New Ocean Engineering Facility Proposed For DUML

The creation of new technology has recently made significant contributions to solving critical issues in marine research and conservation. To increase Duke’s presence in this space, the Duke University Marine Lab is seeking to build a new facility that will provide a dedicated and equipped space for students and faculty to design, build, and test prototypes that will contribute to solving these issues. To build this new facility, the university is campaigning to raise $500,000 to renovate existing space at the Marine Lab to create a new Ocean Engineering Lab and outfit it with proper resources, including prototyping computers, state of the art engineering tools, software, 3D printers, and teleconferencing capabilities.

A snapshot of existing programs and future plans for Ocean Engineering at DUML

The Marine Lab, in close collaboration with the Pratt School of Engineering, is already at the forefront of ocean engineering, with both parties contributing to significant efforts in marine mammal acoustics, conservation technology, marine robotics and sensors, and ocean sensing and forecasting. However, according to Doug Nowacek, Associate Professor of Conservation Technology at the Nicholas School and Pratt School of Engineering, the need to transfer resources to and from Duke’s Durham campus and the Marine Lab in Beaufort significantly slows the rate of progress on important projects, and in turn, has had a negative impact on student experiences and project efficiency. The proposed Ocean Engineering Facility would allow teams to test equipment and make improvements on site, instead of experiencing delays from transporting models and prototypes between Durham and the coast. This on-site makerspace in Beaufort would likely have the added benefit of increasing the numbers of Pratt School undergraduates interested in ocean engineering courses, as well as boost student attendance at the Marine Lab.

Doug Nowacek, Ph.D

“An Ocean Engineering facility in Beaufort would provide a major boost to the existing synergies between the Pratt School and the Marine Lab, allowing students to gain hands-on experience in ocean engineering and solidly propelling Duke into the growing field of marine conservation technology.”

– Doug Nowacek,  Randolph K. Repass and Sally-Christine Rodgers University Associate Professor of Conservation Technology at the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Pratt School of Engineering

The completion of the proposed Ocean Engineering Facility would mean an amplification of the current upward trajectory of the Marine Lab, building on the $11 million gift received in 2017 to build a new research vessel. As the development of this new proposed facility moves forward, financial contributions will be critical in making the facility a reality, along with the embodiment of the Ocean Engineering program’s vision, “to create and support a facility where students and faculty can design, test, and build technology that contributes to solutions in marine research and conservation”.