2023 Annual Report
Aerial photo of construction of MBARI’s new robotic technology lab. The building’s gray concrete walls and metal rafters are in place, with wood beams and other internal elements installed inside. The beach with brown sand and green plants is visible in the foreground, a parking lot and buildings are visible to the left, and the Moss Landing Harbor and power plant are visible in the background.

Construction of MBARI’s new Instrumentation Integration and Testing Facility is expected to be complete by late 2024. The new robotic technology lab will help MBARI accelerate our ocean exploration and conservation efforts. Image: Todd Walsh © 2023 MBARI

A new lab takes shape

Innovative new technology developed at MBARI is transforming ocean exploration, but the discoveries we make far below the ocean’s surface start in our laboratories on shore.

In 2023, MBARI broke ground on a new robotic technology lab, the Instrumentation Integration and Testing Facility. This two-story, 31,900-square-foot facility will provide our scientists and engineers the space they need to execute critical assembly and testing of new equipment before it is deployed into the harsh conditions of the ocean.

This state-of-the-art lab and the adjacent Expedition Staging Building, which opened in 2022, represent MBARI’s first new buildings in more than 20 years. Construction of the Instrumentation Integration and Testing Facility is expected to be complete in late 2024.

Traveling back in time with genetics to understand animal evolution

By creating detailed genetic maps, MBARI researchers and their collaborators answered a fundamental question about early animal evolution.