If California is the nation’s sea-state, the Monterey Bay area is the state’s sea capital – the historic fishing Mecca and modern-day headquarters of a host of marine enterprises.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is the place for “far-out” ocean tech ideas, like a robot lab-in-a-can that determines the genetic codes of deep-sea microorganisms and beams the data by satellite. Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station has cornered the local research market in tuna and squid, while the Monterey Bay Aquarium is home to charismatic mega fauna such as sharks and otters. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, headquartered in downtown Monterey, governs 5,322 square miles of sprawling blue from Marin County’s Point Bonita to San Luis Obispo County’s Point Piedras Blancas. And Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, serving seven California State University campuses, specializes in aquaculture and the study of kelp and seaweed.

All those maritime minds working together have a sort of magnetic effect, drawing more marine scientists and research institutes to the area. Now, the Center for Ocean Solutions – a partnership among Stanford, the Aquarium and MBARI, kick-started by a $25 million Packard grant – is bringing them all together on a mission to reverse the sea’s downward spiral.

The center, located on Monterey’s harbor, aims to do what amounts to heresy in old-school academia: Knock down barriers to interdisciplinary research. Dissolve scientists’ fear of policy and policymakers’ fear of science. Connect the smart with the powerful. Turn ideas into realities.