A GSO reunion took place on October 21 and included tours of R/V Endeavor at the new pier. Many attendees served on R/Vs Trident and Endeavor, while some staff and guests haven’t been aboard either R/V. GSO grads, staff, faculty, ship personnel and guests got caught up with each other over lunch in the Mosby Center. The cake served for dessert celebrated the birthdays of professor emeritus Michael Pilson (90 on October 25) and marine associate Sheldon Pratt (84 on October 29)
Compiled and edited by Veronica M. Berounsky, Ph.D. ’90
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1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s | In Memoriam
1960s
GSO is known to have long-term data sets, and GSO students are often the researchers carrying out the measurements. The beach survey program, started by GSO Professor Robert L. McMaster with Wilfred L. Savard, M.S.’66, has recorded changes in the barrier beaches along R.I.’s south coast since 1961 and has a long list of alums who participated.
1970s
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has approved a committee for the 2025-2035 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences for the National Science Foundation. One of the two co-chairs is Professor Emeritus James A. Yoder, M.S.’74, Ph.D.’79. Other committee members include James C. Zachos, Ph.D.’88, former faculty member S. Bradley Moran and former postdoctoral fellow Richard Murray. The committee is charged with advising the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences on developing a research and infrastructure strategy and accompanying workforce to advance understanding of the ocean’s role in the Earth system and the sustainable blue economy.
Stephen Hale, M.S. ’74 writes “Lynne and I moved from Saunderstown to the Champlain Valley of Vermont a couple years ago. We didn’t really leave the ocean, we’re just about 11,000 years too late; that’s when the Champlain Sea covered this area. A beluga whale fossil was found a couple of miles from our house. It is now the official State Fossil. Our youngest son and family (including our one-year old granddaughter Adelaide) live nearby. We’re both staying in the ocean world: Lynne is Board Chair of Island Conservation and I’m Co-Editor of two science bulletins (CERF’s Up! the quarterly bulletin of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation), and the Rhode Island Naturalist bulletin.”
Lynne Zeitlin Hale, M.S. ’76, received the Graduate School of Oceanography Dean’s Award as part of the 17th annual URI Distinguished Achievement Awards on Saturday, October 21, in Newport, R.I. Lynne was honored for her work as the founding director of the Global Marine Initiative at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The day before, Lynne gave a talk at GSO: “A Conservation Journey of Hope,” in which she gave reasons for hope as she highlighted successes. Lynne spent much of her career at the Coastal Resources Center, which gave her a great foundation for work with TNC. A recording of Lynne’s talk is on the GSO YouTube channel.
The late Eva L. Jernigan Hoffman, Ph.D. ’76, was very involved with GSO and Rhode Island—from organizing the first GSO phone-a-thon to taking stormwater samples to quantify oil runoff into Narragansett Bay. Her husband, the late Gerald L. Hoffman, was a GSO postdoctoral fellow when they married, and he continued to work at GSO, then at the EPA lab. After they had both passed, the executor of their estate contacted GSO with news that their estate was making a $900,000 gift to the school. (See full story.)
Peter Betzer, Ph.D.’72, wrote, “As a college swimmer I was never close to qualifying for any NCAA meet. However, after 50 years of training with my master’s team in St. Petersburg, Florida, things have really changed. I have swum more than 25,000 miles which is greater than the circumference of Earth at the equator and at the 2023 Summer National Championship I placed 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in various backstroke races in the 80-84 age group. Here (above, right) I am with Dr Frank Manheim, a famous geochemist who won the 100 meter and 200 meter backstroke titles in the 90-94 age group and who I remember was part of a high profile geochemistry symposium at GSO while I was a student.”
1980s
Lloyd DeKay, M.S. ’81, and his wife Loretta (Lorrie) Sullivan DeKay, M.S. ’81, came from Washington to visit relatives and see GSO for the first time since they graduated over 40 years ago. Some things were new and exciting for them: touring the Inner Space Center with Jerry Prezioso, M.S. ’91, seeing the view from the second story Pell Library; but some things were very familiar: watching R/V Endeavor depart and eating delicious Mert and Bill burgers at the Willows. Lloyd also reminisced about working on the beach surveys.
A number of GSO grads and colleagues (past and present) came for a beach picnic in August to welcome Jeff Frithsen, Ph.D. ’84, and his wife Elise Striz as they sailed along the East Coast and stopped at GSO for a third straight year.
Celia Chen, M.S. ’86, visited GSO on August 24 after finishing her research cruise aboard R/V Endeavor where she was studying the spatial and temporal patterns of mercury and organic matter in the Gulf of Maine. Her lab at Dartmouth College has recently begun to ask similar questions about perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl contaminants.
Jim Manning, M.S. ’87, gave a talk in the session “Enabling tools for citizen science in ocean data collection” at the Ocean Race Stopover in Newport, R.I. last May. Now retired from NOAA, Jim remains active on the project “Environmental Monitors on Lobster Traps and Large Trawlers,” which primarily records bottom water temperatures, often in real time. Jim has worked for years with sensors on ocean-going drifters.
A month-long R/V Endeavor research cruise, EN 709, was under the direction of Nicholas Foukal, Amy S. Bower, Ph.D. ’88, and Daniel Torres (all from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), and was the first cruise to seek to quantify the freshwater outflow from the Labrador Coastal Current and study its effect on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
The international Frontiers of Knowledge Awards program recognizes significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. Jim Zachos, Ph.D.’88, and his colleague Ellen Thomas were honored “for their seminal contributions to the identification of a major natural event in the fossil record that provides a compelling analog for anthropogenic climate change.” The award was presented in June in Bilbao, Spain.
1990s
Veronica Berounsky, Ph.D. ’90 has been monitoring the water quality of the deep ponds of Narrow River (Pettaquamscutt Estuary) for two decades as part of the URI Watershed Watch program and was recently profiled in URI Magazine. She noted, “It’s a unique body of water and important for us to preserve its beauty and ecology.” Also the Boston-based program New England Chronicle had an episode featuring an interview with her about water quality and other aspects of the Narrow River.
Hal Walker, Ph.D. ’91, retired from the Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division of the Environmental Protection Agency and is enjoying having more time for sailing and Morris dancing.
Interested in working in oyster aquaculture? You can enroll in a free online course taught by Bob Rheault, Ph.D.’94, and either find resources or earn a certificate as an “Entry-level Oyster Farm Worker” and learn about “Science, Safety and Best Practices For Oyster Farming Workers” in an Education Exchange Learning for Life course.
2000s
On September 18, the third Student-Graduate Career Speed Networking event was held. Thank you to (back row, from left) David Taylor, Ph.D. ’03, Darryl Keith, M.S. ’86, Ph.D. ’04, Katy Croff-Bell, Ph.D. ’11, (front row) Chris Orphanides, Ph.D. ’19, Conor McManus, M.S. ’12, Ph.D. ’17, Kevin Rosa, Ph.D. ’20 and, via Zoom from Hawaii, Julia (Jules) Hummon, Ph.D. ’94, for sharing career advice with current students and recent graduates.
Scott Rutherford, Ph.D. ’00, writes “After 19 years at Roger Williams University I have left in an attempt at retirement. In September, 2022 my wife LeAnn and I moved aboard our 36’ sailboat and sailed away. We returned to Rhode Island this summer after spending the winter in the Bahamas. We intend on a repeat winter in the Bahamas this year and have made no plans beyond that. You can find us on Instagram at @sv_star_stuff, Fair winds!” During his GSO days, Scott was among the students taking beach measurements.
Boston-based Chronicle news show on WCVB-TV interviewed GSO Dean Paula Bontempi, Ph.D.’01, along with several GSO graduate students, to highlight the important oceanographic and coastal research and exploration being carried out.
Paula Bontempi, Ph.D. ’01, is part of NASA’s Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Independent Study team. NASA defines such phenomena as observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena. In the team’s first public discussion, Paula highlighted why NASA is the right agency to conduct this study.
Rebecca Asch, M.S.’06, assistant professor of biology at East Carolina University, is collaborating with an International Council for the Exploration of the Sea working group which is examining the management and ecology of small pelagic fish. The group is developing a paper describing how climate change effects on forage fish should be incorporated into management.
Now a research scientist in the estuarine and coastal ocean processes working group in the physical oceanography and instrumentation section at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Warnemünde in Berlin, Bronwyn Cahill, Ph.D ’06, focuses on the relationship between light, ocean radiant heating and carbon cycling in marginal seas.
By using a “cytobot” to collect and photograph phytoplankton every 20 minutes in the waters by the Narragansett Bay Campus pier, Colleen Mouw, M.S.’03, Ph.D.’09, and Ph.D. candidate Vitul Agarwal have demonstrated the ability to predict the abundance of two harmful algal species, which is good news for bay and human health.
Sunshine Menezes, Ph.D. ’05, is stepping down as director of the Metcalf Institute at URI as of November but will stay involved with Metcalf in her role as a clinical professor of environmental communication at URI.
Brooke Longval, Ph.D. ’09 has a new job as a unit research administrator, managing grant proposals and providing post award grant management at University of South Florida College of Marine Science. She writes “[I’m] excited for a change and to learn more about USF!”
2010s
Matt Horn, Ph.D.’11, joined the GSO Advisory Council. The council advises GSO about growth strategies and promoting the school worldwide. Matt is the Business Unit lead and a member of the Division Leadership Team for RPS Ocean Science. He joins fellow GSO graduates on the council Stephen Greenlee, M.S. ’82, and Barclay Collins (emeritus), M.S. ’74, Ph.D. ’78.
The URI Coastal Institute’s Senior Coastal Fellows annual meeting and field trip was held at Wickford Town Beach. CI Director Elin Torell gave program updates and introduced her team, including Science Director Nate Vinhateiro, Ph.D. ’12. Jody King, who has been quahogging in Narragansett Bay for more than 30 years, then brought the fellows into the water to rake for clams.
On October 6, Christopher Piecuch, M.S. ’10, Ph.D. ’16, from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, gave a talk on “River effects on sea level rise in the Río de la Plata estuary during the past century.” Afterwards, he discussed his work over lunch with his Ph.D. advisor, Kathleen Donohue, Ph.D. ’96, and others.
On Discovery Channel’s Shark Week 2023, husband-and-wife team Joe and Lauren Romeiro, M.O.’17, took special deep-sea cameras to the waters off the Azores to search for and photograph mako sharks. Lauren first appeared in Shark Week in 2021 but had been involved with the show since 2018.
Andrew O’Donnell, M.O. ’19, writes in from Portsmouth, R.I. that he is enjoying being a dad.
Colleen Peters, M.O. ’19, M.B.A. ’19, started a new position in January at Kongsberg Discovery as product manager for medium and deep EM multibeam systems and the acquisition software Seafloor Information System, both of which will be installed on R/V Narragansett Dawn. Colleen travels frequently to Ocean Technologies headquarters in Horten, Norway, where her systems and software are tested on the Simrad Echo.
2020s
When Afonso Gonçalves Neto, Ph.D. ’21, finished his work at GSO, he left before graduation for a postdoctoral position in his home country of Brazil. His housemate in R.I., Ph.D. candidate Luis Pomales Valazquez, received Afonso’s URI diploma in the mail. Although he still lives in Brazil, Afonso now works at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science and flies home via New York City. Luis and Kyle Turner, M.S. ’20, traveled to NYC to hand deliver Afonso’s diploma! From left, Afonso, Luis and Kyle, who are all wearing Chowder and Marching Society hats in honor of the occasion.
Emily Hall, M.S. ’23, (left) is now the Coastal Geologist II on the policy staff of the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council in Wakefield, R.I. She started in coastal geology at GSO as one of the student interns doing beach measurements.
Meredith Haas, M.O. ’22, was part of the editorial team to receive the 2023 Gooderham Media Award from the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association. This award recognized the team’s contribution to preserve, protect and enhance our coasts through its biannual magazine, 41ºN, which covers climate change, marine commerce, recreation, coastal history and education impacting Rhode Island.
Annabelle Leahy, M.S.’23, who also earned a degree in marine affairs, received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award from the U.S. Dept. of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Annabelle traveled to Brussels, Belgium, to study European Union affairs and environmental policy related to the offshore wind industry at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
Xiaozhuo Wei, Ph.D.’23, is at the California Institute of Technology where he was awarded a Barr Foundation Fellowship to continue his research on earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and deep earth structures using seismic waves.
In Memoriam
John A. Kiddon, Ph.D. ’93, of North Kingstown, R.I. unexpectedly passed away on July 12, 2023 at the age of 71 from a recently diagnosed melanoma. While at GSO his advisor was Professor Michael Bender and he had several research cruises to the Antarctic helping collect ice core samples. John spent the next 25 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Narragansett working on studies of coastal areas, particularly estuaries and benthic communities along the Atlantic coast. Well respected for his scientific work, John was also known as the person who always made time to ask how you were doing and offer kind words and a smile. A memorial service was held in East Greenwich, R.I.
Donna Jean Perreault, 66, of Narragansett, R.I., succumbed to cancer on July 18, 2023. She started at the Bay Campus in 2008 as a fiscal clerk working with the GSO Marine Office. In 2015, Donna moved to GSO Facilities and in 2017 she was promoted to assistant business management officer and kept that position until she retired in February 2023. But her most memorable and important role was as ‘Mother’ of the R/V Endeavor crew. Ash Hayden, GSO marine superintendent, spoke for many when he wrote, “Donna worked closely with the ship’s crew over her many years here. The ship and the crew were her family and she kept track of the ship until the day she passed. The crew all called her ‘Mom’ as she took care of their paperwork, pay issues, and often walked many through how to get their credentials.”
Former GSO professor Anton Post, age 70, who directed the Coastal Resources Center in 2015 –16, passed away at his home in Jerusalem, Israel on October 8, 2023, after a year fighting cancer. While at the Bay Campus, Anton was always happy to discuss his research in addition to his work for CRC. He was advisor to two GSO graduates, Sylvia Kim, M.S. ’17, and Rebecca Stevick, Ph.D. ’19. He returned to Israel three years ago and was Executive Director of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation until his death. In Vero Beach, Fla., there was a celebration of his life.
William Patrick “Bill” Dillon, Ph.D. ’69, passed away on October 21, 2023. A native of Fall River, Mass., Bill received a B.S. from Bates College, an M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Oceanography with GSO Professor Robert McMaster. Fellow student Candace Oviatt, Ph.D.’67, noted “He was a lovely guy and keenly interested in his work, Bates folks and GSO.” Bill joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Falmouth, Mass. as a research geologist in 1971. He was named chief of the USGS Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology from 1982-1986. He was project chief of the USGS’s gas hydrate research project from 1989 to his retirement in 2002.