Home Industries Health Services PBN summit panelists: Blue tech, life sciences face ‘a pivotal point’

PBN summit panelists: Blue tech, life sciences face ‘a pivotal point’

Updated at 3 p.m.

By

Jacquelyn Voghel

-

03/11/2026

TED WILLIAMS, far left, president of Senesco Marine LLC, speaks during one of the panel discussions at Providence Business News' 2026 Emerging Industries Summit on Wednesday. Also on the panel is, from left, Ben Sorkin, CEO of Flux Marine Ltd.; Jason Noel, operations executive at Juice Robotics LLC; Linda Larsen, maritime and industry engagement manager at Polaris Tech Bridge; and Daniela Fairchild, chief strategy officer at R.I. Commerce Corp. PBN Editor Michael Mello, standing, is moderating. / PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

PROVIDENCE – While drivers battle rush hour traffic on the Washington Bridge, Flux Marine CEO Ben Sorkin’s commute is smooth sailing – almost literally. Making his way up Narragansett Bay in a company-built boat, it’s neither wind nor a combustion engine, but electricity that powers the journey. On board, the only traffic Sorkin has to

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PROVIDENCE – While drivers battle rush hour traffic on the Washington Bridge, Flux Marine CEO Ben Sorkin’s commute is smooth sailing – almost literally. Making his way up Narragansett Bay in a company-built boat, it’s neither wind nor a combustion engine, but electricity that powers the journey. On board, the only traffic Sorkin has to worry about comes in the form of some scattered quahog fishing boats. Though Sorkin appreciates the easy navigation, he can’t help but feel some dismay over the relative solitude. “Why are there not more boats?” Sorkin asked the audience Wednesday during Providence Business News’ 2026 Emerging Industries Summit at the Providence Mariott Downtown. “There’s so much incredible coastline. I would love to find a way to enable more people to use boats.” Sorkin joined a panel of fellow Ocean State industry leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities surrounding Rhode Island’s blue economy. That panel, one of the two held at the summit, also featured Daniela Fairchild, chief strategy officer for R.I. Commerce Corp.; Linda Larsen, maritime and industry engagement manager for Polaris Tech Bridge; Jason Noel, operations executive at Juice Robotics; and Ted Williams, president of Senesco Marine. As the Ocean State, Rhode Island’s geography gives it a natural advantage in blue innovation, panelists said. In a partnership with Massachusetts, the state also boasts one of 31 federally designated tech hubs, and the only such hub dedicated to maritime autonomy in the Ocean Tech Hub. The Ocean Tech Hub won the competitive designation in 2023 under a Biden-era initiative. But the following year, industry leaders were dismayed that the hub missed out on a slice of a $504 million funding round. Fairchild said that Ocean Tech Hub has persevered with the resources it has and was recently one of 11 tech hubs declared eligible to apply for up to $50 million in additional funding. “The (tech hub) designation itself has led to a lot of scale and capacity-building locally,” she added. “We’ve seen a lot of investment locally, then there’s still opportunity for more federal engagement.” But the state also faces challenges such as a limited pool of workers to draw from and skills gaps that limit local production opportunities. Senesco Marine’s propulsion systems, for instance, are all imported due to a local skills gap, Williams said. For “all of these vessels, we’re getting the propulsion systems from Europe,” he said. “That’s not a skill set we have in the U.S.” Plus, with a high cost of living in Rhode Island, Williams added, it’s hard to attract workers from other, less expensive areas of the country that have a significant blue economy workforce, such as the southeast coast. The second panel focused on the bio/life sciences industry. It included Mike Cavacas, senior manager for Amgen’s solution preparation operations and manufacturing capacity strategy; Lilia Holt, interim president of the R.I. Life Science Hub; Peter Ricci, CEO and president for Trace Technologies; Glenn Robertelli, executive director of R.I. Bio and Nishita Roy Pope, CEO and founder of Courage Builder. Like the blue economy, biotech has its own Ocean State hub: The Rhode Island Life Science Hub, established in 2023 under state legislation. That hub has experienced its own disruptions, including the abrupt departure of its inaugural president and CEO, Mark Turco, who earlier this month announced that he would resign from the role just over a year into a three-year contract. But Holt, who served as the hub’s vice president before taking the reins as its interim leader, isn’t worried that the shake-up will stall progress. “I’m very excited to keep the momentum of what the R.I. Life Science Hub has done,” she said, adding that the quasi-public agency is “at a pivotal point.” In February, the hub opened Ocean State Labs, the state’s first dedicated life science incubator, which currently hosts seven tenants. The most recent arrival, Irish medtech company SymPhysis Medical, announced earlier this month that it will establish its U.S. headquarters in the facility. Robertelli is confident that the Ocean State Labs space will also prove itself as an attractive option for researchers who don’t want to make the commute to Boston. But when it comes to relationships with other biotech metros, Robertelli says that “collaboration versus competition is the key." “Each area has its own strengths and weaknesses,” he continued, with Rhode Island shining in areas like neuroscience, diagnostics and biomedical manufacturing. “Those are the strengths we should build upon,” Robertelli said, “and not compete with other states or ecosystems, but collaborate with them.” Rhode Island also needs to foster early interest in the life sciences, Pope-Roy said, starting with students as young as kindergarteners. Through her education and workforce development startup, Courage Builder, Pope-Roy is working to connect young people with industry experts and hands-on engagement opportunities. “We're taking students who have a stereotypical view of what life sciences might be and broadening them," she said. “We have to start early, make it relatable, make it fun, meet people where they are, get people hooked, and then we keep building it as they go.” (UPDATE: Adds Daniela Fairchild of R.I. Commerce Corp. to group of first panelists in 5th paragraph.) Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.