PEP (Promoting Electric Propulsion) is an organized competition sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) in which hundreds of students compete to create small-scale, remote-control boats that use electric propulsion. As of 2024, 35 universities (including URI) actively compete in this engineering competition, which takes place on Broad Bay in Virginia Beach.This competition provides students with valuable learning experiences and insight with respect to engineering a boat from the ground up—leading to an increasingly robust future workforce for the US Navy and Marines.

Members get technical experience and build hands-ons kills, including practice with system integration, manufacturing processes, blueprint creation, construction, and engineering problem-solving. URI competed in PEP24 with the craft, Meteor. Their most recent development is the Naruto Uzumaki.

Email navystem@etal.uri.edu to learn how to get involved with the team.