With the demolition of the old Pell Library building in May, construction of the new Ocean Science & Exploration Center (OSEC) is now complete. The facility forms a physical and intellectual campus center that houses the new Pell Marine Science Library, meeting rooms, the Nautilus Galley, the GSO Computer Center, the UNOLS office, administrative offices, the new exploration and archaeological oceanographic programs led by Dr. Robert Ballard, and the Inner Space Center directed by Dr. Dwight Coleman.
Construction began in November 2007 funded through a bond issue approved by Rhode Island voters in 2004. A large portion of the building showcases the Inner Space Center (ISC), which creates a media environment on land that replicates the control and experience of scientists at sea. The ISC is a national technological hub for ocean exploration and education, using telepresence technologies that rely on audio, video and data feeds from remote platforms, such as ocean-going research vessels. The media are redistributed to universities, primary and secondary schools, museums, aquariums and science centers via the Internet. Through the ISC, researchers on land are also be able to control instruments and fully take part in offshore missions. Its modern broadcast studio rooms will provide the outreach critically important to the educational missions of the University and of participating non-government and government agencies.