An Interview with Paula Bontempi
Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
The Blue Economy is, in my mind, the sustainable use of ocean resources for economics. This means that while making sure that we’re preserving the health of ocean ecosystems, we’re also creating economic growth, improved livelihoods and job opportunities. The Blue Economy encompasses all economic activities relating to the oceans, the seas and the coasts. These activities include renewable energy, waste management, water quality, fisheries and sustainable ocean resources, maritime transportation, recreation and tourism and many more.
Rhode Island is the “Ocean State,” so that kind of sums it up right there. The state is tied to the blue economy, it is dependent on it, and it is engrained in it.
I began as dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) in September 2020. We’re located at the Narragansett Bay Campus, which is part of the University of Rhode Island (URI). One of the things I absolutely love about the people and institutions at the Narragansett Bay Campus is their ability to connect ocean exploration and the associated research, whether basic or applied, and translate that directly into decision support, management and policy. That leads all the way to an economic impact. All these aspects of GSO research are intertwined. On this one campus, we have all of those pieces integrated. We must always be conscious of what this discovery-based research means for the public and public engagement, as well as the citizen science and everything that is related to it down to the management support and economics.
Besides the GSO, URI’s Bay Campus includes URI’s Ocean Engineering Department, the Rhode Island Sea Grant program, the Coastal Resources Center, the Coastal Institute, NOAA, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the EPA and many other partners. It’s really nice to have so many people who are focused on Narragansett Bay, the surrounding ocean and the Blue Economy located in one spot. It facilitates a lot of state-of-the-art research and management support.
Background Photo: URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus. (Photo by Alex DeCiccio, Inner Space Center/Graduate School of Oceanography)
This year is the 60th anniversary of the GSO and this is a really exciting time for us. We’re heavily involved in renewable energy, including offshore wind. URI played a major role in the first US offshore wind farm – the Block Island Wind Farm. The Coastal Resources Center’s Jen McCann has been a leader in groundbreaking offshore renewable energy for the state and she and her team laid much groundwork for siting wind farms that is being used nationwide. What is critical here is that sustainable marine resources, including energy, can play an important role in social and economic development. Rhode Island has been a leader in looking into not only renewable energy but also facilitating the studies to site them safely. Siting is important because you don’t want to negatively impact other aspects of the Blue Economy. The CRC, Jen and her team have been leaders in this area and it’s been an honor to work with them.
It’s really important to recognize that there is an opportunity for economic growth and development, including jobs, for people around renewable energy. Some people tend to be nervous thinking about the potential sunset of fossil fuels, or decarbonizing the US energy sector and what this means, but there will be employment and training opportunities in renewable energy sources once the nation starts making those investments. I see Rhode Island as a leader in renewable energy.
We need to acknowledge that carbon dioxide emissions are a primary driver of climate change, and we need to be thinking about how we can decarbonize the United States energy sector. The bold objectives that President Biden has laid out to combat the climate crisis could be feasible and not only address the problems caused by climate change but also build that competitive economy. It also can address social injustice for people who are underrepresented or are in historically marginalized communities. These are people who are unable to consider or combat climate change for the most fundamental reasons. We clearly have a need to work with and support these communities. We can do this together. A report from the National Academy of Sciences points to the most fundamental needs that so many people take for granted – like home electrification and weatherization, or broadband Internet access for low-income and rural areas – that would promote equity in populations that are historically subject to exclusion. I think if we’re doing something that not only fosters the economy, but also alters the traditional trajectory of those historically marginalized groups and enables them to have opportunity, then we’re on the right track. GSO has curricula and degree programs that incorporate and promote training for students and professionals that wish to learn more about the blue economy and their role in it.
One of the most significant developments at the GSO will be the new Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV), Narragansett Dawn, which will be coming online sometime around mid-2023. We’re really excited about it and everything is on target. I think it’s a little bit bittersweet because we’ll retire the RV Endeavour, which has been with us for over 45 years, but with the new RCRV comes a lot of new opportunities. It will have state-of-the-art laboratories , deck space, and equipment to support the next generation of research, - monitoring ocean currents, seafloor surveys in earthquake-prone regions of the world, testing new technologies such as remote sampling platforms, tracking legacy and emerging ocean contaminants, conservation of marine resources such as fisheries, and food-web dynamics in the deep ocean. The ship will be operated with our East Coast Oceanographic Consortium partners –the University of New Hampshire, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution plus a number of terrific, affiliated partners. In addition, the ship will offer education and public engagement opportunities for teachers, undergraduate and graduate students and the public. It’s regional so it’s going to serve the whole East Coast of the United States. That’s really exciting. I think that the crew are excited to have a new vessel to support. It’s really brought a lot of the local community together and it’s also complementary of the campus revitalization through our master plan. We are implementing Phase 1 of the master plan and expect to begin construction on the new pier this fall that will house Narragansett Dawn.
I’m really looking forward to the coming years and working with GSO and the partners on the NBC and ECOC. 2021 is the 60th anniversary of the GSO and the evolution of our academics and research sets the stage so beautifully for what the next 60 years will look like.
