Dr. Kathy Abbass, (Bristol, RI) is the Principal Investigator and senior instructor for the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology and two post-docs in maritime history, and before creating RIMAP in 1993, she was an Assistant Professor at Norfolk State University (VA), Director of the Museum of Yachting in Newport, RI, and worked as a marine surveyor in Newport.