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Rhode Island An Ocean ofOpportunityRhode Island may be the smallest state in the union, but its vision of the future is as far reaching as the ocean lapping at its shores. Taking a page from the University of Rhode Island (URI) motto, ?Think Big, We do!,? the Rhode Island Economic De- velopment Corp. (RIEDC) is working hard to position the state as ?a premier hub for maritime activity for decades to come. ? The message? If it?s on the water, in the water, under the water or about the water ? you?re going to nd it here. Sandwiched between much larger and seemingly more glamorous states with longer coastlines, Rhode Island none-theless stands out by virtue of its ?perfect marriage? between subsea technology and the marine environment. That historic, symbiotic relationship is one reason many ex- pect Rhode Island to be the rst to ?wet steel,? by elding not one, but two offshore wind farms that will be based out of the upgraded facilities at Davisville port at Quonset (See wind story, p. 44). Another marine rst is the innovative Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP), a nationally lauded spatial grid mapping of the sea ß oor in and around Rhode Island (see SAMP story, p. 43), and then there?s the University of Rhode Island (URI )?s innovative research cen- ters of excellence, and the country?s rst doctorate and gradu- ate degrees in ocean engineering. (see p. 40) Rhode Island is also home port to a sizeable naval presence, including the prestigious Naval Underwater Warfare Center (see p. 36), as well as to what one colleague calls ?the greatest living explorer on the planet,? oceanography rock star, marine archeologist and former naval of cer Dr. Bob Ballard. Ocean State boosters keep coming back to the surrounding marine environment ? starting with Narragansett Bay, a deep, natural harbor ? and the communities that feed off it, and each other, including the U.S. Navy, which awarded $200 million in contracts to R.I businesses last year; URI?s Marine depart- ments, a robust R&D community and more than 500 defense and marine-based business and agencies. ?People are linked to the ocean here, one way or another,? said Prof. Dwight Coleman, director of URI?s Inner Space Lab. In a state where they joke that no commute is ever more than 20 minutes, it?s easy to understand how tightly knit the community has be- come over the years. Politicians at the state and federal level mix regularly with URI oceanography and engineering pro- fessors, who mix even more frequently with researchers from the NUWC and of cials from a host of government regula- tory, research and marine agencies. ?We actually know them well, which as you can imagine, is helpful when you are trying to get things done,? said Coleman. Many people jump back and forth between the different sec- tors of the heavily interlinked marine community throughout their careers. The result is both a rich pool of uniquely skilled, cross-disciplinary marine experts, and innumerable business opportunities, ranging from R&D partnerships to spinoffs out of Navy and University research projects, to new versions or applications of commercial technology. RI?s largest and most successful spinoff is ASA, a marine engineering services com- pany, whose RI of ce alone had sales of $11 million before it was sold to RSB. Other spinoffs of note include Far Sounder, a maker of sonar and 3D imaging products, and SubChem Systems, Inc., which makes submersible chemical analyzers for water quality monitoring and underwater surveillance. It?s those kinds of success stories coupled with the antici- pated economic boom driven by offshore energy that has the state betting big that more marine business will be dropping anchor in Rhode Island. Aerial view of Narragansett Bay with the Claiborne Pell Bridge, known as the Newport Bridge, in the foreground. Naval Station Newport is to the north right of the bridge. By Patricia KeefeMarine Technology Reporter 35www.seadiscovery.com MTR #2 (34-49).indd 35MTR #2 (34-49).indd 353/7/2013 9:12:53 AM3/7/2013 9:12:53 AM
