Bridging Knowledge and Innovation: Highlights from OCEANS 2025

Thank you all for joining us for the last MTS/IEEE-OES OCEANS Conference in Chicago! This international event brought ocean professionals to the Great Lakes, our freshwater ocean, for the first time. The conference theme this year was New Horizons in Blue Tech: Bridging Knowledge and Innovation, as the Great Lakes Region serves as a bridge for two nations to the sea. 

OCEANS 2025 offered an exhibit hall at the historic Navy Pier and in-water technical demonstrations steps away from the exhibit hall. 

In addition, the exhibit hall hosted a Startup Alley, featuring an exclusive opportunity for emerging companies and research teams to connect with experts, demonstrate their cutting-edge solutions, and contribute to the evolving landscape of blue technology. 

The conference featured three days of plenary sessions. Tuesday focused on the current topic, "Challenges and Opportunities in Cold Water Operations." The session brought together two distinguished experts to address operational challenges in Great Lakes, Colonel Kenneth Rockwell — Commander, Chicago District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and in polar environments, Dr. Oscar Schofield — Rutgers Distinguished Professor & Chair of the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences discussing "Accessible Earth's Inaccessible Ocean Regions: New Tools and Technologies for Accessing the Polar Oceans."

The Wednesday session focused on the "State of the Great Lakes" and brought together leading voices in Great Lakes science, policy, and governance. Panelists shared insights on the current state of these critical freshwater resources, highlighted challenges, and explored opportunities for innovation and collaboration. The panelists included:

• Robert Michael McKay — Director and Professor, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (University of Windsor)
• Heather M. Stirratt — Former Executive Director, International Joint Commission's Great Lakes Regional Office
• Todd Nettesheim — Deputy Director, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The session was moderated by Dr. Caitlin Looby, the Great Lakes and environmental reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

The Thursday plenary session focused on the future, specifically the people who will be working on the challenges and opportunities presented during the earlier plenary sessions. The keynote address was provided by Aeon Bashir, Aeon is an ocean enthusiast and high school sophomore from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. His love for oceans began at a very young age, especially with whales and dolphins. He noticed that there was a lack of knowledge about oceans and marine life inland, and wanted to share his learning with his friends and family. At age seven, he founded Aeon for Ocean, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit kids-based ocean conservation organization in Minnesota. 

The balance of the plenary session was focused on the Student Poster Competition Awards. The OCEANS Student Poster Competition is an annual event funded by the Office of Naval Research. The competition affords students a spotlight to share their research with the community. 

The OCEANS 2025 technical program and Town Hall sessions highlighted a variety of topics including entrepreneurship for the blue economy, coastal resiliency, spill response, cold climate ecosystem observations, and more. 

Thank you to everyone who contributed and attended OCEANS 2025! We hope to see you again soon during future MTS events.