DOE: Discover Ocean Engineering

Ocean Engineers develop the technology for the exploration and wise utilization of most of the surface of our planet – the oceans. Through the Discover Ocean Engineering (DOE) program you will experience ocean engineering through hands-on activities, as well as by meeting and talking to the faculty, students, and researchers who are the leaders in this fascinating and dynamic field. DOE will give you a chance to explore and learn about MIT itself. Beginning the student experience at MIT can be an awesome challenge. DOE is a special Pre-Orientation Program designed to help you make a smooth and enjoyable transition to the exciting culture of MIT.

Here’s what some of our past students had to say about Discover Ocean Engineering:

“Everyone going into engineering should go through this program.”

“ It’s THE only way to begin MIT!”

“One of the most valuable hands-on experiences of my life!”

“It’s a wild rollercoaster journey through 4 days of ocean fun!”

Discover Ocean Engineering - An Ongoing Experience

By the time you complete this program, and start the standard orientation, you will already be able to tell some “sea stories” about life at MIT. However, the DOE experience doesn’t end there. Throughout the year, DOE participants will be invited to continue building relationships with faculty, students, and staff through many activities including Ocean Engineering BBQ’s, special lectures, and other activities such as the MIT ROV Team. It is our hope that the friendships begun during DOE will help you find a comfortable place within the MIT community and aid you in your college career.

DOE Specifics

• Dates: Tuesday, August 19 through Saturday, August 23.
  
  
• Place: Freshmen will be housed in their assigned dormitory. DOE activities will occur in one of our laboratories. There will be field trips to Woods Hole, MA and Mystic, CT.
  
  
• Available Spaces: 30
  
  
• Cost: No Charge. The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Center for Ocean Engineering will be covering all costs.
  

What Will We Do?

• Tuesday, August 19: You will arrive on the first day and be greeted by our student mentors, who will serve as your guides throughout the program. A mentor will help you get settled in your dorm room. DOE will officially begin at 5pm with a kick-off BBQ at the MIT Sailing Pavilion on the Charles River. You will meet the mentors, faculty, and staff in charge of the program and, most importantly, you will meet your fellow DOE students. This event will also feature a traditional MIT activity – sailing on the Charles.
  
  
• Wednesday, August 20: The technical part of DOE begins on the second day when you will start construction of your Sea Perch remotely-operated vehicle (ROV). Your Sea Perch ROV will be a smaller version of the big vehicles such as the ROV Jason (used to explore the Titanic) which are the workhorses of undersea exploration for both science and industry. The morning and afternoon will be spent in the lab building your Sea Perch under the guidance of the DOE staff and your mentors. Our faculty, graduate students and researchers will join you for lunch, giving you an opportunity for one-on-one discussion of ocean engineering, research, life at MIT, and anything else you’d like to talk about. In the late afternoon there will be a chance to rest, hang-out and talk with your fellow DOE students, or perhaps play some Frisbee on the lawn in Killian court. At night we have a dinner cruise on the Charles River. This will be a great opportunity to see the campus and environs from the unique perspective of the river.
  
  
• Thursday, August 21: In the morning you’ll complete your Sea Perch ROV. Following another lunch with the faculty, students, and researchers, you will test your Sea Perch in one of the MIT pools. You are encouraged to bring your swimming suit and jump into the pool with your creation. You can even do some underwater photography of your vehicle in action! Also in the afternoon will be tours of some of the ocean engineering labs where you’ll see and learn about the latest advances in ocean engineering research. The evening will feature “Mentor’s Night Out.” Your mentor will bring you and your group to a Boston or Cambridge restaurant. This will be an excellent chance to learn about the MIT neighborhood.
  
  
• Friday, August 22: We will go to Mystic, CT, a New England village steeped in maritime history and tradition, and home to many modern institutions of ocean science and exploration. We will visit the Institute for Exploration, founded by Dr. Robert Ballard, who located the wreck of the Titanic. We will also spend time at the Mystic Aquarium and tour the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, CT.
  
• Saturday, August 23: The last day of DOE will feature a trip to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod. There, you will have the opportunity to tour world-class research facilities and deploy your ROVs, complete with video cameras, into the harbor. After our field operation we will return to MIT for our final DOE party, where we will share our adventures, and view the exciting video images returned by our vehicles