The Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) is a multi-institutional research and educational partnership of the UNC System led by East Carolina University (ECU) in partnership with North Carolina State University, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Wilmington and Elizabeth City State University.
CSI is located on ECU’s Outer Banks Campus and focuses on integrated coastal research and education programming centered around the needs, issues, and concerns of coastal North Carolinians by bringing together the various disciplines of both the natural and social sciences. Based at CSI, the North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP) advances inter-disciplinary marine energy solutions across UNC System partner colleges of engineering at NC State University, UNC Charlotte, and NC A&T University.
As a leader in marine energy research and testing, CSI and the NCROEP serve as members in the Department of Energy’s Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC). Through this university-led consortium, CSI works with AMEC partners and other National Marine Energy Centers to advance the marine energy industry and power the blue economy. As a key partner in CLEANcarolinas, CSI leads stakeholder collaboration for emerging marine energy technologies and opportunities to power the blue economy. Through workshops and engaged outreach, CSI leads engagement with community stakeholders to support clean energy goals, energy justice, and workforce development.
George Bonner, P.E.
Director of NC Renewable Ocean Energy Program
Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the the U.S. National Science Foundation.