This week, NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad visited UNH to announce the creation of a new Center of Excellence for Operational Ocean and Great Lakes Mapping at UNH. “NOAA and UNH have a long history of collaborating to advance the latest technologies and tools to map our ocean, coasts and Great Lakes — a cornerstone of the blue economy,” Spinrad said. “Our continued partnership on the Center of Excellence will help build a workforce ready to tackle the mapping challenges of the future, and further our understanding of our changing ocean and coasts.” The Center, funded with a three-year, $20 million grant from NOAA, expands on a 24-year ocean and Great Lakes mapping partnership between NOAA and UNH. Spinrad joined UNH Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping and UNH NOAA Joint Hydrographic Center directors Larry Mayer and Andy Armstrong and Marian McCord, UNH senior vice provost for research, economic engagement and outreach, for a tour of UNH’s Chase Ocean Engineering Laboratory and the J...