Department of Ocean Engineering

News

Company co-founded by Professor Malcolm Spaulding involved in modeling the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ‒ Applied Science Associates (ASA) located in wakefield, co founded by Ocean Engineering Professor, Malcolm Spaulding, continues to monitor and model the effects of Deepwater Horizon Explosion in 2010. ASA is only one of a handful of companies around the world to working closely the US government and the oil industries involved to predict the movement of spilled oil and asses its damage.
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Two URI Professors Head to New Jersey to Evaluate Dame caused By Hurricane Sandy.

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ‒ Hurricane Sandy was unprecedented in scale and impact on the urban cluster comprised of New York City and the surrounding metro areas in addition to numerous coastal communities along the New Jersey and New York coasts. The storm exposed the fragility of our modern urban infrastructure and highlighted the vulnerability of this infrastructure to a potentially new norm of extreme events. URI Professors Aaron Bradshaw (civil engineering) and Chris Baxter (joint ocean & civil engineering) joined GEER (Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance) to assess the damage to coastal protection structures, bridges, underground utilities, building basements as well as transit and roadway tunnels in several areas of New Jersey. Click here for the GEER report published in February 2013.

Ocean Engineering Job Fair Held on March 1st, 2013 was a success

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ‒ The ocean engineering job fair, held on the URI Narragansett Bay Campus, featured 12 companies and organizations throughout Rhode Island including representatives from the US Coast Guard and Navy. The job fair, organized by
Omega Epslion, in its fourth year continues to be a great starting point for both undergrad and graduate students (ocean engineering and oceanography) to discuss future opportunities. Anchor QEA, Bluefin Robotics, iRobot, Lockheed Martin, Noise Control Engineering, Meridian Ocean Services, and the Woods Hole Group were among some of the visitors, almost all were hiring for summer internships and full-time positions.

University of Rhode Island helps develop national environmental monitoring tools for offshore renewable energy development

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ‒ Any type of offshore development has the potential to impact the marine environment in some way. Unlike with oil platforms that have long been established in U.S. waters, there is much less certainty about how offshore renewable energy technologies such as wind and tidal power will affect the ecosystems in which they are developed.
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New Seabee Museum Features Navy Deep Sea Submersible Display

PORT HUENEME, CALIF. ‒ Navy ocean engineers have delivered a treasured piece of naval history to the new Seabee Museum July 22, just in time for its official opening. The Naval Experimental Manned Observatory (NEMO), a deep submergence vehicle created in the 1970s by the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory (NCEL, a forerunner to today's Naval Facilities Engineering Command/Engineering Service Center) and the Southwest Research Institute will be among the many featured exhibits at the new museum.
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URI scientists, crew recall highlights of 500 cruises aboard research vessel Endeavor

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ‒ October 18, 2011 ‒ The return of the University of Rhode Island's research ship Endeavor to port today after completing its 500th expedition has prompted its scientists and crew to reminisce about some of their favorite moments aboard the ship.
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URI Honors Colloquium continues Oct. 25 with discussion of robots used to study ocean, atmosphere

KINGSTON, R.I. ‒ October 17, 2011 ‒ Three noted scientists will discuss the use of drones and robots in the study of the ocean and atmosphere on Oct. 25 as part of the University of Rhode Island's fall Honors Colloquium, which examines the question "Are you ready for the future?" The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in Edwards Auditorium on the URI Kingston campus. It is free and open to the public.
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URI's ship Endeavor to depart for 500th research cruise, Oct. 12

The University of Rhode Island will celebrate the departure of the ship R/V Endeavor as it leaves for its 500th research cruise, carrying a group of faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students across the Gulf Stream and into the Sargasso Sea on a seven-day expedition. The students and scientists will conduct measurements of the current in the Gulf Stream, sample for air and water pollutants, and collect samples of phytoplankton in the Sargasso Sea. The Endeavor has steamed about 1 million nautical miles in support of science since it came to URI in 1976.
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URI announces fall Career Services events

KINGSTON, R.I. ‒ September 22, 2011 ‒ A lackluster economy has not deterred employers from recruiting talented students and alumni at the University of Rhode Island. To connect potential interns, soon-to-be graduates, and alumni with companies, organizations, and agencies needing to fill positions, URI Career Services will hold a variety of events on the Kingston campus.
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URI Inner Space Center links scientists ashore with oceanographic research ships around the globe

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ‒ September 15, 2011 -- University of Rhode Island volcanologist Steven Carey is participating in a scientific investigation of hydrothermal vents in the crater of an ancient underwater volcano off the coast of Greece. He is helping to direct remotely operated vehicles deployed from the exploration ship Nautilus to collect water and sediment samples, and he is discussing the findings with shipboard scientists.But Carey isn't aboard the Nautilus...
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Pioneering URI engineering professor awarded Acoustical Society's Trent-Crede Medal

KINGSTON, R.I. ‒ September 7, 2011-- Peter R.Stepanishen, professor of ocean engineering at the University of Rhode Island, was selected the recipient of the Acoustical Society of America's Trent-Crede Medal. The award, which will be presented in November at the Society's annual meeting in San Diego, recognizes Stepanishen "for his pioneering research in transient vibration and acoustic radiation."
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Search-and-rescue software developed by URI professor used to locate crew when yacht capsized during Irish race

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ‒ August 18, 2011 - SARMAP, a search and rescue mapping software program developed by a University of Rhode Island professor and colleagues at a company he founded, was instrumental in the efforts to locate and rescue five crewmembers of a yacht that capsized during a race off the coast of Ireland earlier this week.
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Stephan Grilli receives 2011 Scholarly Research Excellence Award

The URI Foundation Excellence Awards were first established in 1970 to honor University staff members for their dedication and commitment. The awards were later expanded to include additional categories of individuals who demonstrated excellence in their respective areas and whose work positively impacted the entire University community.A list of this years winners can be seen here.

URI engineering students win International RoboBoat Competition

KINGSTON, R.I. ‒ June 27, 2011 -- A team of engineering students at the University of Rhode Island has captured the 2011 International RoboBoat Competition, a contest to design a robotic boat that can race through an aquatic obstacle course without any human controls.
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