  While the general principles of high-energy neutrino detection have been
understood for many years, the deep, remote geographical locations of suitable
detector sites have challenged the ingenuity of experimentalists, who have
confronted unusual deployment, calibration, and robustness issues. Two high
energy neutrino programs are now operating (Baikal and AMANDA), with the
expectation of ushering in an era of multi-messenger astronomy, and two
Mediterranean programs have made impressive progress. The detectors are
optimized to detect neutrinos with energies of the order of 1-10 TeV, although
they are capable of detecting neutrinos with energies of tens of MeV to greater
than PeV. This paper outlines the interdisciplinary scientific agenda, which
span the fields of astronomy, particle physics, and cosmic ray physics, and
describes ongoing worldwide experimental programs to realize these goals.
