Anh Nguyen is currently the Payload Accelerator for CubeSat Endeavors (PACE) Project Manager and has worked on a variety of CubeSats during her career at NASA Ames Research Center over the past 6 years. She has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida Precision Space Systems Lab with a focus on Dynamic Systems and Controls and is passionate about demonstrating new technologies for the next generation of small satellites.

An alumna of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography (Ph.D. ’01) and a biological oceanographer for more than 25 years, Paula Bontempi became dean of GSO in August, 2020. As dean, Bontempi has executive responsibility for the graduate school and its Narragansett Bay Campus, providing leadership and oversight for its academic, research and outreach activities.

Bontempi joins GSO at an exciting time in its history with plans underway to revitalize the Narragansett Bay Campus, adding a 20,000-square-foot Ocean Robotics Laboratory, a 12,000-square-foot marine operations facility and a new, larger pier to accommodate a 199-foot Regional Class Research Vessel, R/V Narragansett Dawn, which is under construction and slated for arrival in 2023.

Previous to her current position, Bontempi served as acting deputy director at NASA’s Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She provided leadership, strategic direction and overall management for the agency’s entire Earth science portfolio, from technology development, applied science and research to mission implementation and operation.

In addition to allocating resources and leading a division of approximately 75 scientists, engineers and administrative professionals, Bontempi was also charged with developing policies and priorities for numerous programs and coordinating with the scientific and applications communities throughout NASA, federal advisory committees and other entities, including the National Academy of Sciences and international partnerships. She also taught Earth science in NASA’s astronaut training class.

Prior to her appointment as acting deputy director, Bontempi spent more than 16 years as the physical scientist and program manager for ocean biology and biogeochemistry at NASA Headquarters. She also served as the lead for NASA’s carbon cycle and ecosystems focus area and for the agency’s carbon cycle science research. This included leading the coordination of relevant research and program collaborations with all U.S. and international partners and serving as NASA program scientist with oversight responsibility for instrument and mission science integrity on satellite missions. For nearly 18 years Bontempi was a program scientist for a large number of Earth observing satellite missions at NASA.

Before joining NASA, Bontempi was an assistant professor of oceanography in the University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of Marine Sciences.

Claire Bengtson is a mechanical engineer specializing in robotics and controls. She received her master's degree from the University of Florida in 2021, where she worked in the Angelini Soft Matter Lab building a 3D bioprinter. Prior to that, she worked for the Nonlinear Controls and Robotics Lab building medical rehabilitation devices. She also spent time as a teaching assistant and helped develop an open source engineering textbook. As a teenager, Claire competed in VEX robotics and qualified for the world championship twice. She spent much of her childhood building robots and tinkering with electronics, which grew into a love for engineering. As an adult, she spends her free time hiking the trails of Florida and sculpting.