The University of Rhode Island has held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Ocean Robotics Laboratory, part of a $300 million revitalization of the university's Narragansett Bay Campus.
Students Elliot Roman and Jake Bonney piloted the university's remotely operated vehicle to cut the ceremonial ribbon underwater in the building’s 20-foot-wide by 30-foot-long test tank.
Rhode Island voters supported the revitalization measures by approving two bond proposals totaling $145 million.
The university says the 32,000-square-foot Ocean Robotics Laboratory will strengthen its global leadership in ocean exploration. The facility will advance the design and development of technology-driven solutions, while fostering collaboration and innovation with partners and through public-private partnerships.
The building has a two-story, high-bay staging area with a 4,500-cubic-foot freshwater test tank and a 10-ton bridge crane. Robotics and equipment developed in the lab will work alongside the new National Science Foundation Regional Class Research Vessel Narragansett Dawn, using its advanced launch-and-recovery systems to support scientific equipment at sea.
The multiyear campus revitalization will provide state-of-the art facilities that are advancing the design and development of technology-driven solutions.
“The people who will work in the Ocean Robotics Laboratory are building the robots and instruments that are needed to solve challenges by giving them shared space, innovative infrastructure, and place-based partnership opportunity,” said Steve D’Hondt, interim dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography.
