PANELISTS 

Paula Bontempi

Paula Bontempi is Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, where she previously served as Dean. During nearly two decades at NASA Headquarters, she held senior leadership roles including Acting Deputy Director of the Earth Science Division, guiding national investments in ocean biology, biogeochemistry, and Earth observation.

With a career that spanned ocean remote sensing and marine ecosystems, Dr. Bontempi helped lead landmark satellite missions including SeaWiFS, Suomi NPP, and PACE. She has contributed extensively to national science strategy through service on NASA and National Academies committees and currently serves as President of The Oceanography Society.

She is the President of the Research and Education Coalition for Ocean Sciences (RECOS), Dr. Bontempi works with academic, nonprofit, industry, and government partners to strengthen U.S. leadership in ocean science, education, and innovation.

She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island, an M.S. from Texas A&M University, and a B.S. from Boston College. Her honors include the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the AGU Ocean Sciences Award, and the Texas A&M Geosciences Distinguished Alumni Award. She is the President of The Oceanography Society, and is also a TOS Fellow.

Phoebe Lam

Phoebe Lam is a seagoing chemical oceanographer who specializes in the role that marine particles play in the biogeochemical cycling of elements in the ocean. She is a Full Professor in the Ocean Sciences Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is currently chair of her campus’ Committee on Academic Personnel, a faculty senate committee that reviews all faculty files for merit and promotion.  She started her career as an Assistant Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution after completing a postdoc there.  She moved to UCSC after 7 years on the scientific staff at WHOI and went through the tenure and promotion process at UCSC.  She received her PhD in Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Geosciences from Princeton University, and an S.B. in Environmental Engineering Science from MIT.  She grew up in Montreal, Canada.

Alana Sherman

Alana Sherman has been working as an Electrical Engineer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) since 2003. At MBARI, she has developed and deployed a wide variety of scientific instruments and underwater vehicles. These projects address questions that span nearly all disciplines of ocean sciences.

Alana has been a project manager, principal investigator, and/or technical lead on many of these developments. She has participated in dozens of research expeditions in the greater Monterey Bay area, off the Southern California coast, in the polar regions, and in the Sargasso Sea. In addition to her development work, Alana currently serves as MBARI’s Chair of the Engineering Division, overseeing the operations of a broad group of engineers and manufacturing staff.

MODERATOR

Hilary Palevsky

Hilary Palevsky is a marine biogeochemist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College. Her research combines seagoing fieldwork, laboratory measurements, autonomous sensor data, and global climate model simulations to investigate the interactions between biological, physical, and chemical processes in the marine carbon cycle. Her research group’s current projects span from the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean to a coastal salt marsh in New Jersey. Prior to her current position at Boston College, Dr. Palevsky earned her PhD in Oceanography and a Graduate Certificate in Climate Science at the University of Washington, completed a Postdoctoral Scholarship in Marine Chemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and taught at Wellesley College and The Evergreen State College.