4C Offshore Empowering Intelligence

UMaine secures financial backing for testing facility

4C Offshore | Tom Russell
By: Tom Russell 24/11/2015 UMaine
The University of Maine has secured a total of $13.88 million to establish the Harold Alfond W2 Ocean Engineering Laboratory and Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center on the University's campus.

The Harold Alfond Foundation announced a $3.9 million grant to the University of Maine at the laboratory dedication earlier this week.

The grant comes as an addition to the $9.98 million already raised through four grant competitions, including the U.S. Economic Development Administration, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Maine Technology Institute, as well as a Maine voter-approved bond, supported by the Governor and Maine Legislature in June 2015.

The Ocean Engineering Laboratory will prototype coastal and offshore structures, including ships, aquaculture facilities, oil and gas structures, and ocean energy devices under extreme wave, wind and current environments.



The total construction, equipping and start-up of the new laboratories over the first three years will cost more than $13.8 million.  

The Alfond Foundation naming gift of $3.9 million will help complete the equipping of the facility, hire world-class engineers for the start-up in 2015–16, and fund graduate and undergraduate students over three years to help start-up the facility.

“We are investing in people and infrastructure that will support ocean engineering, and advanced manufacturing education and research, and grow Maine jobs,”
said Gregory Powell, chairman of the Harold Alfond Foundation.

“I am delighted that after years of hard work, the University of Maine is establishing world-class research capabilities in ocean engineering and advanced composites manufacturing to help Maine and the nation improve our industrial competitiveness in boatbuilding, renewable energy and aquaculture, and to help protect our coastal cities from major storms,”
said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.  

Yesterday the University of Maine-led New England Aqua Ventus I offshore wind project, was awarded an additional $3.7 million (€3.48m) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to complete engineering and planning work, and approach financial close.

 

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