SOUTH KINGSTOWN – A NASA scientist has been brought aboard to become the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography’s next dean.
The university announced Monday that Paula S. Bontempi will assume the role as the school’s next leader. She will succeed Bruce H. Corliss, who is retiring this year after leading the school since 2012.
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URI said Bontempi – a Graduate School of Oceanography alum – serves as acting deputy director of the Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate of NASA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. She currently offers direction and management for the agency’s Earth science portfolio, from technology development and research to mission implementation and operation, URI said. Bontempi also taught Earth science in astronaut training classes for NASA, URI said.
Bontempi will oversee academic research and outreach activities in her new role as dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography, URI said. In a statement, Bontempi said she is “eager” to apply skills that she learned at NASA into her alma mater.
“It is an absolutely unique place, a second family to me, and I am very much looking forward to working with the staff on a vision for GSO’s continued growth and development,” Bontempi said.
URI noted that Bontempi is joining the university just as its Narragansett Bay campus is about to undergo a significant expansion. URI is planning to add a 20,000-square-foot ocean technology center, a 12,000-square-foot marine operations facility and a larger pier to accommodate a new research vessel, the Resolution – which is being built and scheduled to be ready in 2022.
Bontempi is scheduled to start her new role later this summer, URI said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
