Retiring the R/V Endeavor: Celebrating a Lifetime of Accomplishments and Memories
In September 2025, R/V Endeavor, the University of Rhode Island's (URI) research vessel, sailed on her 736th and final voyage, bringing 50 years of service to a close. Rhonda Moniz, host of the DEEP DIVE podcast, sat down with Endeavor's Port Captain Brendan Thornton and Scientific Service Manager Erich Gruebel to celebrate the vessel's accomplishments and talk about what's next.Built and rebuilt to serveEndeavor joined URI's Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) in 1976 as one of the first purpose-built research vessels in the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System
URI Computer Simulations Show How Strong Ocean Currents Reduce Size of Surface Waves
Using advanced computer simulations, researchers from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) have concluded how and why strong ocean currents modify surface waves.“Our primary finding is that hurricane-generated ocean currents can substantially reduce both the height and the dominant period of hurricane waves,” said Isaac Ginis, URI professor of oceanography. “The magnitude of wave reduction depends strongly on how accurately ocean currents are predicted. This highlights the importance of using fully coupled wave-ocean models when forecasting
Retiring the R/V Endeavor: Celebrating a Lifetime of Accomplishments and Memories
Brendan Thornton, Port Captain for the R/V Endeavor, and Erich Gruebel, Scientific Service Manager for the vessel, both in the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, joined Rhonda Moniz on the DEEP DIVE podcast to discuss the vessel and its accomplishments ahead of its retirement after 50 years of service.
USV Provides Near Real-Time Deep Ocean Current Observations
Sonardyne and SeaTrac Systems used advanced sensors and uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) to deliver science-ready deep ocean current data on the Gulf’s Loop Current System, direct to scientists’ desks in near real-time.The project, commissioned and in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island (URI), opens the door to reliable, on-demand and sustained high-resolution observations of powerful and dynamic ocean systems, without the need to send people offshore.In turn, this boosts scientists’ ability to improve predictive models, helping industry and science understand and
URI Hosts Global Ocean Technology Conference
The University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island Sea Grant recently hosted the Marine Technology Society’s annual TechSurge conference. The three-day event convened approximately 120 attendees from around the world at URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography on the Narragansett Bay Campus.The conference, which focused on fisheries and benthic monitoring for offshore development, featured lectures, workshops, networking events, and a “Tech Cafe” for fostering industry and student connections. Tours of the Narragansett Bay Campus and highlighted ocean technology laboratories and
Sonardyne Technology Selected for New Oceanographic Research Vessels
and vessel-build requirements.The first system has recently been delivered to Oregon State University to be fitted to the R/V Taani, to be operated by the university, by vessel builder Bollinger Houma Shipyards.Systems for the other two vessels, R/V Narragansett Dawn (to be operated by a University of Rhode Island-led consortium) and the R/V Gilbert R. Mason (to be operated by the Gulf-Caribbean Oceanographic Consortium) will be delivered next year.Sonardyne's Ranger 2 will allow US researchers to accurately track and simultaneously communicate with multiple underwater scientific instruments
Seismometers Retrieved for Slow-Slip Earthquake Study
;this time focusing on the Hawke’s Bay region, a different portion of the Hikurangi plate boundary where slow slip earthquakes are also observed.Earth Sciences New Zealand, GEOMAR, University of Tokyo, Kyōto University, Tōhoku University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and the University of Rhode Island are the research partners on this project. Scientific research funding for this project has come from New Zealand's Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, Germany’s Helmholtz Association, the United States National Science Foundation, and Japanese government science funding
Navy’s NUWC Newport Honors 42 Training Program Graduates
provide professional education and development, that has increased in-house knowledge in mission-related disciplines, that support the division’s technical and business capabilities.This year’s graduates attended 22 schools including the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, the University of Rhode Island, Stevens Institute of Technology, Roger Williams University, and New England Institute of Technology.Five of the graduates received a doctorate, 29 received a master’s degree, eight received a bachelor’s degree, one received an associate degree, and one received a graduate certificat
Shipwreck Windfall: ROV Expedition Captures Maritime History
The chill, freshwater depths of Lake Ontario may not first come to mind when thinking about shipwrecks, but an expedition by the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI) at the University of Rhode Island (URI) is challenging that perception. Its star explorer? A compact but mighty Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) named Rhody. What began as a mission to support NOAA’s interest in high-resolution shipwreck documentation within the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary has evolved into a dynamic academic research experience merging innovation, partnership and the expanding role of robotics in
February 2026
