BLUE INNOVATION CENTER

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Rear Adm (Ret). David Duryea is a native of Orchard Park, New York. He graduated from the University of Rochester earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Geomechanics. A retired Submarine Officer, Duryea’s served on 4 submarines including Commanding Officer of the USS Florida Gold (SSBN 728). Shore duty assignments include a tour at the United States Strategic Command and Force Engineer, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. As an Acquisition Corps member, he served as Program Manager, Advanced Submarine Systems Development Office, Program Manager, Submarine Imaging and Electronic Warfare Systems (PMS 435) and Program manager, Special Operations Forces Undersea Mobility Program Office (PMS 399). As a Flag officer, he served as Naval Sea Systems Command, Deputy Commander for Undersea Warfare and Commander, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC)/Director, Undersea Technology (SEA 073).  He retired from the Navy on Nov. 1, 2014. After retirement, he was the Vice President for Finance and Management at the State University of New York at Cortland from 2015–2018. He is currently the Director, Naval Initiatives at Systems Planning and Analysis in Alexandria, VA.  

 Eben Franks has more than 45 years of experience as a sailor, sea-going technician, geological engineer, geochemist, marine science educator, ROV pilot, adventurer and ocean explorer. Between 1981 and 2002, he was manager of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Stable Isotope Paleoclimate lab. During that time, he personally collected over 500 deep sea sediment cores ranging in length from a few inches to more than 100 feet. In 2002, Eben collected the longest sediment core ever taken in the Arctic, more than 65 feet. Since beginning his sea-going career at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1971, Eben has spent more than 8 1/2 years at sea on numerous research vessels worldwide. Since graduating from the University of Miami with a degree in Geology in 1977, he has visited 25 countries and participated in more than 40 major expeditions from the Equator to high latitudes studying climate change, geophysics, physical oceanography, marine geology, marine biology, underwater archeology and deep ocean minerals exploration. In 2011, Eben was the scientific liaison on a major Korean research expedition in the SW Pacific. During 6 weeks at sea, millions of tons of high-grade poly-metallic sulfides were discovered, sampled and documented using an Oceaneering Magnum ROV. The value of these deposits was estimated in the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars. Prior to semi-retirement in 2014, Eben was Director of Solutions Support for Liquid Robotics, Inc., a Sunnyvale (Silicon Valley) California-based startup company. Between 2010 and 2013, he was employed as an ROV Project Manager and Sales and Marketing Representative at Deep Sea Systems International/Oceaneering in Cataumet, Mass. He is currently test site manager for Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative’s Bourne Tidal Turbine Test Site in the Cape Cod Canal. 

Dr. Robyn Hannigan is the President of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. She has served as the Provost of Clarkson University since August 2019. Dr. Hannigan is recognized globally as an innovative leader, and her passion for higher education and research, coupled with her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion has transformed the institutions where she has served, including at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she was the Founding Dean of the School for the Environment. She has translated her spirit for invention into two start-up companies and continues to be an active, prolific researcher and mentor, garnering over $30 million in external funding and producing over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Hannigan has been a stalwart supporter of the vision behind the Blue Institute and has been as one its four key academic advisors since Incorporation in 2016. Dr. Hannigan has an undergraduate degree of science in biology from the College of New Jersey, a masters in geology from SUNY-Buffalo, and a masters and Ph.D. in earth and environmental science from the University of Rochester. She has held many previous positions in her career including Program Officer at the National Science Foundation, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at GeoMed Analytical, and several faculty appointments at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Arkansas State University.  

 Dr. McAuley is a leading authority and multi-award-winning environmental leader and recognized expert across various environmental disciplines. He is a highly respected and recognized expert in air quality and human health exposure and risk assessment. He has directed, managed, and consulted on numerous domestic and global environmental consulting and research studies, and has been invited to give several key-note speeches and has become a global resource for environmental forward thinking. Dr. McAuley has served on many national boards including the prestigious Transportation Research Board, Committee on Transportation and Air Quality at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, the American Chemical Society Committee on Environmental Initiatives, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Advisory Board. He also as the Treasurer of the International Society for Exposure Science.  Dr. McAuley received his PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering and his MS in Chemistry from Clarkson University along with a BS in Biochemistry from The College of Saint Rose. His certifications include the ATSDR and Risk Assessment Phase I and II Remediation.