Kathleen started her career at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum as a volunteer, but was soon hired full-time to supervise all of the curation and conservation activities at LAMP and the Lighthouse.

Robin Moore, Research Associate

Robin Moore currently serves as the archaeologist and Historic Resource Specialist for St. Johns County. Before that he worked as a full-time maritime archaeologist for LAMP and as curator for the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum. He regularly performs field and archival research in conjunction with LAMP archaeologists and serves on LAMP's Diving Control Board. Robin grew up in Pensacola, Florida, and received a Master's degree there from the University of West Florida. His research has focused on coastal societies across North Florida including excavations of an 18th century Spanish presidio and a prehistoric Ft. Walton, coastal village; as well as numerous shipwrecks dating from the 18th to early 20th centuries. In addition to four years of intensive research in the maritime archaeology of the Northeast Florida region, Robin has a wide range of experience working on shipwrecks and coastal archaeological sites in the Caribbean, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, and along both coasts of Florida. He also has over twenty years of experience in diving and boat operation.

Dr. David Switzer. Research Associate

A true pioneer in the field of nautical archaeology, Dave Switzer earned his BA in history from the University of Maine and his MA and PhD degrees in history from the University of Connecticut. He retired from Plymouth State University in 2004 after a thirty-nine year career, and still teaches history classes there as Professor Emeritus. Since 1980 he has served as the Consulting Nautical Archaeologist for the State of New Hampshire. Over the years he has directed a number of nautical and maritime archaeological projects including the excavation of the Revolutionary War privateer Defence and that of a 17th century shallop-type vessel. Since 2006, Dr. Switzer has become our most frequent visiting scholar, presenting over a dozen lectures and participating in LAMP field research

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