Academic Enterprise
50 new students enrolled, an increase of 52.7% over an average of the previous three years.
32 faculty, 4 marine research scientists and 14 postdoctoral fellows delivered classroom instruction as well as cruise and laboratory experiences to 113 graduate students.
18 students are currently earning their Master of Oceanography through a new online option.
Funded Research
GSO received $50.78 million from 43 sponsors.
81% of all awards came from the top three sponsors—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] (45.9%), U.S. Agency for International Development [USAID] (18%), and National Science Foundation [NSF] (16.9%)
The NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, headquarterd at GSO, received $19.1 million (37.6% of all research awards).
The Coastal Resources Center [CRC] and its local partners in the Pacific Islands region were awarded a $15 million grant from USAID. Virtually all grants to GSO from USAID support CRC.
Community Engagement
Bay Campus faculty, students and staff welcomed more than 2,000 guests to enjoy “Science Saturday.”
Volunteers met with more than 3,000 visitors at Roger Williams Park Zoo to raise awareness about and celebrate World Ocean Day.
Two miniboats built by Central Falls, R.I., students—with guidance from GSO students and staff—were launched from R/V Endeavor, then tracked in real-time as they sailed east across the Atlantic.
Campus Renewal
Construction began on the first project in the Master Plan, Pier and Pumphouse Replacement. After R/V Endeavor relocated to a home pier in Davisville, R.I, the contractor’s massive barge arrived and test piles were driven. The old wooden pier was removed and temporary intake lines were installed to ensure a constant flow of seawater as the new pumphouse is built.
Steadfast Donors
292 individuals, more than half of them GSO alumni, gave $736,000. Their support enhanced the studies and achievements of students, and underpinned all teaching and research conducted on campus.
50 people donated to GSO during URI’s annual Day of Giving.
Prepared Workforce
The school conferred 27 advanced degrees—12 Master of Oceanography, four Master of Science, four Blue Master of Business Administration, and seven Doctor of Philosophy.
Extraordinary Projects
GSO and Saildrone tasked three autonomous surface vessels to collect continuous winter data across the Gulf Stream, yielding new insights into weather drivers and the transportation of heat and carbon around our ocean.
Export Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) used multiple research vessels, working simultaneously in two ocean basins, to study the processes that transport carbon from the upper ocean to the dimly lit but economically important “twilight zone.” GSO provided the largest scientific team to EXPORTS.
R.I. Coastal Hazards, Analysis, Modeling, and Prediction model was launched. It predicts damage from major coastal storms—providing a real-time warning bell to emergency and environmental managers.
From the floor of the Puerto Rico Trench, researchers pulled the deepest water core samples ever taken in the Atlantic and the deepest water cores taken anywhere in the oceans since 1962.
Collaborations
The Narragansett Bay Campus is home to a robust community of URI entities, as well as a dozen partners including state and federal agencies, nonprofits/NGOs and corporations. GSO expands this network by working closely with a wide variety of local to global philanthropic and private-sector partners.