Schmidt Marine Technology Partners

05/01/2026

🌊 Calling all innovators! 🌊

Applications for Solve - MIT's 10th Anniversary Global Challenge are officially open. We're proud to support the Challenge with our $100,000 Schmidt Marine Wavemaker's Prize to restore and protect the oceans.

Think you have what it takes to make a difference? Apply by May 21st, 2026 ➡️ https://solve.mit.edu/a-decade-of-impact/challenges/10-for-10-challenge

04/29/2026

04/28/2026

04/06/2026

⚡️Why not power ocean science with the power of the ocean itself? That’s the question Yi Chao, Founder and CEO of Seatrec, set out to answer.

🌊 It’s an ironic mission for an oceanographer prone to seasickness. Maybe that’s why he spent 15 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they observe the ocean from space. 🛰️ But during his time at NASA, Chao saw firsthand the "power gap" in marine exploration. Critical endeavors such as mapping the seafloor (80% is still uncharted), tracking hurricanes, and protecting marine life are challenging in remote and unforgiving environments. He decided to do something about it.

🪫 The battery problem. Robot sensors could help unlock the ocean's secrets, but they require power. When a robot runs out of juice, it’s either left for dead in the water or a costly boat trip is required for a battery change.

🌡️ Enter: Thermal Energy Harvesting. Chao and his team developed a way to let the environment power robotic floats using phase-change materials. By taking advantage of the temperature differences in the water column (the change in volume as substances transition between solid and liquid), SEATREC has created a way to generate power indefinitely. No boats or batteries.

🌊 Today, SEATREC’s latest model of underwater drone, the infiniTE™ float, is capable of supporting all manner of sensors including echosounders and hydrophones, and has been deployed in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. An earlier system completed more than 1,000 dives.

“With energy no longer a limitation, a global fleet of hundreds or even thousands infiniTE™ floats will collect the 3D data necessary for thorough ocean monitoring, exploration, and conservation,” said Chao.

🔗 Follow SEATREC's journey: seatrec.com

🎥 Watch the video to hear why Yi studies the sea and how he finds calm at the water's edge.

03/20/2026

🌎 Whether working on conservation on land or at sea, there are many similarities in the technologies used. 🧰

🤝 The first-ever International Conservation Technology Conference (ICTC), held last month in Lima, Peru, aimed to bring together conservation experts from the terrestrial and marine environments alike. SMTP Director Mark Schrope attended, along with some 600 participants from around the world, who participated in workshops and discussed collaboration across borders. https://wildlabs.net/event/international-conservation-technology-conference

🗣️ Mark shared insights from 10 years of Schmidt Marine Technology Partners (and the more than 100 projects funded), speaking on issues of resources, technology gaps, scaling, and the power of stories in conservation work.

💬 Did you attend, and if so, what were your main takeaways?

03/13/2026

The University of California Santa Cruz professional development course in Coastal Climate Resilience starts April 9th, and registration is still open!

Curriculum topics include:
✔️ Principles of Coastal Resilience & Climate Change
✔️ Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation: Case Studies & Tools
✔️ Policies Relevant to Nature-based Solutions
✔️ Equitable Engagement of Interested Parties
✔️ Sources and Steps to Financing Coastal Resilience at National & State Levels
✔️ Insurance and Innovative Financing for Resilient Communities
✔️ Data Sources, Tools & Models for Resilient Coastal Adaptation
✔️ Communicating Coastal Resilience

📌 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gX979dnF

Skills you will gain Climate Adaptation Solutions: Application of nature-based strategies for coastal resilience. Funding Resource Access: Planning and securing support for adaptation projects. Risk Assessment Tools: Use of models and strategies for coastal planning. Equitable Community Engagement:....

03/12/2026

We made 🌊deep 🌊 connections and strengthened partnerships at the AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting (AGU Ocean Sciences Section) in Glasgow!

From engaging with early SMTP grantees Ocean Diagnostics and SEATREC at their booths to learning from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers presenting posters, to joining a workshop on the Fishing Vessel Ocean Observing Network (FVON) with newer grantee Ocean Data Network, we're more energized than ever for the future of ocean technology.

What inspired you most at ?

01/21/2026

✨ Funding Opportunity ✨ The Global Ocean Innovation Challenge is calling for startups to launch real-world pilots in Asia Pacific, receive funding, get expert support and resources, and make a measurable impact on marine conservation.

Apply by February 6, 2026:

Apply to pilot your technology in our planet's ocean to help protect marine life, restore marine ecosystems, strengthen coastal resilience, and unlock data for smarter ocean stewardship.

01/15/2026

💼 New year, new role? See what opportunities are available on the Ocean Job Board: https://jobs.schmidtmarine.org/jobs 🌊

At Schmidt Marine, we created the Ocean Job Board to help drive ocean conservation forward by providing access to top jobs across the community.

12/16/2025

🌊 Anuscheh Nawaz, a Research Scientist and Principal Engineer at the University of Washington, studied in landlocked Stuttgart, Germany. But it's the sea that has her heart.

🛟 With her project, NanoCTD, she's proving out a small, low-cost, low-power salinity sensor that hopefully provides actionable environmental data to communities. Called Salino, the sensor was built in the Nawaz Lab at the UW Applied Physics Laboratory and just had its first deployment in the Arctic in September, in Prudhoe Bay, tethered to a Sofar Ocean Spotter Buoy for easy extraction—it was only temporarily lost under the ice, but survived!

⛵ In November, the instrument hitched a ride on the Norwegian tall ship, Statsraad Lehmkuhl, as part of the OneOcean Expedition. It was integrated into the ship's water inlet as it traveled from Seattle, Washington, to La Paz, Mexico.

📹 Watch Nawaz, who is a Schmidt Marine Technology Partners grantee, explain the Salino sensor, its promise, and why finding scalable ways of monitoring ocean health is so important to her.

Learn more: https://www.nawazinnovation.com/