A message from David Lang and Eric Stackpole:

Ten years ago, in the early days of our OpenROV project, we were two people with an ambitious idea to transform ocean exploration with an open-source, low-cost remotely-operated vehicle (ROV). Many experts told us it couldn't be done — we were being too optimistic and idealistic. Luckily we found support through an engaged community and a crowdfunding project that helped jumpstart the project. We also were incredibly fortunate to get a small grant that nudged us up to the starting line. 

Now we want to pay that forward. Thanks to the generous support of our funding partners, we have $250,000 that we're going to contribute to ocean science and technology projects here on Experiment. We will back each project up to $10,000 (you can raise more from your community and the crowd). The funds will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. The sooner you fill out a project application the better (use the "start a project" link below). In addition to the funding, we hope to stay engaged with the projects as mentors and supporters, helping in any way we can to make the experiments a success. 

Bold ideas and questions are encouraged to apply. We're biased towards projects that come from genuine curiosity and passion, less by projects that are seeking citations and status. Reach out if you have any questions. Better yet start and submit your project!