Roger F. Wicker Center unveiled at the Port of Gulfport

The Port of Gulfport unveiled the new Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise Building today, alongside the governor and senators.

This building was a development partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi, giving researchers the ability to collaborate with Coastal organizations right by the Gulf of Mexico.

The facility will serve as a place for ocean exploration, forecasting, and data collection.

Researchers will work with federal and private companies to create unmanned vessels and create other technological advancements.

“Mississippi is the leader in the Blue Economy,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “So facilities like today and grand openings like today just further prove if the federal government and the United States military want to continue to invest in technologies and invest in making the world safer, South Mississippi and Gulfport is the place to do it.”

“We are at the ground floor of what a lot of states would love to be doing,” said Senator Roger Wicker. “This is a good day for the Gulf Coast, a good day for the state of Mississippi, and a good day for America.”