Sector: Underwater Communications
State/Region: San Diego, California
Organization: Kenautics
Titles: CEO and Lead Engineer(s)
Kenautics is an underwater communications device manufacturer. They develop devices for divers, underwater vehicles, and subsea engineers. Their technology enhances underwater navigation and communication using a system of buoys and an interface device.
Their devices rely on a battery system that requires periodic replacement. Through discussions, we identified an opportunity where our device could be used to charge these batteries instead of replacing them, making Kenautics a key potential end user for our technology.
Sector: Water and Energy Distribution
State/Region: Arizona
Organization: Salt River Project
Title: Principal Engineer for Innovation & Development
Tom Acker informed us about the Salt River Project (SRP) and their mission to provide clean and reliable water and energy to support community growth. We learned that power storage is a crucial factor for energy suppliers, as different energy forms require specific storage techniques tailored to their characteristics and distribution methods.
Additionally, SRP is aiming to transition to 100% renewable energy sources by 2035, which highlights the importance of sustainable energy solutions like ours.
Sector: Oceanographic Research and Numerical Modeling
State/Region: Virginia (Naval Research Laboratory)
Organization: Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
Title: Civil Engineering Researcher, Expert in Numerical Modeling and Amphibious Systems
Cheryl Blain shared her extensive background in numerical modeling, with applications ranging from surface water dynamics to drone and motor modeling. With a PhD in numerical modeling and a position at NRL, her work centers on developing advanced coastal and deep-ocean simulation models. Her expertise supports underwater systems like the Manta Ray UUV, which is designed for long-duration ocean exploration without constant charging.
She emphasized the importance of getting real-world experience and finding one’s passion within the field. Her insights into simulation, design constraints at extreme depths, and the energy harvesting strategies employed by NRL’s systems were invaluable to understanding the multidisciplinary nature of underwater vehicle development.
State/Region: Flagstaff, Arizona
Organization: Willow Bend Environmental Education Center
Title: NAU Renewable Energy Science Saturday
This connections event at Willow Bend for their “Science Saturday” event was an interesting experience for our team. We worked with the other energy competition teams to show the attendees of the event of the fun of renewable energy, especially with an easy to make wind water pressure turbine. Our focus was on bringing marine energy and its varying ways of power generation to the community.
Our MECC group repurposed recycled bottles collected from our campus and basic office supplies to set up an interactive crafting station. Visitors had the opportunity to build their own wave turbines using a bottle that bobbed up and down in a bucket of water. As the water applied pressure to the air inside the bottle, the compressed air was forced through a hole in the bottle cap, driving a small turbine to demonstrate wave energy conversion in action.
