URI Research Seeks to Learn About Deep Sea Organisms
encourage bold research in ocean discovery and technology through the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Ocean Policy Research Institute, supported by The Nippon Foundation.In addition to Phillips, the team is led by John Burns of the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, and includes Robert Wood from Harvard University, David Gruber from Baruch College, Kakani Katija from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and Dhugal Lindsay from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.Phillips and the team will reimagine the novel, origami-inspired robotic encapsulation device used in the
Microplastics Becoming Measurable Part of Ocean’s Carbon Cycle
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, The Netherlands; The Ocean Cleanup, The Netherlands; Egger Research and Consulting, Switzerland; University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; Harvard University; University of Siena, Italy; and the National Biodiversity Future Center, Italy
Bacteria Fuel Cell Could Power Ocean Sensors
system has game-changing potential to provide direct electric power to improve sensing capabilities while protecting environment.The first phase of the project will run through Summer 2026 and includes collaborators from eight other institutions and firms: Battelle, the George Washington University, Harvard University, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, James Madison University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Delaware and Yokogawa Corp. of America.In addition to the $7.8 million granted for Phase 1 development and deployment
NOAA Promotes Nancy Hann to Deputy Under Secretary
executive officer at the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Atlantic, associate director at the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and NOAA liaison to the U.S. Pacific Command.Hann holds a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a master’s degree in aeronautical science and space studies from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a bachelor’s degree in marine science and biology from the University of San Diego. She has received numerous awards, including the NOAA Corps Meritorious Service Medal
In Memoriam: Captain Don Walsh
before becoming the Navy’s first deep submersible pilot.The Society for Underwater Technology and Marine Technology Society will continue to honor Walsh through the annual Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration. Dr Peter Girguis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Adjunct Oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, was announced the winner of the 2023 Captain Don Walsh Award in August
New Hydrothermal Vent Found Near Galápagos
National Park Directorate (GNPD), Charles Darwin Foundation, and the Ecuadorian Navy’s Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute (INOCAR). Other participating institutions included University of Rhode Island, Lehigh University, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, United States Geological Survey, Harvard University, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.“Scientists have known since the early 2000s that this vent field was likely there. But it was particularly hard to locate because the fluids are clear and do not emit large clouds into the water like black smokers do,” said Beinart
Hairston Named GM of Austal USA Advanced Technologies
in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and the Aegis Program Office prior to joining the defense industry.Hairston earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Virginia Polytechnic and State University. He also participated in the General Management Program at the Harvard Business School and has held numerous advisory roles
Rear Admiral Hann Confirmed to NOAA Leadership Post
as a pilot and project manager. Hann has also served aboard NOAA ships Miller Freeman and Townsend Cromwell, supporting fisheries surveys and oceanographic research in the Pacific.Rear Admiral Hann holds a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a master’s degree in aeronautical science and space studies from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and a bachelor’s degree in marine science and biology from the University of San Diego
VIDEO: Up Close and Personal with Ocean Explorer Robert Ballard
sensor systems and I can form a mental image in a world of eternal darkness. I think it explains how I tick.”As Ballard gets closer to his 80th birthday, he has become more reflective on the balance of personal and work. “Two years ago I was in a Redwood forest and a brilliant professor from Harvard, Arthur Brooks, talked about how to stay happy while you grow old,” essentially three things you need to do, said Ballard. First on the list is developing closer bonds with friends, which Ballard has done spending more time “hunting and fishing” rather than academic and professional
August 2025
