Swain Tapped for Biofouling Innovation Jury
Geoffrey Swain, professor of oceanography and ocean engineering and director of the Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control, has been named to the jury of a first-ever competition to develop innovative solutions and technologies that may improve the prevention, management and monitoring of marine biofouling.
The Biofouling Innovation Challenge is a collaboration of the World Ocean Council and the Ocean Opportunity Lab. A global event with submissions expected from multiple countries, organizers have chosen a 9-person jury of U.S. and international experts described as “professionals that have significantly contributed to the research and overall development in the maritime industry.”
That certainly describes Swain. He started his career at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, where he worked to develop novel methods for corrosion and biofouling control for the Royal Navy and the Department of Energy. In the early 1980s, he moved to Aberdeen, Scotland, where he joined the Offshore Marine Studies Unit conducting corrosion and biofouling surveys on offshore structures in the North Sea. He came to Florida Tech in 1984, promptly establishing the Center and continuing his biofouling research.
Swain is a member of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance; the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology; and the Marine Biological Association of the U.K. Among his notable accomplishments are the design of the cathodic protection system for the Living Seas experience at Disney World, establishing a quality control procedure for dry docking and fouling control coatings for the cruise line Royal Caribbean International, and pioneering the development of in-water grooming to maintain ship hulls in a smooth and fouling free condition.
Competition submissions will be reviewed and shortlisted by the jury and selected proposals will be pitched to investors at the World Ocean Council´s Sustainable Ocean Summit in Barcelona in October.
