All across the world, 1998 will be celebrated as the international year of the oceans. There is one nonprofit organization recognized globally as a leader in understanding the earth's inner space. It is the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). In a dramatic and exhilarating hour-long special, The Visionaries set out to discover what it is about this institution that sets it apart from other oceanographic research facilities. The episode opens in Woods Hole with a revealing look at the unique culture that makes it possible for mechanics to work alongside the top scientists in the world to invent the instruments that unlock the mysteries of the sea.
