Dartmouth, MA – Today, UMass Dartmouth and Congressman William Keating announced a $3.6M grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for the Marine and UnderSea Technology research program (MUST) at UMass Dartmouth's collaborative research projects with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport.

The $3.6M grant will fund nine projects that focus on supporting the blue economy and offshore wind sectors through research projects that focus on improving sensors for unmanned undersea vehicles, wave energy conversion, underwater data transmissions and detection systems, and the habits of marine species in wind farm areas. Partner institutions and industries include BNWC, Brown University, Boston Engineering Cooperation, and Jaia Robotics Inc.

"Southeastern Massachusetts is well-positioned to be the national leader on blue economy projects, and this latest grant from the Office of Naval Research reaffirms what we already know: that UMass Dartmouth is uniquely positioned to lead the region forward as a blue economy hub," said Congressman Bill Keating. "The cutting-edge research undertaken at UMass Dartmouth will continue to assist the Navy and keep sailors and assets stationed throughout the world safe and on-mission, and that is something our region should be proud of."

"The marine science and technology research conducted by UMass Dartmouth and our collaborators at the Office of Naval Research and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport directly impacts the local economy and has global implications, " said Chancellor Mark A. Fuller. "Through the research and teaching of our faculty, we are empowering the next generation of blue economy and sustainable energy innovators that will use the power of our waters to achieve remarkable things."

MUST has funded 38 research projects, bringing together regional and national collaborators to strengthen the Navy's access to cutting-edge research and build a pipeline for a highly trained workforce. These areas of study include autonomous underwater vehicles and increasing their battery life, biofouling, composite materials, modeling ocean dynamics, undersea acoustics for communications and sensing technologies, oxidation mitigation for naval vessels, predictive modeling algorithms, and the use of autonomous vehicles to survey coastal environments.