With the goal of enriching students’ educational experiences and enhancing the research capabilities of marine scientists on the Great Lakes, Collins Engineers, Inc. (Collins) has donated a Phantom-300 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee School of Freshwater Science (SFS), located at the Great Lakes WATER Institute.
The cost of a similar ROVpurchased new would range between $25,000 and $35,000.
“The SFS offers interdisciplinary graduate-level training and provides a variety of marine research opportunities, as well as fosters partnerships in international waterrelated projects so we are very excited by this donation,” said the school’s founding dean, Dr. David Garman.
“The Phantom-300 ROV donated by Collins will be used to teach students about ROV technology and serve as a platform to support student research in underwater engineering,” said Dr. Thomas Consi, an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment at UWMilwaukee in the SFS and the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The ROV that Collins donated was originally used as part of an award-winning federal demonstration project entitled Demonstration Project 80—Underwater Inspection of Bridges that included underwater inspection training by Collins in all 50 states. The ROV unit was used to demonstrate one method employed in the underwater inspection of submerged structures.
“Collaboration with academic facilities and research institutes is beneficial not just for Collins but for all consulting firms since it provides a connection with the technologies and leaders of tomorrow,” said Thomas J. Collins, President of Collins Engineers, Inc.
“As part of the Milwaukee community, we at Collins enjoy our relationship with the university and applaud its promotion of underwater activities,” said Terry Browne, Division Manager and Professional Engineer-Diver at Collins.
The UW-Milwaukee is also a facilitator of the MATE Regional ROV Contest that introduces high school students to underwater engineering through an ROV design competition, for which Mr. Browne is an industry mentor.
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff , January 31, 2012; Image: Collins