The groundbreaking last week for the Undersea Exploration Center on the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus is a reminder that there are a great many uncharted territories left to investigate. And the Ocean State is exactly where it should be in this particular endeavor – blazing the trail.
Robert Ballard, the director of URI’s Institute of Archeological Oceanography, is a true leader in the field. His 1985 discovery of the Titanic was no fluke. And he continues to set the pace with the development of remotely operated vehicles, which the new center will use to great advantage.
But as much as the details of the discovery of “inner space,” as Ballard calls it, vicariously satisfy the adventurer in all of us, the state’s citizens have played a direct role in building the new facility, scheduled to open in 2009. After all, in 2004 the voters approved a $14 million bond issue that is paying for the construction.
It is this kind of targeted investment in the innovation economy that is necessary for the state’s future. The key now is to build on this first important step. •