Entrepreneurial thinking expands far beyond Wolf Ridge for the Albright Entrepreneurs Village (AEV). Students traveled to the Outer Banks this spring to learn about the rich history and science that make this coastal economy thrive.

One of the biggest stops on the trip was the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), which is East Carolina University’s (ECU) Outer Banks Campus. Not only were students able to learn about the program, but they also stayed in dorms at the Coastal Studies Institute. Here, they were able to interact with ECU students studying at CSI.

George Bonner, the director of the North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program at CSI,, gave the group a warm welcome on Friday morning as they set off on their weekend expedition. Later, Lauren Kerlin, education specialist at CSI, gave the group a tour of the facility. She highlighted major research projects, community outreach initiatives—including an upcoming open house on May 17—and showed them the small-scale wave tank.

Bonner and Taz Lancaster, program manager at CSI, took the students to Jennette’s Pier, hung out on the beach and explored downtown Manteo.

The group met with Haley Hayes, laboratory manager for Hourglass. Here, students learned about the work that Hourglass does as a nonprofit organization to conduct critical, independent science for the responsible development of marine carbon dioxide removal. Hayes shared about their recent project testing olivine sand as an innovative carbon dioxide removal method.

Students also met with Bob Peele, director of the Wanchese Industrial Park, who oversees bringing business to the park and recruiting and retaining staff. The group learned about the multi-million-dollar custom boats built there—even Michael Jordan’s boat was made in the park! Peele shared just about everything there is to know about the Park with the group, and students were able to ask lots of questions.

Pranav Rajagopal, a sophomore in the College of Education and Poole College of Management, said, “I really enjoyed traveling on the OBX trip with the AEV. It was an insightful experience and gave me a new glimpse on the coast and the work being done there. It was interesting to see the coastal entrepreneurial spirit in that aspect as I’ve only primarily seen a tech/software point of view so far.

Seeing companies such as Bayliss Boatworks was truly fascinating. The fact that these boats were custom made and tailored to the owners that they were going to. [It] gave me a new view into the boat manufacturing process especially since Bayliss and the town of Wanchese have quickly gained traction and respect among the boating community. It was awesome to see a small town creating these boats that end up on the other side of the world.”

Sydney Russell, graduate assistant in AEV, reflected on the trip saying, “It was amazing to see that Manteo and Wanchese have such rich history, important science and interesting economic development. Everyone I spoke to was so proud of what they did, from the folks at CSI to the ninth-generation fisherman I chatted with in downtown Manteo. 

There is a lot of important work being done in the OBX, and our conversations with people at CSI and around Manteo made it clear there is a lot of opportunity for engineering or research in the area.”

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