Dr. Johan Reinhard is currently an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at The Mountain Institute, West Virginia, a Visiting Professor at Catholic University, Salta, Argentina, and an Honorary Professor of Catholic University, Arequipa, Peru. He grew up in New Lenox, Illinois and did his undergraduate studies in anthropology at the University of Arizona, before going on to receive his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Vienna, Austria (1974). Much of Dr. Reinhard's current research focuses on the sacred beliefs and cultural practices of mountain peoples, especially in the Andes and the Himalayas.

 Dr. Reinhard has conducted anthropological field research since 1980 in the Andean countries of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador. His investigations have led him to present new theories to explain the mystery of prehispanic ceremonial sites on mountain summits up to 6,739m (22,109'), the Nazca Lines (giant desert drawings), and the ancient ceremonial centers of Machu Picchu, Chavin, and Tiahuanaco. During 1989-92 he directed the first Andean underwater archaeological research project (in Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake). While making more than 100 ascents over 5,200m (ca. 17,000'), expeditions he led discovered more than 40 high altitude Inca ritual sites. During his research in the Andes, he directed teams which recovered four Inca human sacrifices on Ampato (6,312m/20,708'). One of these, the Inca Ice Maiden, was chosen by Time Magazine as one of "the world's ten most important scientific discoveries" of 1995. His expeditions in the Andes during 1996-1999 led to the discovery of fourteen more Inca human sacrifices on five mountains above 5,500m (ca.18,000'). He directed the recovery of three perfectly preserved mummies at 6,739m/22,109' on Llullaillaco, the world's highest archaeological site. This discovery was chosen by Popular Science for their list of The Best of 1999 and Time Magazine selected it as one of "the world's ten most important scientific discoveries" of 1999, making Dr. Reinhard one of the few scientists to have had his work chosen twice for this distinction.

 Dr. Reinhard has lived more than ten years in the Himalayas, undertaking anthropological research primarily in Nepal, but also in Tibet, Bhutan, and India (Garwhal and Sikkim). His studies include those of shamanism (traditional religious practitioners), of the role of sacred mountains in Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism, of the sacred "hidden lands" of Tibetan Buddhism (six of which he has explored), and of one of the world's last nomadic hunting and gathering tribes (in western Nepal). Elsewhere in Asia he has studied Muslim camel herders in Rajasthan and Muslim fishermen in the Maldive Islands (Indian Ocean). While in Nepal, he directed Peace Corps Training Projects, was a member of the successful 1976 American Everest Expedition, and was a member of teams that made some of the first rafting descents of Himalayan rivers.

 While living in Austria, Dr. Reinhard participated in the first underwater archaeological research conducted there (a Neolithic Copper Age site at Mondsee) and was also a member of teams which undertook nautical archaeological research of Roman shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy and of an Iron Age Villanovan village in an Italian lake (Lago di Bolsena). He has served as a cinematographer for the BBC, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Scientific Film Institute of Germany, and his research has been featured in several TV documentaries, including National Geographic Explorer TV, BBC, NOVA, PBS, and Discovery. In the 1980's he served as a lecturer on cruise ships traveling in the Caribbean, along the Pacific coast of South America, and to Antarctica, Galapagos, and Easter Island. He speaks Spanish, Nepali, German, and Raji, a tribal language of Nepal, and found and analyzed Kusunda, one of the world's rarest languages.

 Dr. Reinhard has over seventy publications, including five books, and is a member of several organizations, including the American Anthropological Association, the Institute of Andean Studies, the Explorers Club, the American Alpine Club, and the Royal Geographical Society. He is Honorary Director of the Institute for Mountain Research of Catholic University, Salta, Argentina. He is a recipient of the 1987 Rolex Award for Enterprise in the field of exploration for his Andean research. Dr. Reinhard was a principal contributor for a book on high altitude archaeology called "one of the most important mountaineering books of the century" in the American Alpine Journal. In 1992 he received the Puma de Oro, Bolivia's highest award in the field of archaeology, and in 1996 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the city of Arequipa for his archaeological research in southern Peru. The Junior Library Guild selected his book for school children on his discovery of the Ice Maiden as an Outstanding Book in 1998. In 1997 he was twice noted in the Guinness Book of Records. His article for National Geographic Magazine about the Llullaillaco discoveries was chosen number one in the 1999 readers poll and was the highest scoring article in the archaeology/anthropology category for the previous five years. In 2000 he was selected by Outside Magazine as one of "today's 25 most extraordinary adventurers, outdoor athletes, and explorers." In 2002 his finds of the frozen Inca mummies were highlighted by Time in their book Great Discoveries about the world's most important finds in all fields of science. In 2001 the Ford Motor Company chose him as one of twelve Heroes for the Planet, and in 2002 he was awarded the Explorers Medal of the Explorers Club of New York.