Engineering the Oceans and Shaping the Blue Economy
Cedarville graduate Toby Dewhurst founded Kelson Marine to design sustainable aquaculture and offshore renewable energy structures. Using dynamic simulation tools, the firm reduces ocean risk for clients in eight countries and earned a 2025 international trade award.
As nations invest in the “blue economy” — efforts to explore, use, and protect the oceans that cover more than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface — Cedarville University graduate Toby Dewhurst is helping shape how offshore development happens. Dewhurst founded Kelson Marine in 2020 to design marine structures for aquaculture and offshore renewable energy with an emphasis on sustainability and profitability.
What began as a basement startup has grown into an internationally recognized firm that now serves clients in eight countries.
Kelson Marine tackles a central challenge in offshore food and energy production: the unpredictability of the ocean itself. The complex interaction between wind, waves, currents and flexible structures causes uncertainty in the performance of marine structures. This creates both financial and safety risks. Because of these uncertainties, designers have been forced to prioritize either durability or profitability — rarely achieving both.
“The problem I was trying to solve was giving people high-precision insight into how these structures and technologies would behave in the ocean before they ever put anything into the water,” said Dewhurst. “I wanted to design structures that were simultaneously safe and profitable.”
Dynamic Simulation Tools: Predicting Real-World Ocean Conditions Before Building
What sets Kelson Marine apart is its ability to reduce uncertainty before a client builds. The company uses dynamic simulation tools that have been tested using data from real-world ocean structures to predict how proposed designs will behave in real ocean conditions, helping clients make decisions with fewer surprises and lower risk.
Kelson Marine was recognized as the 2025 Service Provider of the Year by the Maine International Trade Center, an award honoring companies with demonstrated international impact. The recognition reflects the company’s growing influence in the global ocean engineering sector.
Predictive Modeling for Offshore Aquaculture and Renewable Energy Projects
Kelson Marine’s process begins by analyzing historical wind and wave data to evaluate a project site. Engineers then use in-house dynamic simulation tools to model structural behavior and refine designs until they meet client requirements for performance, risk and cost. By relying on predictive modeling before construction begins, the company reduces uncertainty, a critical factor for offshore industries where mistakes can cost millions.
“We’ve started to take those tools and use them to map the ocean in new ways,” said Dewhurst. “We want to help clients find ways to produce food or energy in a way that is both environmentally and financially sustainable.”
Cedarville Engineering Alumni: How Toby Dewhurst’s Education Shaped His Approach
That approach to engineering — prioritizing fundamentals, modeling and long-term sustainability — traces back to Dewhurst’s time at Cedarville. He first explored ocean engineering concepts during his senior capstone project before graduating in 2009 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Mechanical Engineering Foundation: Problem-Solving Skills for Ocean Engineering
He credits Cedarville’s emphasis on problem-solving and foundational principles for shaping the way he approaches complex offshore challenges today.
“There’s hardly a class I wouldn’t go back and take again if I had time,” said Dewhurst. “I’ve applied everything I ever learned in the classroom in my work.”
Future of the Blue Economy: Offshore Aquaculture and Floating Solar Growth
Looking ahead, Dewhurst hopes to expand Kelson Marine’s influence in emerging blue economy sectors such as offshore aquaculture and floating solar energy while maintaining measured, sustainable growth. For Dewhurst, the goal is long-term impact. He wants to help feed and power a growing world without compromising the oceans that sustain it.
About Cedarville University
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,265 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.