BLOG: Updates from 2025 Collegiate Winners

For this month’s blog we checked in with the 2025 collegiate winners. We have updates from the recipient of the Guy Harvey Collegiate Award, Iluminar el Mar, represented by Callie Veelenturf, COO, and the winners of the two 2025 Ocean Exchange Collegiate Awards: Ignition Packaging, represented by Abdu Bejjaj, CEO; and OctaPulse, represented by Paul Grech, Co-Founder and CEO. Each winner received a $10,000 USD nondilutive award to advance their work.

Iluminar el Mar Update – April 2026

Iluminar el Mar is a socially and economically sustainable bycatch reduction solution. Bycatch threatens endangered species like turtles and sharks. The solution is to use the differences in visual abilities between the target fish of fisheries, and other animals. Fishers tested lights in Ecuador’s gillnet fishery, cutting bycatch up to 73%.

“Since the transformational funding provided by the Ocean Exchange and Guy Harvey Foundation, project Iluminar el Mar, led by The Leatherback Project and the Mare Nostrum Foundation, has made great strides. We used the funding to support Phase II of Iluminar el Mar, a scientific research and conservation project to test and implement bycatch reduction technology in the artisanal gillnet fishery in Ecuador to protect threatened and endangered species groups such as sharks, rays, cetaceans, and marine turtles. The fishers requested trialing a new light placement for Phase II, and we have now conducted 72% of the required Phase II trials. We were able to onboard two new fishing crews to join the team as well, through purchasing lights for their vessels and training them in our data collection protocols. After completing Phase II trials, we hope to continue expanding our fishing team to increase the number of turtles, elasmobranchs and cetaceans protected each month.”

~ Callie Veelenturf, COO & Project Manager, Iluminar el Mar
University of Central Florida

Ignition Packaging Update – April 2026

Ignition Packaging is biodegradable, ocean-safe packaging that replaces the top contributors to marine pollution. The cellulose-based materials are strong, cost-competitive, and compatible with existing manufacturing.

“Since winning the Ocean Exchange Collegiate Competition, Ignition Packaging has accelerated the development of our cellulose-based biofoam technology made from agricultural residues, aimed at replacing Styrofoam/petroleum-based protective packaging. We have further refined our formulation to improve structural stability, integrability, and biodegradability, with early prototypes successfully demonstrating prolonged shelf life and real-world performance in small-scale production.

On the commercialization side, we’ve advanced discussions with agricultural partners for consistent feedstock sourcing and continued building early customer interest for our compostable foam alternative, including multiple LOIs. We have also strengthened product validation to further demonstrate functional application and durability.

This support has meaningfully helped us move faster from lab-stage iteration toward pilot-ready material development and early market validation while also connecting us to a broader community of innovators and partners advancing practical solutions for environmental resilience at scale.”

~ Abdurrahman Bejjaj, CEO of Ignition Packaging
University of Florida

OctaPulse Update – April 2026

OctaPulse is an AI-powered Inspection platform to automate production in early stage finfish aquaculture. Designed for hatcheries and the early land-based part of production, the system uses computer vision and commercially available hardware to identify deformities, estimate weight, and improve egg/stock quality with over 90% accuracy in early pilots.

“Over the past five months, OctaPulse has made strong progress advancing our AI-powered computer vision platform for aquaculture. We were accepted into Y Combinator’s Winter 2026 batch, which has accelerated both product development and customer traction. We also signed a paid development partnership with Riverence, the largest trout producer in the United States, to deploy and refine our phenotyping and deformity inspection platform in commercial hatchery operations.

In addition, OctaPulse received the ACME SICA innovation award, which has supported pilot deployments and data collection across multiple species. Our system automates manual quality inspection workflows, reducing inspection time from minutes per fish to under 30 seconds while delivering over 90% model accuracy.

We are now beginning our seed fundraising round to scale deployments and expand globally.”

~ Paul L. Grech, Co-Founder & CEO of OctaPulse
Carnegie Mellon University

Contact Us

Ocean Exchange invites you to learn more about Awards Program, our ecosystem and success of our award winners and participants. Together, we can chart a powerful course to help ensure the future of our oceans and the Blue Economy.

Testimonials

Being a voting delegate at Ocean Exchange reminded me why I do this work—watching students and industry leaders alike push the boundaries of what’s possible for ocean health and the blue economy. Deep thanks to Moffatt & Nichol for supporting our time and commitment.

Lynette Cardoch

Vice President Director, Resilience and Adaptation, Moffatt & Nichol

The Guy Harvey Foundation has been a proud partner with Ocean Exchange for the past few years as it provides a wonderful platform for innovations to be shared, meaningful networking to take place and overall supports the growth of the ocean economy and conservation efforts. We’ve been fortunate to provide awards for both collegiate and high school categories, participated on the judging panel and are inspired by the problem solving solutions presented by each candidate. If you want a good dose of inspiration, definitely look to supporting, attending or participating in the events!

Jessica Harvey

Chief Executive Officer, Guy Harvey Foundation

At Carollo Engineers, water is all we do—so we’re passionate about protecting our oceans. Attending the Ocean Exchange connected us with innovators advancing the blue economy, including those driving reuse and improving wastewater treatment and water quality. Events like this highlight how essential cross-sector collaboration is to solving global water challenges and creating a more sustainable future.

Dave Sobeck

Executive Vice President, Carollo Engineers

Ocean Exchange consistently brings together some of the most promising innovators in sustainability, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to support their work through the Solutions Review Team. Each year after attending the annual conference, I leave energized by the quality of ideas presented, the mission‑driven entrepreneurs involved, and the collaborative environment that drives meaningful progress for our oceans and The Blue Economy.

Rick Claar

Partner/President, The Martec Group

Participating in Ocean Exchange as an AUV subject matter expert was a meaningful way to share Anduril’s perspective on operational autonomy and AUV deployment. The event brought together diverse stakeholders focused on advancing practical, impact-driven maritime technologies, and provided a valuable platform for meaningful and inspiring discussions that delved into the complexities and opportunities spanning the full spectrum of ocean innovation.

Jessie Gray

Engineering Project Manager, Anduril

Ocean Exchange Blog