Recent Professional Recognition and Academic Awards
The URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences Department of Biological Sciences presented its Teaching Excellence Award for introductory level courses to Lindsay Agvent, M.S. ‘24.
Dean Paula Bontempi, Ph.D. ’01, was selected to serve as a Commissioner on a legislative commission tasked with developing a plan to address the erosion of Rhode Island’s beaches.
Also, NASA bestowed its Silver Group Achievement Award upon the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team on which Bontempi serves. The award recognizes “a stellar achievement that supports one or more of NASA’s core values.”
Marine Research Associate Corinna Breusing earned the URI Research and Scholarship Excellence Award. Recipients are chosen for their commitment to their studies, their college, the university community in general, and for serving as a positive role model and resource to all.
The National Sea Grant Program announced that Diana Fontaine, Ph.D. ’24, and Ph.D. candidate Asta Habtemichael were selected to join the 2025 class of Knauss Marine Policy Fellows. Fontaine will work in the legislative branch, Habtemichael will be in the executive branch.
Fontaine also received a “Certificate for Excellence for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate Professional Development” from the URI Graduate School in recognition of her work as a URI graduate assistant and writing consultant.
Habtemichael was also recognized as an Emerging Coastal Leader through a new awards program offered by the URI Coastal Institute for URI graduate students from interdisciplinary backgrounds who aspire to pursue careers in coastal, marine, and estuarine science and management.
Professor Rainer Lohmann received a Fulbright Specialist Program award to deepen the study of contaminants in Icelandic water systems.
In 2024, Lohmann was also recognized by the scholarly journal ES&T Letters with outstanding reviewer awards for his work in 2022 and 2023. These awards go to scientists who perform peer review in their area of expertise to a consistently high standard, in a timely fashion, and on a frequent basis throughout the year.
Victoria Fulfer, M.S. ’19, Ph.D. ’24, earned the 2024 URI Graduate School’s Outstanding Doctoral Research Award. Fulfer focused primarily on marine plastics in Narragansett Bay, studied coastal debris dynamics in Vietnam through a Fulbright Research Scholarship, and analyzed microplastic samples from around the world.
Associate Dean of GSO Research Kenna Rubin received the Distinguished Service Award from the Geochemical Society for extraordinary service to the society and the broader geochemical community.
Sandra Slead, M.S. ’24, received AGU’s Outstanding Student Presentation Award for her high quality research and the ability to effectively communicate it.
As part of the Fulbright Specialist Program, Professor J.P. Walsh partnered with MRU 2025, an NGO dedicated to the protection, preservation and restoration of Mauritius’s coastal zones.