Shared Space, Deeper Connections

Sharing space at the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub is creating new connections between the College of Marine Science (CMS), the Innovation District, and the Tampa Bay Ocean Team (TBOT).

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After a devastating fire at the College in May, the Innovation District welcomed displaced research labs into the Hub within days. What began as an immediate response has grown into opportunities to better understand each other's work and connect the College's research with broader efforts across Tampa Bay's maritime community.

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One of those connections took Innovation Manager and TBOT Lead Nisuka Williams onto the water in October, when she joined Jay Law and his crew for a water quality station servicing and sampling trip in Tampa Bay. The crew collected water samples and changed sondes, instruments used to measure water quality, as part of the work supporting the Tampa Bay Observing Network (TBON). The network provides real-time water quality and weather data while maintaining a continuous record of conditions in the Bay, please check out the real time data portal at https://tbon.marine.usf.edu/. The trip offered a firsthand look at the science happening beyond the Hub's walls and the people and equipment needed to sustain it.

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Jay Law also contributes to TBOT's Workforce Task Force. His experience brings a research perspective to efforts to strengthen workforce development and jobs across Tampa Bay's maritime ecosystem. With CMS researchers now working at the Hub, these relationships are creating more opportunities to connect marine science, workforce needs, and regional partnerships.