Last week, MBARI researchers participated in the OCEANS 2026 Monterey conference, sharing their latest research and technology with peers from around the world.

Hosted by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, the biannual OCEANS conference gives maritime professionals from around the world a forum to learn, innovate, and lead in the protection and use of the world’s largest natural resource: our ocean.

OCEANS 2026 Monterey was held September 21 to 24 and brought together more than 1,100 participants and 100 exhibitors for plenary talks, town halls, oral sessions, poster sessions, workshops, and a student poster competition. The conference’s theme—Oceans: Where Research and Development Make a Difference—highlighted the essential collaboration between industry, government, and academia in advancing solutions for our blue planet. 

Current and former MBARI staff played a pivotal role in organizing this conference—former Senior Research and Development Engineer William Kirkwood served as the conference chair, Information Engineering Group Lead Kevin Gomes served as the conference co-chair, Principal Engineer Giancarlo Troni was a technical program chair, and former Chief Financial Officer Mike Pinto was the conference’s finance chair—and many more MBARI staff helped as volunteers.

OCEANS 2026 Monterey celebrated Monterey Bay as a hub for ocean research, highlighting MBARI as a global leader in marine science and engineering. 

President and CEO Antje Boetius delivered a plenary about MBARI’s engineering program and future strategies for ocean technology. Her session followed a plenary by former MBARI President and CEO Marcia McNutt about the evolution of autonomous underwater vehicles for ocean exploration. The FathomNet and Synchro collaborations hosted by MBARI held town hall discussions to help advance artificial intelligence and accessible ocean technology, respectively.

More than 20 members of the MBARI team presented posters during the conference. Several of these were led by early-career researchers, demonstrating MBARI’s commitment to fostering the next generation of ocean explorers. During a luncheon organized by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society’s Women in Engineering program, MBARI’s SciComm Team hosted an interactive storytelling workshop to help engineers communicate their work.

MBARI had a booth in the exhibit hall, where Talent Acquisition and Retention Specialist Jessica Chapman and Senior Education and Research Specialist George Matsumoto led a team of volunteers to share MBARI research, technology, and career opportunities with conference attendees.

After the conference, MBARI hosted attendees at our research facilities in Moss Landing, California, including a tour of our state-of-the-art flagship research vessel, the David Packard.