Dr. Langley has dedicated much of her career to teaching at the university level, to providing hands on training, and presenting public lectures and demonstrations. In Maryland she has taught at numerous universities, most recently at St. Mary’s College. Her hands on training includes instruction in SCUBA diving as a certified PADI instructor, and training of volunteers in the field on underwater surveys. Much of her outreach is through the avocational group Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society (MAHS) which partners with the state to enlist and train volunteers in technique, safety, and ethics. She has given countless presentations and lectures and many in ASM have attended her frequent demonstrations at the Annual Workshop.
Underwater archeology involves a thicket of federal, state, and local jurisdiction and regulation, but Susan has shown a unique talent in cutting to the chase and forming strong partnerships among sometimes conflicting entities to get things done. In 2019, working with NOAA, Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources and Charles County, she was instrumental in designation of nearly 100 World War I-era vessels and related structures in Mallows Bay-Potomac River as a National Marine Sanctury, the first in more than 20 years.
Dr. Langley has brought national and global recognition to Maryland’s underwater archeology program. She served on the Advisory Council for Underwater Archeology and on the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary’s Advisory Council. In 2015 she was recognized as one of the NOAA Volunteers of the Year. She has lectured at conferences and published in journals with global reach.
Canadian born and educated, she has been alternatively described as an “energy powerhouse” and a “force of nature.” In her spare time she has managed to become an authority on textiles, beekeeping, old mills, and piracy. These pursuits have led to activities as varied as lecturing on international cruise ships to installing and keeping a beehive at the Maryland Governor’s Mansion.
Decades of outstanding accomplishments and dedicated service to Maryland archeology make Dr Susan Langley most deserving of the 2023 William B. Marye Award.