Project Profile

The Ocean Institute (OI), in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps), Capistrano Valley Boys & Girls Clubs (B&GC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), is developing "SeaTech," a multi–year, Youth–based ITEST program providing 120 female and minority middle and high school students from underserved populations with 391 contact hours of information technology (IT)–intensive oceanographic research experiences. SeaTech content focuses on understanding the acoustic behaviors of whales and dolphins, specifically, sound production, noise impacts and acoustic population census in California, the Bering Sea and the Southern Ocean. SeaTech offers a two–year core program for 13 & 14 year olds consisting of a "Breadth of Exposure" phase and a “Depth of Skills” phase totaling 299 hours. The core program has three distinct elements—after–school clubs, field explorations and summer research institutes—and is augmented with efforts before and after: an Early Pipeline Development phase (52 hours) for youth age 12, and Internships (40 hours) for youth age 15.