The “blue economy” is booming. From monitoring and mitigating climate change to bolstering coastal economies, there are more opportunities than ever for ocean science students to build meaningful careers in the field. That’s why on April 23, 138 students, industry professionals and researchers gathered at the University of Washington’s South Campus Center for the first-ever TIDES Conference, a free event to connect ocean science students with marine technology careers in Seattle and beyond.

TIDES (Technologies for Innovation, Design, & Environmental Stewardship) was the result of collaborations between the UW College of the Environment and leaders from across the Seattle marine technology industry, including BioSonics, the Puget Sound Marine Technology Society, Sea-Bird Scientific and Sequoia Scientific.

The conference featured presentations and panel discussions by experts from the UW and across the marine technology field, covering topics that ranged from climate change mitigation and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal to innovations in ocean sensors. In addition to numerous networking opportunities, students were also invited to present their own work.

Building community and careers

“In Seattle, we have a lot of companies in ocean technology, but no real sense of organization,” said Ole Mikkelsen, president & CEO of Sequoia Scientific, who was one of the key organizers of the event. “For the TIDES Conference, the goal is to foster a bigger sense of community among local practitioners in this area.”

Last year, Mikkelsen approached Dan Herb, career services specialist at the College of the Environment, asking to collaborate on a conference to bring together students and industry professionals. Herb was enthusiastic.

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Alex Gagnon, associate professor of oceanography and co-founder and CEO of Banyu Carbon, talks about the state of ocean-based carbon dioxide removal research.

“Events like this are an opportunity for students interested in a particular industry to learn about opportunities, roles and career pathways, and to make connections they can follow up on in the future,” he said. “In fact, this could serve as a model for similar networking events in other industries, such as environmental consulting, environmental education or forestry.”

“Cross-industry participation was critical to the success of TIDES,” said Jess Pounds, president of Sea-Bird Scientific, one of the principal organizers of the event. “Long-term solutions for our oceans and waterways can only be sustained when there is proactive collaboration in forums like this, which include the voices of students. The conference drove understanding of what’s happening in our own backyard, and enabled students to connect what they’re learning in the classroom to bigger themes and even global initiatives, such as those by the UN Ocean Decade.”

Sasha Seroy, a professor in the UW School of Oceanography, works with undergraduates who are interested in these areas through the Ocean Technology Program. In addition to their coursework, students in the program conduct hands-on work utilizing advanced equipment including marine sensors and autonomous underwater vehicles, and even have opportunities to design their own.

Seroy saw the TIDES Conference as an important opportunity for students to get a better sense of future career paths.

“The more we can create community and encourage collaboration, that will help us solve the pressing issues we have locally and globally,” she said. “For students who may have limited exposure to careers outside of academia, the conference also broadens their view of what the options are and possible next steps post-graduation.”

“A significant, positive impact on the world”

In addition to learning from professionals, 30 student attendees at the TIDES Conference had the opportunity to share their own research in two poster sessions.

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Students shared their research with conference attendees at the poster sessions.

Lydia Kelley, a UW senior majoring in oceanography, was one of those presenters. She shared her senior thesis research, which examines seismic activity along the Cascadia subduction zone — a fault line in the Pacific Ocean capable of producing an earthquake of magnitude 9.0+ (known colloquially as “the big one”). Her study could help scientists better understand where an earthquake would hit the hardest, informing hazard mitigation and potentially saving lives.

“It is important for scientists to understand the technology that makes their work possible, just as engineers benefit from seeing the applications of their tools,” she said. “This conference provides a space for those connections that create partnerships and lead to better, more innovative science.”

UW alumni played a role in the event as well, helping to provide a model for current students at their alma mater.

Courtney Avioli, ‘23, a research scientist at the UW’s Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies and mechanical engineer at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, attended the conference because she wanted to connect with the next generation of engineers and scientists, learn about their research, and share the industry insights she’s gained since graduating.

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Attendees had the opportunity to tour the research vessel Rachel Carson and learn about marine research instruments.

“One of my biggest takeaways from this conference is that in industry, we need to find more ways to engage with students,” she said. “The TIDES Conference offered an incredible opportunity to do this, and I hope there will be many more efforts in the future.”

“I want to emphasize the caliber of the student teams I met at TIDES,” she added. “The innovation coming out of UW is truly remarkable. These students are poised to make a significant, positive impact on the world.”

The organizers agreed that the conference was a huge success. Before the event came to a close, they were ready to start planning for next year.

“The conference filled up so quickly that we had to set up a waitlist after just a few weeks,” Herb said. “It’s clear that people had been waiting for an opportunity like this, and we’re excited to explore how we can make the next one even more successful.”

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Story by Tess Wrobleski
Photos by Cameron Munn