{"id":8574,"date":"2023-03-27T12:34:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T16:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/?p=8574"},"modified":"2023-04-07T16:42:05","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T20:42:05","slug":"making-it-hum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/issues\/spring-2023\/making-it-hum\/","title":{"rendered":"Making It Hum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Perry<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Perry Raso ’02, M.S. ’06, harvests oysters from Potter Pond at Matunuck Oyster Farm. Photo: Nora Lewis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ocean-based blue economy is the lifeblood of Rhode Island\u2014and powered by 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Michael Blanding <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A light rain spits from the sky and the smell of salt fills the air as Perry Raso \u201902, M.S. \u201906, founder and owner of Matunuck Oyster Farm, stands waist-deep in Potter Pond, in South Kingstown, R.I. \u201cThis is farming,\u201d he says, \u201cit\u2019s just underwater farming.\u201d Dozens of buoys fill the cove where he stands, lines strung between them marking off 60 rows. Each line carries a half-dozen or so polyurethane plastic bags, which are, together, filled with thousands of oysters. \u201cThey are just like rows of corn,\u201d Raso says, grinning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raso wears waders over a light green barn jacket. His salt-and-pepper beard and gray beanie protect his head from the rain. He pulls out one of the stiff bags, algae hanging off it like Spanish moss. Removing the clamp at the end, he reaches in and pulls out three fresh oysters, which he lays on his palm. \u201cThat teardrop shape is what we go for,\u201d he says approvingly, pointing out the slightly pointed end on one side, and the deep cup filled with oyster meat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any given time, some 10 million to 15 million oysters are growing in Raso\u2019s farm. Each year, the operation harvests a million of them. Many will be eaten just a few hundred yards away at Matunuck Oyster Bar, which Raso purchased in 2009 as a run-down seafood shack and transformed into a fine-dining destination that brings locals and tourists by the droves. The transformation of Potter Pond to a working farm and restaurant mirrors the rise of aquaculture in Rhode Island, which has grown into a booming industry with $7.5 million in annual sales from oysters, scallops, kelp, and other ocean produce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The direct impact of the ocean-based economy in Rhode Island is $5 billion. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aquaculture is only one of Rhode Island\u2019s blue\u2014or ocean-based\u2014economy success stories. With hundreds of miles of coastline and the sprawling expanse of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island is inextricably tied to its seaside location. From the quahogs and kelp that have been harvested by Rhode Island\u2019s Indigenous peoples for millennia to the offshore wind turbines that symbolize renewable energy, the ocean has long been integral to sustaining Rhode Islanders\u2019 lives and livelihoods. And its importance is reflected in the disproportionate impact of businesses reliant on the ocean. A recent report by 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO), Coastal Resources Center (CRC), and Rhode Island Sea Grant calculated that 6%\u20139% of Rhode Islanders work within the blue economy, more than twice the percentage of states such as Massachusetts, Texas, or California. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, the direct impact of the ocean-based economy in Rhode Island is $5 billion, or 10 percent of the state\u2019s gross regional product. The impact spans industry sectors including defense, marine trades, ports and shipping, tourism and recreation, fisheries, aquaculture, and offshore wind. As the state\u2019s preeminent public educational institution, 溏心vlog免费B站 plays an outsized role in spurring that economy, from providing research that bolsters industry know-how, to helping launch ocean-based startups, to serving as an honest broker between industries when ocean uses inevitably come into conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, 溏心vlog免费B站 partnered with the state and the private sector on a plan to increase the number of workers in the blue economy from 36,500 to more than 85,000, and to increase the economic output by $15 billion to $25 billion over the next 10 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coalition, dubbed the Blue Economy Technology Cluster (BETC, or \u201cBetsy\u201d), was a finalist in 2021 for a $70 million federal Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant. Though it ultimately did not receive the grant, BETC is proceeding with the projects it planned\u2014with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s help\u2014seeking alternate funding for a SmartBay monitoring system, a Blue Technology Innovation Center on 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Narragansett Bay Campus, and other projects to transform the state\u2019s fisheries, ports, and offshore wind capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s greatest contribution is the people who fuel these industries. 溏心vlog免费B站 graduates jump into the blue economy with both feet, leading public, private, and nonprofit organizations, working hard, and innovating. \u201cThe people here are all heart and soul,\u201d says GSO Dean Paula Bontempi, Ph.D. \u201901<\/strong>. \u201cThey connect ocean exploration with ocean economics and everything in between.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

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A lobsterman at work in Rhode Island waters. Photo: Aisha McAdams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food from the Sea <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Raso is a good example. He grew up digging for littleneck clams in Point Judith Pond, trapping eels and diving for steamers as he got older. He went to The University of Northern Colorado to study biology. \u201cI realized I loved the ocean,\u201d he says, \u201cwhen I was away from it for the first time.\u201d He transferred to 溏心vlog免费B站 and stayed for his master\u2019s degree in aquaculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShellfish aquaculture is one of the most sustainable types of agriculture,\u201d Raso says. Requiring no inputs from outside, oysters filter phytoplankton from the water, cleaning it and increasing the oxygen that fish and other species need to survive. While the state once saw its oyster industry dwindle, aquaculture is now booming, with more than 80 operations statewide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting with a 1-acre lease in 2002, Raso now operates some 7 acres on Potter Pond. Five years ago, he applied for a permit to farm an additional 3 acres of the pond. Despite an initial recommendation for approval from the state\u2019s Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), residents protested the expansion over fears of its impact on recreation, and the CRMC\u2019s four-member aquaculture subcommittee denied the application. Raso contends that the increase he sought would bring the total area of aquaculture in the pond to only 3 percent, less than the 5 percent allowed by the state. The fight, however, demonstrates the sometimes-competing interests within the blue economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One area of Raso\u2019s operation where there is no conflict is his oyster hatchery, which provides the tiny seed oysters necessary for Matunuck and other farms in the state. Responding to difficulties sourcing seed in past years, he now sells some 5 million seed oysters annually. BETC plans to partner with Raso, 溏心vlog免费B站, and other farmers to dramatically increase that output with a smart shellfish hatchery that could supply up to 150 million seed oysters at a value of $1.2 million to the more than 600 farms along the Eastern Seaboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aquaculture isn\u2019t the only seafood industry booming in Rhode Island. Shellfishing\u2014especially for quahogs\u2014is undergoing a massive resurgence. \u201cStarting in 2010, things were really going down, people were struggling to make a living,\u201d says Mike McGiveney \u201980<\/strong>, president of the Rhode Island Shellfisherman\u2019s Association. That has changed in the past few years. \u201cWe\u2019ve harvested more clams this year than we have in the past 20.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shellfishing\u2014especially for quahogs\u2014is undergoing a massive resurgence. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGiveney has one explanation for that: water quality improvement. The state has invested $1.6 billion in new tunnels to divert, store, and treat wastewater overflow before returning it to the bay. As a result, areas of the Providence River that were closed for more than 75 years are newly reopened to quahoggers. \u201cIt\u2019s brought a lot of people back,\u201d says McGiveney, who graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站 with a political science degree. \u201cI\u2019ve seen faces again I haven\u2019t seen in 20 or 30 years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercial fishing for finfish has also been on the increase. \u201cPeople have an impression that commercial fishing is a dying industry,\u201d says Jason McNamee \u201996, Ph.D. \u201918, deputy director for the bureau of natural resources for the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM), \u201cbut it\u2019s exactly the opposite\u2014our landings have been picking up year after year.\u201d In total, fisheries bring $151.5 million to the state economy, employing nearly 3,000 people. Interestingly, the recent uptick is in part due to gradually warming waters along the East Coast, which is shifting species of fish northward\u2014a result of climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur fleet transitioned away from a classic New England fishery of cod, pollack, and haddock into more mid-Atlantic species, like black sea bass, summer flounder, and squid,\u201d McNamee says. He studied zoology at 溏心vlog免费B站 and biological oceanography at the University of Connecticut before joining the marine fisheries program at DEM, where he participated in managing the state\u2019s fisheries. He came back to 溏心vlog免费B站 for his Ph.D. to help him in that role. \u201cI wanted to get better at technical stock assessment and population dynamics,\u201d he says. \u201cI wanted to bolster my understanding of the math behind it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, McNamee says, fisheries have been managed with a static sense of how many species will be in a given area and the premise that populations have stationary productivity\u2014not a realistic approach given the dynamic nature of climate change. He has been part of a group effort to develop more complex population models to manage fish quotas that will maintain sustainable populations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Putting the Green in Blue <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe careful, the floor could be a little wet,\u201d says GSO Dean Bontempi, leading the way through the Fish Laboratory at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Narragansett Bay Campus. The room is full of tanks, some open and bubbling, others covered, with some critters\u2014lobsters, sea stars, clams\u2014visible beneath the rippling water. \u201cScientists here are conducting basic research, but also thinking about the applied piece, and feeding it into management and policy to make it economically relevant,\u201d Bontempi says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A doctoral graduate from GSO\u2019s oceanography program, Bontempi spent 20 years at NASA as deputy director of its Earth Science Division. She came back to 溏心vlog免费B站 to head GSO in 2020 and is now overseeing an exciting overhaul of the campus. \u201cThat parking lot will be a new ocean robotics laboratory,\u201d she says, pointing as she walks across the Bay Campus in a light rain. \u201cIt\u2019s going to put all our oceanography and ocean engineering faculty under one roof. The lab will house a giant test tank, fabrication spaces, and a public viewing platform.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2022, Rhode Island voters approved a $100 million bond to improve and upgrade the Bay Campus. In addition to the 27,000-square-foot robotics laboratory, the University has broken ground on a new pier to accommodate a new advanced research vessel, R\/V Narragansett Dawn. It will also build a new engineering complex and ocean laboratories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the bond-funded improvements, the proposed Blue Technology Innovation Center at the Bay Campus will serve as an incubator for ocean-focused startups and an operations center for the proposed SmartBay\u2014a network of sensors distributed throughout Narragansett Bay to provide data for research and commercial ventures. In addition, the Bay Campus master plan includes renovations to the CRC, which supports the state on blue economy initiatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CRC has been particularly active in offshore wind. Rhode Island is home to the first operating commercial wind farm in the United States: the 30-megawatt, five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm, which began operations in 2016. A more ambitious project is now underway in Narragansett Bay: Revolution Wind, a 704-megawatt project with up to 100 turbines, currently led by energy companies Eversource and \u00d8rsted. When complete, the project will supply power to Connecticut and Rhode Island, helping Rhode Island achieve its first-in-the-nation goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CRC has been facilitating conversations between the companies, state officials, and commercial fishers concerned about the wind farm\u2019s impact on their industry. \u201cOur role is breaking down silos by creating forums for discussion,\u201d says Claire Hodson, M.E.S.M. \u201918<\/strong>, a CRC research associate who graduated 溏心vlog免费B站 with a master\u2019s in environmental science and management and then worked on a charter fishing boat and for an environmental nonprofit, giving her a uniquely broad perspective. \u201cWe\u2019re brokers of good science and can be a bridge of knowledge and information, making resources available to both sides,\u201d she says. Commercial fishers have expressed concern that noise from the turbines will impact fish populations, as well as fears about snagging and losing gear on the turbines. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Wind turbines, Block Island Wind Farm, Photo: Kyle Sidlik<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hodson has been working with fishers who feel their input wasn\u2019t included in initial conversations about the siting of the wind farm on Cox Ledge, a historic fishing ground. \u201cThey feel like they were not valued, and that has led to a lack of willingness to engage and participate, which furthers conflict and leads to a more inequitable process,\u201d Hodson says. For better or worse, she says, the state is going full steam ahead with the project, so CRC is working as a neutral party to improve the process. \u201cWe\u2019ve spent many years trying to understand the conflict, and now we are moving toward solutions,\u201d Hodson says. Adopting new gear for automatic squid-jigging equipment to mitigate safety concerns and employing fishers in activities that could return economic benefits to the industry, such as wind-farm surveying, are among solutions being discussed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investment in renewable energy is only the beginning when it comes to sustainability in the bay, says Sandra Whitehouse, Ph.D. \u201994<\/strong>, a longtime advocate for ocean health and sustainable coastal communities. \u201cIn my definition, the blue economy only pertains to ocean uses that are sustainable,\u201d she says. \u201cThat means minimizing impacts and having a big overlay on the climate change implications of anything you are doing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitehouse grew up in Rhode Island and spent her summers on the beach. \u201cI was the kid with a bucket picking up crabs and shells and looking at them under a little microscope,\u201d says Whitehouse. After earning an undergraduate degree in biology at Yale, she earned her Ph.D. in marine biology at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s GSO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she was working on her dissertation on benthic ecology, studying creatures that live in the mud, she was contacted by a representative of the governor for help examining the impact of an oil spill in 1989. \u201cIt was an \u2018aha!\u2019 moment for me that there were not a lot of scientists involved in policymaking,\u201d she says. After earning her degree, she set out to change that, joining the CRMC board and later serving as the chair. Since then, she has consulted for ocean-based nonprofits and companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among her accomplishments is helping create the first comprehensive national ocean policy framework for the Obama administration. \u201cIt was the first time an ocean policy for the United States had the force of law,\u201d she says, even though it was codified as an executive order rather than passed as legislation. \u201cIt also provided direction to federal agencies that addressing climate needed to be an integral part of ocean planning.\u201d The executive order called on nine U.S. regions around large marine ecosystems to develop ocean plans that balance sustainable development and ocean health. State governments\u2019 interests in constructing wind farms off every coastline was the catalyst for the first two plans, which were completed for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. \u201cIf you talk to wind farm developers, they will probably say that having those regional plans has been really helpful to them in their work.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Perry<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u25b3 Perry Raso \u201902, M.S. \u201906, founder and owner, Matunuck Oyster Farm<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Dr.<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u25b3 Paula Bontempi, Ph.D. \u201901, dean, 溏心vlog免费B站 Graduate School of Oceanography<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Mike<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u25b3 Mike McGiveney \u201980, president, R.I. Shellfisherman\u2019s Association<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Jason<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u25b3 Jason McNamee \u201996, Ph.D. \u201918, deputy director, Bureau of Natural Resources, RI DEM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u25b3 Claire Hodson, M.E.S.M. \u201918, research associate, 溏心vlog免费B站 Coastal Resources Center<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A massive new onshore infrastructure will support the construction and maintenance of the new wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. Much of that will be based at Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown, R.I., where the main electrical cable will connect to an energy substation. Meanwhile, Quonset\u2019s Port of Davisville will also house a fleet of crew transfer vessels to ferry workers and supplies to the construction site\u2014approximately 19 miles offshore, says Steven J. King \u201988, managing director of Quonset Development Corp., the quasi-government agency that manages the business park and the port, located on the site of two former naval bases. \u201cWind farms obviously need human hands to build them, and the humans need to be transported, fed, and watered, and have tools and equipment brought to them,\u201d King says. Quonset is also exploring ways to create a multimodal hub to transport workers to the wind farm via helicopter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ports and shipping bring in $757 million to Rhode Island, and support 2,000 jobs. Quonset is a major destination for shipping; it\u2019s a top-10 location in North America for automobile imports and the largest exporter of frozen squid and other seafood on the East Coast. Quonset business park, meanwhile, houses 228 companies employing 13,000 people, including General Dynamics Electric Boat, a leading manufacturer of submarines for the U.S. Navy. The biggest challenge, says King, is fitting in all the sea-facing industries that want frontage. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to come by unused space along the waterfront,\u201d he says. The port is currently undergoing a $243 million redesign that will build out the piers to provide more space to support offshore wind and other maritime uses. \u201cThose investments will be key for both existing businesses and new businesses that come with the wind farm development.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

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A rigging team steps a mast at Safe Harbor Marinas. Photo: Courtesy Safe Harbor Marinas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boats Under and On the Bay <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The submarine building at Electric Boat is just the beginning of Rhode Island\u2019s substantial ties to the defense industry, which date back to the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station, built in Newport just after the Civil War. The facility has gone through various iterations over the decades, and is now known as the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport. NUWC headquarters chief technology officer Vittorio \u201cVic\u201d Ricci, M.S. \u201996, Ph.D. \u201901, has worked at NUWC since 1984, when he arrived from Syracuse with an aerospace engineering degree to work on the Navy\u2019s Tomahawk Cruise Missile program. He has since earned two advanced degrees from 溏心vlog免费B站 and now oversees an array of technologies, all focused on making America\u2019s submarine fleet stronger and more effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to military boatbuilding, civilian boatbuilding is thriving in Rhode Island, too. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt may take a long time to move an application into industry and into the sailor\u2019s hands,\u201d Ricci says. \u201cThere are things we\u2019ve worked on at NUWC that have literally taken 30 years.\u201d His time at 溏心vlog免费B站, he says, helped him realize the depth of research needed to roll out a new technology. \u201cIt\u2019s not just maturing the technology, but all the systems and support around that technology.\u201d In that regard, NUWC is often supported by 溏心vlog免费B站 ocean engineers, who devote time and expertise to developing breakthrough technologies. In 2019, that relationship was formalized in the Naval Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology (NIUVT), a partnership between 溏心vlog免费B站, UConn, Electric Boat, and NUWC Newport to jointly develop new technologies; it has since expanded to include 16 government and industry partners, with government grants of nearly $40 million, so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A sailboat cruises toward Newport with Rose Island Lighthouse and the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge in the background. Photo: Corey Favino<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking underwater is at least as challenging\u2014probably more challenging\u2014than working in outer space,\u201d Ricci says, citing energy and communication between vehicles as just two difficulties of the undersea environment. \u201cThe first hurdle is getting to a common language and understanding what problems need to be solved. NIUVT has taken that to the next level by harnessing the resources of the universities to understand the needs of users at NUWC and Electric Boat.\u201d The Navy\u2019s presence has further spurred an ecosystem of startups and defense contractors in Rhode Island and throughout the region that contributes some $3.6 billion and employs more than 16,000 people\u2014by far the largest slice of the blue economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to military boatbuilding, civilian boatbuilding is thriving in Rhode Island, too. Marine trades add $1.45 billion to the economy and employ more than 13,000 people. The industry received a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many businesses suffered, says Pete Colby \u201991<\/strong>, director of project development for Safe Harbor Marinas. \u201cA lot of people bought boats during the pandemic,\u201d he says. \u201cDriving over the bridges, you saw boats everywhere.\u201d While congregating inside wasn\u2019t safe, being out on the water in a boat was one of the few places people could feel at ease, says Colby, who frequently took his own family out on their 30-foot sailboat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u25b3 Sandra Whitehouse, Ph.D. \u201994, president, Ocean Wonks LLC and founding member of Ocean Collectiv<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u25b3 Steven King \u201988, managing director, Quonset Development Corp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u25b3 Vittorio “Vic” Ricci, M.S. \u201996, Ph.D. \u201901, chief technology officer, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u25b3 Peter Colby \u201991, director of project development, Safe Harbor Marinas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u25b3 Martha Sheridan \u201983, President and CEO, Meet Boston<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Colby\u2019s father bought a J\/29 racing boat for the family when he was 14\u2014but no one in the family knew how to sail it. Eventually, Colby took up the challenge, getting better and better during his teen years. \u201cI got hooked on being out on the water and the freedom of it,\u201d he says. As a first-year student at 溏心vlog免费B站, he wasn\u2019t sure what he wanted to study and took a year off working for a sailmaker. When he returned to 溏心vlog免费B站 the next year, he joined the sailing team, racing keelboats. \u201cWe went to France for a world championship senior year\u2014and won,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ocean and beaches are key assets for Rhode Island tourism, a $4.3 billion industry employing more than 80,000 people. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After earning an economics degree, he went to work full time for the sailmaking company, which became North Sails, eventually running manufacturing for all of North America. Now he runs project development for Safe Harbor Marinas, which has 11 marinas around Narragansett Bay, performing custom building jobs for boat owners. \u201cWe do everything from building new boats to sanding bottoms to putting in new rigs,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ll take out an entire interior and put a new one in.\u201d He\u2019s expecting the sailing boom to continue post-COVID, as many people discovered the joys of being on the water. \u201cPeople have them now\u2014and you know, a boat isn\u2019t cheap,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are going to use them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same appeal that draws locals out onto the water also draws tourists. \u201cSince the pandemic, outdoor activities are key when people look for destinations,\u201d says Martha Sheridan \u201983<\/strong>, who has long been involved in Rhode Island tourism marketing. \u201cI think that bodes well for Rhode Island.\u201d Sheridan, who held top positions at the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau and South County Tourism Council, is now president and CEO of Meet Boston, the city\u2019s visitors bureau. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheridan, originally from South County, says, \u201cI grew up with my family on the water. I\u2019ve always been obsessed with the ocean.\u201d She studied psychology and English at 溏心vlog免费B站, thinking she would become a social worker. Meanwhile, she was working as a tour guide at the Newport mansions and loved interacting with tourists and showing off Rhode Island\u2019s history and culture. \u201cThat gave me the bug, and I\u2019ve been in tourism ever since,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ocean and beaches are key assets for Rhode Island tourism, a $4.3 billion industry employing more than 80,000 people. \u201cThe ocean is a huge part of how we have always sold the state. People may go to Disney or Vegas, but when it comes to downtime and relaxation, being on the water is never going to get old.\u201d More than ready access to the ocean, she says, it\u2019s Rhode Island\u2019s particular approach to waterfront development that makes it so appealing. \u201cWhat\u2019s unique about Rhode Island is the authenticity,\u201d Sheridan says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have theme parks or the huge resorts of Florida and Hawaii, or the overdevelopment of North Carolina.\u201d Even in populous areas such as Newport, thoughtful development policies have prevented overbuilding and kept the waterfront at a people-friendly scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, 溏心vlog免费B站 feeds the tourism industry as well, through out-of-towners attending 溏心vlog免费B站 sports events, prospective students and families visiting the area, or the influx of visitors during Alumni & Family Weekend, reunions, and Commencement. What really makes the Ocean State such a draw for tourists and locals alike, perhaps, is the way all aspects of the blue economy combine to create an experience greater than the sum of its parts. Sheridan singles out Matunuck Oyster Farm, both for its restaurant and for its tours, which show off the aquaculture industry. \u201cIt\u2019s a great example of how tourism and the blue economy intersect,\u201d Sheridan says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, when the Block Island Wind Farm first went up, the tourism industry worried that the turbines might spoil the view; instead, charter boats began offering wind farm tours and recreational fishers began seeking them out as spots where fish congregate. Such examples highlight just how dynamic Rhode Island\u2019s blue economy is and how all the parts can work to complement each other. Clean water efforts jump-start the shellfishing industry. Fishing boats survey offshore wind farms. The defense industry spurs startups to pursue undersea technology. And, of course, through it all, 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni\u2014as well as faculty, staff, and students\u2014are just beneath the surface, making it hum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos: Nora Lewis; Aisha McAdams; Courtesy Safe Harbor Marinas; Corey Favino; Alex DeCiccio; Monica Allard-Cox; Kyle Sidlik; Courtesy subjects <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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溏心vlog免费B站 grads are working in new segments of the blue economy, too. Current Lab, the brainchild of Kevin Rosa \u201913, Ph.D. \u201920, provides detailed ocean forecasts, changing the game for ocean- going endeavors from competitive sailing to global shipping.<\/p>

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If you want to predict the weather, it\u2019s easy to pull up a forecast on your phone for any given location. Until recently, however, sailors couldn\u2019t do that for ocean conditions\u2014having to rely instead on low-resolution models from government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the European Union. Kevin Rosa \u201913, Ph.D. \u201920,<\/strong> bridged that gap with his startup, Current Lab, which provides detailed regional models of currents and other ocean conditions. \u201cIt\u2019s a weather forecast,\u201d says Rosa, \u201cbut we\u2019re doing it for the ocean, specializing in super-fine scale, hyperlocal forecasting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosa has worked on boats since high school and manned a schooner in college while earning a physics degree at 溏心vlog免费B站. As a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Oceanography, he used supercomputers to calculate complicated fluid dynamics\u2014using publicly available data such as ocean depth, wind, and shoreline topography to determine the underwater flow of currents. Originally, he planned to use these techniques to track pollution. But when a member of the America\u2019s Cup sailing team approached him after a presentation, asking if he could help them gain an edge in their next race, Rosa began consulting for sailors. His clients included the U.S. Olympic team, and he helped them shave critical minutes off their times.<\/p>\n

Sailors continue to be the main subscribers to Current Lab\u2019s web app, which offers an interactive map that can zoom in on specific locations. \u201cSailors are hungry for this information,\u201d says Rosa, whose forecasts are 50 times more detailed than those offered by government agencies.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s grown the company through the Mass Challenge and Blue Swell incubators, relying on subscriptions for revenue. He aims to draw in a diverse range of clients, including offshore wind and autonomous underwater vehicles, with the detailed forecasts his company produces.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s even working with a data science group at Brown University on a model using satellite data that could help reroute global shipping vessels based on changes in currents. \u201cThis could save on tons of fuel costs and carbon emissions for the shipping industry,\u201d Rosa says. \u201cIt\u2019s not only super-exciting stuff, but it could also be super important from a climate perspective.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014Michael Blanding<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Photo: Courtesy Allegro Photography<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ocean-based blue economy is the lifeblood of Rhode Island\u2014and powered by 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[313],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spring-2023","architecture-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8574"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9251,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8574\/revisions\/9251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}