Aloha State News

The newest "tech bridges" for the Navy are now in Hawaii and the Gulf Coast, with the expectation of binding state and local government, industry, and local academia to create resolutions to issues in the Navy.

The assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, James Geurts, recently spoke on a Zoom call about the 14th and 15th tech bridges.

Hawaii currently collaborates with Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Detachment Pacific on Ford Island, the University of Hawaii Office of Innovation and Commercialization and the Hawaii Development Corp.

“Obviously Hawaii is a key piece for us from a national security standpoint and from a Navy standpoint and the state has a unique nexus of folks thinking hard about how the Navy and Marine Corps are going to operate,” Geurts told the Star Advertiser. “And if you’re a start-up and you have an idea, particularly if you’re there on the island, trying to find the right person to connect to somewhere in the Department of the Navy can be a challenging endeavor."

Geurts said that the ultimate goal is to make it simple and easy to get ahold of the right person in the Navy.

The business deputy at the Naval Information Welfare Center Pacific and the new Tech Bridge director, Neal Miyake, said the idea is to convert military plan needs to the local industry.

“That’s the primary avenue that we’re going to get the word out,” he said. “And then, we will be working with UH as far as the innovation and commercialization office (and) they can help us get the word out. So what we’re trying to do is connect the Navy needs and the Marine Corps needs with the solutions that the local industry can provide.”