Kevin Juergensen (born 1958) is a filmmaker, diver, and inventor best known for being the founder and CEO of Juergensen Marine. He was one of the first rebreather divers in the modern rebreather era and has logged hundreds of dives using the Mark 16 Rebreather which his company Juergensen Marine makes. He has produced over 27 underwater wildlife documentaries for the Discovery Channel. Juergensen was the President of Pacific Media Associates.
Juergensen is the recipient of the International Wildlife Film Festival lifetime achievement award, and was also selected as one of the Wyland Foundation "Who's Who".
Early life
Juergensen grew up in San Pedro, California, and began diving when he was 16. After graduating from high school, he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology where he received degrees in BioMedical Photography and Film, he attended the Whittier College School of Law.
Career
Juergensen's career in film included working on various series alongside notable figures such as Joseph Campanella, Cliff Robertson, Dan Aykroyd, and Tom Selleck. In 1992, while producing The Practical Guide to the Universe with Selleck, Juergensen purchased the publicly traded company, Vidcom out of bankruptcy. During his time producing underwater wildlife documentaries for The Discovery Channel, he began using Closed Circuit Rebreathers for scuba diving and started designing and building components to enhance and control them. This led him to transition from the film industry to the manufacturing of underwater life support equipment, and in 1996, he founded Juergensen Marine, Inc.
As an inventor, Juergensen holds five US Patents for his innovations in the field. Juergensen Marine, Inc. has achieved success in the civilian dive market and expanded its operations to include Juergensen Defense Corporation in 2003. This subsidiary was responsible for designing and building the Next Generation Underwater Breathing Apparatus (NUBA) for the US Navy and NATO. The company further diversified into mining and aerospace sectors, developing products for monitoring and enhancing life support systems in tactical fixed-wing fighter aircraft and coal mining. Juergensen's accomplishments extend beyond diving and underwater equipment. He co-authored a scientific paper on next-generation spacesuit design, which focused on monitoring and controlling hypoxia and hypercapnia conditions in astronauts. Additionally, he has created groundbreaking rebreather systems such as the US Navy "Mark 16 Mod 2" and the NATO-sold "Viper E" Mine Countermeasure Rebreather.
In 2012, Juergensen received a contract from the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety to develop the Closed Circuit Escape Vest, a next-generation self-rescue device for coal miners. He also presented a white paper to the Office of Naval Research in 2014, leading to a contract with Boeing to produce a prototype Hypoxia Alarm and Mitigation System for fixed-wing tactical fighter aircraft. This system was subsequently tested by the Royal Australian Air Force. Juergensen's contributions to the aerospace industry continued in 2016 when he received a contract from the Royal Australian Air Force to design and build a Multiple Gas Detection System for the F/A-18 Superhornet fighter jet. This system monitors various gases inside the cockpit during flight operations to detect contaminants.