UMass Dartmouth Gets $4.3 Million Navy Grant

NEW BEDFORD — A UMass Dartmouth marine research program has been awarded a $4.3 million U.S. Navy grant for nine projects focusing on the blue economy and offshore wind, the university announced this week.

It's the third grant award in three years for the school from the Office of Naval Research, which has funded 29 research projects at a total of over $13 million, according to a statement from UMass Dartmouth.

The funding was announced on Feb. 8 and will support projects through the Marine and UnderSea Technology research program (MUST).

Subject areas include remote underwater sensing, battery performance for autonomous vehicles, oxidation mitigation for naval vessels, predictive modeling algorithms, and the use of autonomous vehicles to survey coastal environments.

Get our free mobile app

The research will be conducted in collaboration with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport.

This latest award follows a $4.6 million grant in February 2020, the largest research award in the university's history, and a $4.2M grant in October 2020.

"Our collaborations with the Office of Naval Research and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport allow us to produce advanced technologies to harness the power of our waters and create an international hub for advanced marine technology," said UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Mark Fuller.

"As the public research university for the SouthCoast of Massachusetts, UMass Dartmouth is a key driver of the state's blue economy," said Senator Edward Markey.

"This continued federal investment — now totaling more than $13 million in awards since 2020 — illustrates the MUST program's capacity for high caliber research as well as the impact of the continued partnership between UMass Dartmouth and the U.S. Navy."

"Southeastern Massachusetts can and should be the center of the offshore wind revolution," said Congressman Jake Auchincloss. "This grant will spur innovation across the South Coast."