Paula Susan Bontempi is an oceanographer who has led the use of satellites in marine science during her positions in NASA and as the dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.
Bontempi's Ph.D. analyzed imagery from the SeaWIFS satellite to characterize spatial variability in chlorophyll as observed from space and was the first research to reveal a spring phytoplankton bloom off the southeastern continental United States.
In 2020, Bontempi advocated for breaking down barriers between departments in the federal funding of earth science during a workshop hosted by the National Academy.
[19] Bontempi spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a 2019 forum on climate change and maritime security[20] and has testified before the US House of Representatives on March 12, 2021 in a presentation to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
[23] In May 2020, Bontempi spoke with the Federal News Network about the 2020 NASA International Space Apps Challenge and the potential use of satellite imagery as a part of solutions for the COVID-19 pandemic.