A Conversation with Koty Sharp from Roger Williams University
UTIC Intersections–Conversations with Ocean and Undersea Tech Leaders: Conversations with influential leaders in the undersea technology community, soliciting their industry input, guidance and mentorship.
From her early days growing up in coastal Delaware to her academic research in The Republic of Palau, Panama, Belize, Bermuda, California, the Florida Keys, and Rhode Island, Koty has built a distinguished career focused on understanding complex marine biological systems. After receiving her BA from Mount Holyoke College and her PhD from UC’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, she completed fellowships at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, FL, and the Ocean Genome Legacy at New England Biolabs in Ipswich, MA. Following a period as a Marine Science faculty member at Eckerd College, she joined Roger Williams University and is now an Associate Professor of Biology and Marine Biology. She also serves as the Director of the university’s Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED), the university’s applied marine research and extension center.
We asked Koty for her thoughts on some important undersea technology questions:
From the perspective as an academic leader, what current ocean and undersea tech innovations could be game changers in the academic, commercial or government markets?
More than ever, in the face of climate change and within the landscape of a rapidly changing federal government, there’s an urgent need for continued – and enhanced – monitoring of our global oceans and coastlines. Undersea robotics and technology have and will continue to change the game. The next crucial step is connecting those hardware innovations with microbiology, molecular biology, biotechnology, and biogeochemical detection methods, which will enable a new generation of scalable, affordable, and accessible seawater monitoring – what we need for ecologically and economically sustainable management of our coastal and open ocean ecosystems.
What do you see as interesting and innovative approaches in the market today that improve ocean and undersea workforce skills?
The most impactful approaches for improving and growing the workforce are the holistic approaches that engage community members of all ages and levels. I’m especially excited about the initiatives that cultivate interest in marine ecosystems and innovation in K-12 youth, and then purposefully design programming to provide pipelines to training after high school – whether it be in trades, colleges and universities, scientific research, engineering, or entrepreneurship – followed by experiential learning, internships, apprenticeships, and fellowship programs that can then retain those individuals in the field and place them into the workforce. Within the context of today’s rapidly changing socioeconomic demographics, it is critical for workforce development efforts to increase access to ocean and underwater career pathways at every age and stage.
What is at the heart of successful public/private partnerships in ocean and undersea technology innovation?
Good questions are at the heart of all innovation. Public-private partnerships often involve combinations of people with backgrounds that have trained them to see very different pictures of the same ocean. Especially in the case of academic-industry collaborations, these partnerships are an excellent opportunity to develop solutions to the most pressing concerns, especially in terms of conservation. Tapping the experience and expertise of academic researchers to inform the design of technological buildouts and developments is a great recipe for valuable innovation. Conversely, when engineers and designers present a defined scope of technology capacity, academic researchers often can identify ways to adapt and/or leverage the technology – this space between is where the magic happens – where new solutions are invented.
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