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Like a hand-crank ice-cream machine lying on its side underwater, the paddles of the new tidal energy technology slowly spin as the tidewaters pass through. Dependable and cyclical tidal currents push the paddles generating plug-in-ready electricity. Ocean Renewable Power and the University of Maine are working together to understand how this technology interacts with marine conditions. In addition to field- testing, university faculty also are investigating impacts on the biological systems. To understand the local and regional social, cultural, and economic systems, researchers are visiting with people in Maine’s coastal towns to hear their concerns, ideas, and thoughts about this technology. The information mutually benefits the team’s need to develop a comprehensive picture of tidal power’s long-term suitability for Maine. The aim is to integrate the management of economic, ecological, and social sectors so that research moves sustainability into reality.

Finding practical pathways to integrate knowledge of social, economic, and environmental systems and then presenting that information in ways that are useful to business and civic decision makers is a principal aim of sustainability science. This case of tidal energy testing and development is one experiment in learning how to improve the linkages between research-based knowledge and action. This article will highlight ways that researchers are learning to position university knowledge to help Maine citizens and community leaders to make decisions and implement research- based changes for the good of their communities.