The grant, funded through MassTech’s Technology & Innovation Ecosystem program, will help MITRE fund and outfit a state-of-the-art BlueTech Lab on its campus in Bedford, create a national marine data network and establish new workforce development programs to promote blue economy career opportunities to students across the state.
“Massachusetts is a global leader when it comes to BlueTech, clean tech, and coastal resiliency,” said Governor Healey. “These grants to MITRE will lengthen our state’s leadership and provide new opportunities for Massachusetts companies and researchers to test their products, access real-time data, and build the pipeline of next-generation BlueTech workers.”
Through BlueTech OCEAN, MITRE, a nonprofit and leading national operator of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, will partner with collaborators from local universities, top marine research institutions, and businesses from around the state that are focused on BlueTech. The state grant, announced on World Oceans Day, will also help MITRE:
- Build Out the BlueTech Lab on MITRE’s Bedford campus: The lab will include a state-of-the-art camera/localization system, an unmanned underwater vehicle, and test equipment that will generate data for BlueNERVE as well as commercial enterprises. The lab will be used by researchers, entrepreneurs, and established companies to help accelerate their growth in areas such as undersea sensing, communications, and autonomy.
- Create the BlueNERVE Data Network: A national data hub centered in Massachusetts that will connect lab spaces and marine research organizations across the country to establish real-time data sharing and simulation capabilities between MITRE and partner organizations.
- Accelerate BlueTech workforce development: MITRE and partners will host projects and experiments designed to encourage them to explore careers in the BlueTech industry, including through experiments hosted at the BlueTech Lab and projects that challenge students to build underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles.
“The oceans are an invaluable resource tied to many of the nation’s biggest challenges, including national security, climate resilience, and economic growth,” said Douglas Robbins, vice president, engineering and prototyping, MITRE Labs. “This project will foster an attractive innovation ecosystem for BlueTech startup companies, providing a first-in-the-nation data sharing capability that will maximize advantages for the region and grow the BlueTech workforce to meet the needs of the New Blue Economy.”
The grant is funded by the Technology & Innovation Ecosystem program, which aims to advance technology and innovation sector projects or initiatives that contribute to a competitive advantage for existing and emerging industry clusters in Massachusetts. The program is funded through the MassTech Innovation Institute’s Scientific and Technology Research and Development Matching Grant Fund.
