Durham, N.H. —The University of New Hampshire has officially broken ground on a new, state-of-the-art facility designed to advance ocean and Great Lakes mapping while strengthening partnerships between academia, government, and industry.
The 70,500-square-foot building will house the Center of Excellence for Operational Ocean and Great Lakes Mapping, providing research, office, and instructional space for scientists, students, and private-sector collaborators. Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the facility is expected to open in fall 2027.
University leaders said the project builds on UNH’s long-standing leadership in hydrographic science and ocean exploration.
“This new building will provide an advanced facility for our world-renowned Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping and expand UNH’s decades-long leadership in hydrographic excellence,” said UNH President Elizabeth Chilton. “We are immensely grateful to NOAA and to Senator Jeanne Shaheen for their ongoing commitment to UNH’s excellence in seafloor mapping.”
Since 1999, UNH and NOAA have collaborated through a cooperative agreement that allows NOAA to operate the Joint Hydrographic Center and the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping on the Durham campus. That partnership has positioned UNH as a global leader in ocean floor and coastal mapping, work that supports safe navigation, national security, disaster response, and environmental protection.
Over the past two decades, the center has mapped more than one million square kilometers of ocean floor, discovered shipwrecks, supported federal disaster response efforts, and pioneered the use of autonomous vehicles for ocean data collection.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who helped secure federal funding for the project, said the new facility will strengthen both scientific innovation and the regional economy.
“By creating a training ground for ocean mapping experts, the project will contribute to scientific innovations with real applications at NOAA while also adding new jobs to our coastal economy,” Shaheen said.
The Center of Excellence will focus on hydrographic training and workforce development, provide technical expertise for NOAA mapping operations using crewed and uncrewed platforms, and help transition research breakthroughs into real-world operational use through partnerships with academia and industry.
Located at the intersection of Main Street and Mast Road in Durham, about a mile from UNH’s main campus, the building will include classrooms, offices, and two large high-bay spaces equipped with overhead cranes. These areas will be used to store, outfit, and stage large equipment and small vessels.
Roughly half of the facility will be dedicated to industry partners, offering co-location space where companies can share equipment and collaborate directly with UNH researchers and students.
“Engaging with industry collaborators from New Hampshire and across the globe creates high-impact opportunities for our students, boosts the state’s economy, and provides companies with access to state-of-the-art facilities,” Chilton said, adding that the building will play a central role in UNH’s planned Edge innovation district.
Demand for industry co-location at UNH has surged in recent years, with the number of partner companies growing by more than 400% since 2022. Current collaborators include New Hampshire-based sonar technology firm Klein Marine, French maritime robotics company Exail, controlled-environment developer Airtho, and Australian metal 3D-printing company SPEE3D. UNH’s John Olson Advanced Manufacturing Center will also occupy space in the new building.
University officials said the expanding ecosystem of academic and industry partners is expected to accelerate workforce development, move new technologies from concept to market, and drive job creation across the region.
