Day in the Life: Robynne Murray (Text Version)

This is the text version of the video "Day in the Life: Robynne Murray."

My name is Robynne Murray and I'm a research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Lab. I'm working on validating and developing new materials and new manufacturing methods for the marine renewable energy industry.

I've always been interested in tidal energy. Growing up just meters away from the Bay of Fundy, I saw the tides my whole life, and so I find it really fascinating that we can capture energy from this resource, and I am very motivated to find ways that we can do it more cost-effectively.

No two days for me are the same; some days I'm working in my office and other days I'm out here in the CoMET. But my favorite part of my job is the combination between hands-on research, manufacturing things, and testing things with my own hands, and then the planning and the analysis that goes into actually making the project happen.

For marine renewable energy to be successful, it has to be cost-effective, so it's really important to find ways that we can make components out of materials that are going to last in the harsh environments.

People should consider careers in waterpower because it's such an exciting field with so many opportunities and so many research questions that still need to be answered to be successful. Just because something is done one way now doesn't mean that's how it's going to be done in the future, so there's a real opportunity to make an impact.

I did not envision a career like this when I graduated from college, but I would've been really excited for younger me to know that this is where I would've ended up.

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