PROVIDENCE – Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has made a number of appointments to the R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC).
The governor named David M. Farmer, dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, as the new council’s co-chair. Clyde Briant, vice president of research at Brown University, will stay on as the council’s other chair.
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“Under the direction of Dean Farmer, URI’s School of Oceanography leads the nation in scientific research and study,” Carcieri said in a statement. “I extend my appreciation to him for agreeing to serve as co-chair of the Science and Technology Advisory Council.” Farmer also served on the gubernatorial panel that chose Hoboken, N.J.-based Deepwater Wind as the state’s preferred developer of an offshore wind farm.
Farmer said he was honored by the appointment. “I look forward to working with the Council and state leadership to develop timely, targeted and transformative strategic investments that support discovery and innovation and its transfer into the marketplace,” he said.
Farmer replaces Jeffrey R. Seemann, outgoing dean of URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences, who is leaving to take a job at Texas A&M University. However, Carcieri’s office also said Seemann has accepted an appointment to the STAC board by House Speaker William Murphy. Seemann will inherit the seat previously held by Paul Choquette.
Carcier described Seemann, who has served on STAC since its creation four years ago, as “a true visionary.”
In addition to Farmer, Carcieri also announced the following appointments to the STAC board: Dr. Timothy J. Babineau, president and chief executive officer of Rhode Island Hospital, who replaces Dr. Arthur Klein, former senior vice president and chief physician officer of Lifespan; and Pierre Joseph Corriveau, senior scientific technical officer and chief technology officer for Naval Undersea Warfare Center, who replaces Richard Nadolink, chief technical officer for Energetics Technology Center.
“A critical component to the success of STAC is to bring together voices from different growth industries, including healthcare and military installments, turning innovation into practical applications,” Carcieri said.
“The council’s commercial and industry expertise bring focus to issues that cut across institutional boundaries to impact the state’s overall ability to grow the science and technology sector and support an innovation economy that turns new ideas into better products, services, and solutions to societal problems,” the governor said.
Carcieri also said Rhode Island has spent $80 million in taxpayer dollars on the state’s science and technology infrastructure since 2003.
The R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council, or STAC, was created in 2005 by the Carcieri administration to help turn Rhode Island into a regional hub for the life sciences, information technology and other research-based industries. Additional information is available at RI.gov.
