Florida State funding awarded for undersea research missions

DEEP has received $935,000 in funding from the State of Florida to support research missions on Vanguard, the company's pilot underwater human habitat at Tennessee Reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The award comes just three weeks after DEEP announced Vanguard's deployment.

The funding will support up to six research teams from Florida universities and research institutions. Each awarded team will complete a five-day mission on Vanguard between November 2026 and June 2027.

The Undersea Human Presence and Technology Advancement Program (UHPTAP) is open to research in two priority areas: reef restoration and environmental monitoring, and human-machine collaboration.

Dr. Dawn Kernagis, Director of Scientific Research at DEEP, said:

"Florida's reefs need sustained bottom time to understand what's happening to them. This funding gives Florida researchers access to Vanguard, so they can live and work at depth for days at a time. That's the difference between observing a reef for an hour and actually being part of it.
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This program opens Vanguard to researchers who wouldn't otherwise have access to a saturation habitat. Six teams, two research areas, real time at depth. That's a meaningful expansion of what's possible for Florida science."

The RFP is open now, with proposals due by September 1, 2026. Full eligibility requirements, priority areas, and submission instructions are available at deep.com/uhptap.

Eligible applicants must satisfy the following criteria:

• The program is open to public and private universities, colleges, and accredited research institutions in Florida.
• The lead applicant must be a Florida institution, with multi-institution teams also eligible to apply.
• Personnel participating in in-water or habitat operations must meet DEEP’s relevant dive, medical, and safety requirements.