Program:  The VKØEK Heard Island DXpedtion Presented by: Bob Schmieder KK6EK DXpedition Organizer and Leader     The 2016 Cordell Expedition to Heard Island was the first activation of this remote island since 1997.  The two-month voyage started in early March in Cape Town, South Africa, spent three weeks at Heard Island, and ended in late April in Fremantle, Western Australia.  The radio operation logged 75,000 QSOs, but the four-year half-million-dollar project involved far more than radio.  The onsite team of 14 also carried out an ambitious investigation of the effects of global warming on this glaciated volcano.  For example, they were the first to enter and document a two-mile-wide lagoon created in the past ten years by the melting of a major glacier.  Together with the offsite support team, the project implemented a large number of innovations, including a live online help desk, the first remote radio operation on a DXpedition, the real-time web radio log display DXA, and live Skype interviews with journalists and schools.  Through the website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Newsletter, and numerous interviews and presentations, this expedition significantly raised the standard for outreach and interactivity with the DXing community. Robert Schmieder, KK6EK, has been organizing and leading scientific expeditions for 35 years.  He is the founder of the nonprofit oceanic research organization Cordell Expeditions, which has to its credit more than 1000 discoveries, including new species, range and depth extensions, and first observations.  Among his notable DXpeditions are 3YØPI, XRØX/Y, VKØIR, XRØZ, K7C, TX5K, and VKØEK.  He is the author of seven expedition books, is honored by four named species, and is listed in the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. Schmieder.com