Meet the BlueIQ Team

What we do

At the heart of our team lies a dynamic blend of seasoned professionals and visionary innovators, committed to pushing the boundaries of technology and business development.

Our team is composed of veterans in business development and technical leadership, boasting extensive experience across relevant sectors. We bring unparalleled expertise and strategic insight, ensuring robust growth and sustained success.

We are driven by a proven track record of innovation and entrepreneurship within the technology domain.

Our passion for innovating new solutions and ventures fuels our commitment to excellence and continuous improvement.

Our strength lies in our ability to cultivate and lead high-performing teams. We are dedicated mentors and adept team builders, fostering a culture of collaboration, growth, and achievement.

As wizards in technological innovation, we are at the forefront of driving advancements in the field of sensors and sensing. Our relentless pursuit of cutting-edge solutions propels us to set new standards and shape the future of technology.

BLUEiQ’s s based in Boston, Massachusetts, Newport, Rhode Island, and Gulfport, Mississippi

Our Values

Innovation

Leveraging advanced AI and edge computing to create cutting-edge solutions for underwater acoustic monitoring.

Experience

A wealth of knowledge and expertise in marine technology, defense, and environmental monitoring.

Commitment

Focused on protecting marine ecosystems, enhancing port security, and improving operational efficiency.

Collaboration

Working closely with customers to tailor solutions that meet their specific needs and challenges.

Kim Gavin, CEO

From space satellites to seafloor sensing, Kim has spent 20+ years pushing the boundaries of sensor innovation, tech transition, and strategic growth across government, industry, and think tanks. A leader in emergent technologies, she thrives on turning cutting-edge research into real-world impact. As a mentor ambassador for women in science and technology, she’s not just shaping the future—she’s driving BLUEiQ to redefine persistent sensing with innovative impact.

Rob McGurrin, CTO

With 20+ years of expertise in underwater acoustics and signal processing, Rob leads the technical development of OpenEar technology, driving innovation from R&D to real-world deployment. A proven innovator with patented advancements, his work bridges cutting-edge AI sensing with practical solutions. Passionate about maritime domain awareness and noise pollution reduction, Rob ensures BLUEiQ’s technology is both impactful and mission-driven.

Both Kim and Rob were fantastic to work with and eager to learn about any applications their product could improve. They have the skills needed to run a successful business. I believe that they can modernize the passive acoustic world by bringing real-time data at an affordable price. I look forward to working with them in the future and would recommend their services to anyone looking to expand their passive acoustic capabilities.

Aaron Whitman

I worked with Kim and Blue IQ as a mentor in the Blue Institute Excelerator in 2024. Kim is smart, thoughtful, diligent, driven and eager to exploring options to apply her technology. I plan to continue working with Kim to advance the company. This is a team that will succeed.

Kate Putnam Managing Director
Golden Seeds

BLUEiQ participated in Gulf of Maine Research Institute's BlueTech Boost Incubator, a 10-week program tailored to support early-stage BlueTech companies in the Northeast Atlantic region. The program provided mentorship, grant funding, and GMRI research staff as technical advisors. During their participation, BLUEiQ focused on developing their v1 prototype, crafting a plan for in-water testing, and honing their product-market fit. The team demonstrated professionalism, eagerness, and ambition. Kim and Rob, who have a longstanding collaborative track record, showcased a robust partnership. While still early in their journey, they have made significant strides, securing strong traction through early pilots and refining their business model. We admire their mission, which aligns closely with our research focus at GMRI. They established a positive rapport with our science team, suggesting potential for future research collaborations. We enthusiastically support their progress!

Lucy Barrett Program Manager
Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI)

As someone who spent the first decade of their technical career in underwater acoustics, I’m excited for the future given the work of BLUEiQ. The world’s oceans remain true mysteries in many ways. By contrast, think of how we treat the skies. Not an object above us can fly or float without being detected in some way. However, the same situation does NOT exist for our oceans. The technical challenges of gaining understanding have been immense. Sound and energy propagation underwater is far more complex than in the atmosphere. BLUEiQ has brought forth a solution that can be leveraged by anyone seeking capabilities to sense and react to underwater phenomenon. I’ve had the privilege in the past of working with both Kim and Rob. They are the core of a capable team that allows BLUEiQ to meet a wide variety of customer needs in the underwater acoustics marketplace. I would not hesitate to call on BLUEiQ to meet any sensing and information processing needs in the underwater realm.

Edward Campbell Former CEO, Advisor, Consultant
Raytheon BBN Technologies

I mentored the BlueIQ team for several months as part of the Blue Excelerator program. Their advanced hydrophone is positioned to disrupt the stagnant hydrophone market by combining edge computing with low-power performance. Kim Gavin and Rob McGurrin are intelligent, focused, and committed to delivering a state-of-the-art acoustic solution that will expand ocean surveillance for multiple markets.

Kathryn Hautanen
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI)

I am the program manager for the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Blue Navigator Business Accelerator and the Unmanned Coast US Small Business Administration Regional Innovation Cluster. I was on the selection committee that chose BLUEiQ for one of 6 spots from a nationwide pool of over 200 blue economy startups for our intensive, results-focused accelerator. During the 4-month program, BLUEiQ developed local projects for port security, national defense, marine mammal protection, and aquaculture. Their unique acoustic technology has broad applications and they showed an amazing ability to pivot to different customer needs in a variety of domains avoiding the mentality of "when you have a hammer every problem is a nail" that so often is a challenge with startups. I can emphatically recommend BLUEiQ when you need results and the environment is challenging. Even though their OpenEar product is housed in a ruggedized case, their thinking and solutions are way outside of the box.

Joel Lawhead, PMP, GISP Director at NVision, Director
Gulf Blue

Dive in

Transforming undersea sound into actionable intelligence

What we do

Our Values

Innovation

Experience

Commitment

Collaboration

Sea-Level Experts

A Ripple Effect

Wave-Making Allies