A small university lab just won the region’s biggest research grant. Here is what they are building.

The Coastal Physics Group at Harborview State occupies a converted boathouse with a leaking skylight. On Tuesday it became the recipient of a $28 million federal grant, the largest research award in the region’s history.

The group builds quantum sensors, instruments that measure tiny changes in magnetic fields. Their goal is to make the devices cheap and rugged enough to bolt onto cargo ships.