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By Ashley R. Williams, CNN<\/p>\n
(CNN) \u2014 A Florida associate professor has completed his research mission and set a new world record in the process: living 100 days under the ocean’s surface.<\/p>\n
On Friday morning, Dr. Joseph Dituri felt the sun’s rays for the first time since retreating to an underwater compound 22 feet below the waters off Key Largo, Fla., on March 1.<\/p>\n
Dituri, 55, a biomedical engineer who teaches at the University of South Florida and calls himself “Dr. Deep Sea,” spent just over three months at the bottom of the emerald lagoon Jules’ underwater lodge<\/a>the only underwater hotel in the United States, according to the hotel’s website.<\/p>\n The research project, Project Neptune 100, was organized by the Key Largo-based Marine Resources Development Foundation and focused on ocean conservation research and the study of how compression affects the body human according to the Dituri website.<\/a><\/p>\n The US Navy veteran said he has already noticed an impact: The water pressure appears to have reduced his height by half an inch. Dituri was 6 feet 1 inch tall before he began his mission, the University of South Florida said. in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n The scientist began the project with the hypothesis that increased pressure could help humans live longer and prevent age-related diseases, according to the press release. Dituri said he hopes his underwater research will benefit the treatment of various diseases, including traumatic brain injuries, according to the statement.<\/p>\n Dituri also used the project as an educational experience for young people. <\/p>\n “We intend and have engaged with thousands of school children to get them interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Dituri said. Guinness World Records<\/a> on June 8<\/p>\n While underwater, he continued to teach his college students virtually, according to the University of South Florida.<\/p>\n Dituri broke the Guinness World Record for the longest time he lived underwater in the 74 days of his project, on May 13<\/a>.<\/p>\n The previous record stood at 73 days, two hours and 34 minutes, set at the same location in Dituri’s successful attempt, according to Guinness World Records<\/a>. <\/p>\n Friends, family, supporters on his 100-day journey and a medical team greeted Dituri on Friday when he broke the surface of the water after 14 weeks below, said a press release from the University of Southern Florida.<\/p>\n “The human body has never been underwater for so long,” Dituri said in the press release. “This experience has changed me in an important way, and my greatest hope is to have inspired a new generation of explorers and researchers to push all boundaries.”<\/p>\n The-CNN-Wire
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