Conference: NSF Workshop: Developing Future Workforce for Marine Renewable Energy Technologies and Blue Economy

Oceans and lakes cover over 70% of the Earth's surface, and they are being recognized as the next research frontier for addressing the global challenges in climate change and clean energy. With the blue economy poised to double its value to $3 trillion by 2030, there's a critical need for a skilled workforce capable of harnessing ocean renewable energy technologies and developing the blue economy. Although the theoretical capacity of offshore wind energy is 18 times today’s global electricity demand and the power density of ocean waves is over 10 times that of solar power, marine energy harvesting, including waves, currents and offshore wind energy, has not achieved widespread commercial acceptance. This project seeks to address this gap by organizing an educational workshop to identify the critical technical and professional skills and innovative experiential learning methodologies for the intellectual advancement of marine energy technologies Technically, the workshop will convene academic researchers, industry representatives, government agencies, policy makers, and interested students to discuss the latest advancements in ocean renewable energy, evaluate its impact, and identify essential skills for the blue workforce. Through keynote talks, panel discussions, and breakout sessions, participants will explore topics such as marine energy research convergence integrating engineering with physics, economics, environmental, and social sciences, experiential learning with cross-cutting partnerships among academia, industry, government, national labs, and non-government organizations, multi-faceted professional skill training including communication, leadership, ethics, teamwork, entrepreneurship and community engagement. This project aims to outline actionable strategies for workforce development, curriculum innovation, interdisciplinary training, community engagement, and DEI, ultimately contributing to the growth of ocean-based renewable energy technologies and the blue economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.