MIT Sea Grant Takes Sea Perch Program to Cyprus

This September, The MIT Sea Grant College Program is taking its innovative underwater robotics program known as Sea Perch on the road¤and across the sea¤to Cyprus. The educational program, initiated with the U.S. Office of Naval Research, aims to introduce pre-college students to the wonders of underwater robotics and help recruit the next generation of naval architects. Through Sea Perch, teachers learn how to teach their students to build their own remotely operated vehicle (ROV), called a Sea Perch, and employ that underwater robot in real-life applications.For the Cyprus effort, MIT Sea Grant is teaming up with The Cyprus Institute: Energy, Environment and Water Research Center (EEWRC) to run a large-scale Sea Perch initiative. In Cyprus, MIT Sea Grant staff members Sarah Olivo and Michael Soroka will work with EEWRC staff in leading workshops with 15 teachers. Those teachers will then instruct some 150 high school students in the hands-on construction of their own ROVs.MIT Sea Grant is part of the National Sea Grant College Program, a network of 30 programs working to promote the conservation and sustainable development of our marine resources through research, education, and outreach. In the educational arena, MIT Sea Grant is particularly committed to providing meaningful, hands-on experience to the young people who will be our stewards, engineers, naval architects, coastal managers, and policy makers of tomorrow. Sea Grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).