‘Bridge to Ocean Exploration’ serves as pathway to URI for CCRI students

November 14, 2025
Dwight Paniagua creates an image uploader feature that used an image application programming interface (API) that he created using the programming language JavaScript. (URI Photo/Courtesy Matthew Greco)

CCRI students gain hands-on experience in URI ocean science labs

November 14, 2025

Students from the Community College of Rhode Island can gain valuable hands-on experience in laboratories at the GSO through the Bridge to Ocean Exploration (B2OE) Program.

Developed and managed by the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI), an organization comprised of multiple institutions and organizations, and led by URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, the B2OE program arranges for CCRI students to work on OECI research projects 6-8 hours per week alongside URI graduate students, professors, and industry professionals at URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus. The students don’t receive credit toward their major, but they do earn a stipend for their time.

“CCRI is training excellent students for their associates degrees, but they may not be aware of career opportunities in the ocean workforce,” said Adam Soule, OECI executive director. “Many of the CCRI students in the B2OE program matriculate to URI to complete their undergraduate degree with a newfound appreciation for how their skills may be applied to the ocean enterprise. In addition, the B2OE students contribute directly to OECI successes in research, communication, software development, and engineering.”

As many as 10 CCRI students may be students selected for the program each year. During the application process, it is determined if the students’ skills and interest align with the needs and expectations of the mentors and their associated projects.

Kenneth Kostel, director of research communications at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, gives CCRI students in the Bridge to Ocean Exploration Program a tour of the R/V Neil Armstrong in April 2025. (URI Photo/Courtesy Holly Morin)

Projects relate to the following subjects:

  • Computer science/programming
  • Ocean exploration data science
  • Ocean engineering and robotics
  • Deep sea biology
  • Virtual environments and 3D models
  • Science communication and video production

Professor Andrew Davies, who has a joint appointment in GSO and the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, has participated in the program for years by welcoming CCRI students into his lab.

“It’s been phenomenal, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great students who are really invested in developing their skills and are not afraid of trying new things,” said Davies. “They’ve come with fabulous mindsets, a willingness to learn, and a broad set of skills that have been tremendously valuable for the lab.”

Tim Melendez, who is from Lynn, Massachusetts, but resides in West Greenwich, has worked in Davies’ lab the last two years after entering the Bridge to Ocean Exploration Program in 2023-2024.

“Tim has been developing new hardware parts for our platforms, bringing his experience in mechanical engineering to the fore,” said Davies. “He has phenomenal skills with CAD, prototyping, and general fabrication, which have been put into practice with our ocean observation platforms.”

Matt Grecco and Dwight Paniagua, from Warwick and Providence respectively, were added to Davies’ lab last year.

“Matt and Dwight developed new databases that helped to streamline data management and workflow on our ocean observing program,” said Davies. “Matt is maintaining and developing our suite of database tools used by students and staff to analyze oceanographic data.”

After completing an associate degree in computer engineering at CCRI in May 2025, Paniagua transferred to URI as a junior through CCRI’s Joint Admissions Agreement. He’s expecting to graduate from URI with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering in 2027.

“My involvement in the Bridge to Ocean Exploration Program partially influenced my decision to attend URI,” said Paniagua. “While still enrolled at CCRI, I met a lot of nice, hardworking, and amazing people in the URI community who were passionate about their work, which I found motivating and inspiring.”

Paniagua is currently working on low-power electronics and firmware programming to help Davies build a new remote camera system that is capable of long-term deployments. He’s applied his Python programming skills to predict the lifetime of the camera system with a given battery.

For the next cohort of the Bridge to Ocean Exploration Program, Davies expects to bring on two additional students to work on new projects.

“It’s fantastic that Professor Davies continues to give students opportunities and exposure to projects they may not otherwise have considered, since they are non-ocean science majors,” said Holly Morin, URI marine research associate and B2OE program coordinator. “He’s now having previous B2OE students mentor students coming into the program.”

Davies has been impressed with the progress each student has made in his lab.

“The growth in each of these students has been profound and I am proud to have worked with them,” said Davies.

The fifth cohort of the Bridge to Ocean Exploration Program will start in early December with an onsite orientation. The CCRI students will work on their projects from January through the end of May.

“URI, GSO, and OECI are working to supply the ocean workforce in Rhode Island for all Rhode Islanders,” said Soule.