What Research Resources and Training Does UASC Offer?

The Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago (UASC) offers a mix of online research links, archival material, public presentations, and a formal training program. Most resources are accessible through the site's navigation without a login; the main exception is meeting registration, which requires signing up through a Zoom registration link. The training program is listed under Projects as "(NAS) Training," and the research resources are grouped under "Research Resources."

Research Resources

UASC maintains a curated set of external links and internal archives useful for anyone studying Great Lakes shipwrecks, maritime history, or family connections to lake vessels.

External Research Links

The "Research Resources" section organizes links into these categories:

• Ships and Shipwrecks — starting points for vessel histories and wreck data
• Great Lakes History and Genealogy — for tracing people, crews, and families tied to the lakes
• Historical Societies — regional organizations that hold primary records

These are pointers to outside sources rather than UASC-hosted databases, so expect to leave the site when following them.

Internal Archives and Image Galleries

UASC hosts its own historical material on-site:

• Meeting Minutes — an archive running from 2007 through 2019, useful for tracking what the society discussed, presented, and worked on over more than a decade
• Image Gallery — includes a Door County 2010 collection with dated photo sets (August 6th through 9th)
• Past Speakers — a roster that includes Brendon Baillod, Fred Neuschel, and Dr. Anna Roosevelt, indicating the range of topics covered at meetings
• Past Projects — including The Buccaneer (with Dexter/Buccaneer photos), Tym-Barge, and Adopt-A-Shipwreck

The meeting minutes are the most substantial text archive for someone researching the society's own history or past wreck work.

Training Programs

NAS Training

The site lists "(NAS) Training" under Projects. NAS refers to the Nautical Archaeology Society, a UK-based organization with an internationally recognized training scheme in underwater archaeology. UASC's listing indicates it serves as a local pathway into that training, though the site excerpt does not detail course levels, fees, or schedules.

If you want to pursue formal underwater archaeology training rather than just attend lectures, this is the section to check first, and you would likely need to contact UASC directly through the "Project Contact Information" link for current details.

Workshops

The site references a "Research and Discovery of Great Lakes Shipwrecks Workshop" in its past events. This suggests UASC has run hands-on workshop programming, though the excerpt does not confirm whether it recurs.

Public Presentations and Meetings

UASC's regular meetings function as its most accessible educational offering. The format is consistent:

The September 2026 meeting is Zoom only and features Chris Kraska presenting "The Loss of the Clough: Exploration, Discovery, and an Unexpected Tragedy." Registration is required via a Zoom link on the site.

Past presentation topics, judging from the speaker list and project names, have covered individual wreck discoveries, Great Lakes maritime history, and archaeological method. The "Underwater Detectives" program appears in the site structure as an outreach or educational activity, with a Knox Indiana Library event listed.

Projects You Can Follow or Join

UASC's project pages double as research resources because they document methodology and findings:

• 12th Street Beach Wreck
• Car Ferry No. 2
• Flora Hill
• Material Service Barge
• Sidescan Survey
• Silver Spray
• Solon H. Johnson

Several of these include photo documentation (beach photos, underwater photos) and contact information for the project lead. If you want to volunteer on a survey or wreck documentation effort, the individual project contact pages are the entry point.

What to Check First

• For genealogy or vessel history: start with the external links under Research Resources, then cross-reference UASC's meeting minutes for local context.
• For formal training: look at the NAS Training page and use the project contact link to ask about current course availability.
• For general learning: attend a monthly meeting — the featured presentation is open to the public via Zoom registration.
• For volunteering: browse Current Projects and use the listed project contact information.

The site does not publish fees for training or membership on the pages shown, so treat cost and eligibility as things to confirm directly with UASC rather than assume.