On 26th April 2025, IIT AGNE jointly hosted a panel discussion on Sustainability and the Blue Economy in partnership with the Department of Physics and Initiative for Sustainable Energy at Brown University. The panel was ably moderated by IIT Bombay alum, Prof. Nitin P. Padture, the founding director of the Initiative for Sustainable Energy, and included Elizabeth ("Liz") Tanner, Rhode Island's Secretary of Commerce, Dr. Adam Soule, Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography, and Ms. Jennifer McCann, the Director of U.S. Coastal Programs, Coastal Resources Center at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography.

Rhode Island and several universities including Brown and URI are part of a key federal initiative, designated as the Ocean Tech Hub intended to foster economic opportunities through collaboration. Among the many activities included a mapping of the resources and interdependencies in the ocean economy in Rhode Island, performed by the Coastal Resources Center and documented in a recent report "The Value of Rhode Island's Blue Economy". As an example, they shared the work in developing Special Area Management Plans that allowed for mapping of offshore wind locations as well as suitable channels to lay cables to avoid fouling fishing and navigation. Currently there is over 15 GW of offshore wind permitted for installation. 

Prof. Soule spoke to the untapped potential in the ocean depths, especially for minerals. For example, there is an opportunity to mine for Manganese nodules at the 4000 to 5000 meter depth, but it requires technologies that might take several years to mature before it becomes economically viable. The US hasn't signed the UN Law of the Sea that covers seabed mining. In addition, there is a growing interest and opportunity in unmanned ocean and submersible vehicles. URI has also produced a tool to evaluate the effect of sea level rise on communities.

After time for networking and refreshments following the panel, the audience was escorted on a tour of the new engineering facilities including the maker shop, which is open to the local community, as well as the drone lab, featuring Spot from Boston Dynamics, and the wind tunnel test facility, where bird and UAV models were tested. Overall, it was a great opportunity for IIT AGNE to renew its connections with the South coast and Rhode Island.  The program was put together by Chidambar Ganesh, IIT B '81and Geeta Chougule, from Brown along with several local volunteers that included both IIT alumni and non-IITians.

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