SOUTHAMPTON MARINE AND MARITIME INSTITUTE INNOVATING, INFLUENCING AND ENGAGING AT THE SMMI

When it comes to making change for the oceans, the right technology alone isn’t enough, said Director of the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) Professor Damon Teagle.

“There is no doubt that many of the major societal challenges we face – decarbonisation, protection of habitats, emissions reductions, pollution reduction, trying to abate our conspicuous consumption – require a mixture of technical solutions, behavioural and societal change, and political will.”

This is where interdisciplinarity comes in. “It’s no use having a solution if it won’t be taken up effectively, hence we need to work across the landscape of subjects. We need to inform and influence our policymakers and politicians, and to engage and listen to the worries of populations.”

At the SMMI, experts in ocean science, engineering, maritime law, archaeology, and other related fields tackle problems together. Damon emphasised that to him, interdisciplinarity is more than working across fields: it’s also about the interaction of specialisms within those fields. “One of our biggest challenges, for example, is decarbonisation, and from a narrow view of disciplinarity you’d say that’s all engineering. But it involves very different sets of expertise, such as maritime engineering, energy systems, and materials.”

Part of the SMMI’s role, said Damon, is to have an overview of the research being conducted by its membership to identify where expertise might be relevant to other problems. “Many researchers are actually excited by taking their knowledge and applying it in different ways that have a direct impact on society.”

The Institute also sponsors lectures across the University, and hosts workshops around the latest government policy documents on issues like decarbonisation or Naturebased Solutions. “That means that when there is a call for funding or for policy response, then we’re in a good position to rapidly pull together groups to engage.”

“Many researchers are excited by taking their knowledge and applying it in different ways.”

Read more about the SMMI: www.southampton.ac.uk/research/ institutes-centres/marine-maritime-institute