Maui resident Joe Breman, Director and CEO of International Underwater Explorations (IUE), is an oceanographer and information technology integrator, as well as a longtime Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) Maui TechOhana enthusiast. Breman began IUE in 2007 and found a supportive network for business development through MEDB programs and among the Maui community. “MEDB has always been a great support, since day one,” said Breman. “They pointed me to the Small Business Development Center, linked me up with other key business owners, and also connected me to CEROS (Center of Excellence for Research in Oceanographic Science), who were interested in the work IUE was doing. MEDB’s association with many different government organizations from NASA to NOAA has been invaluable.”

Breman taught Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) at the University of Hawaii Maui College and was one of their first STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) online instructors back in 2008. “I had a class of 20 in the room with about a dozen more students on a Zoom-like platform from Molokai, Kauai, and Hana,” Breman noted. “That was back when online courses first began.”

Prior to starting his own company, Breman worked as a data model program manager at ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute). He also served as GIS architect for Akimeka on Maui and published works that include Ocean Globe, Marine Geography, and Arc Marine: GIS for the Blue Planet. Currently, IUE is developing visualization and analysis technology for online information management. “Our specialties include geospatial map and globe services for marine and coastal resource management. We do a lot with maps, globes, data and images in the 3D or multi-dimensional information environment. The underwater environment has always intrigued me, and this naturally extends to other frontiers like space. Satellite imagery has also been another keen interest, and this is an area that has a lot of potential growth right now. We have been able to think globally and act locally through collaborations and work with Pacific Whale Foundation and Maui Ocean Center. Now, more than ever, we are ready to think globally and act galactically, with exciting new potential to expand what we do to new horizons.”