Alfultis Retires After More Than 28 Years of Service

NEW LONDON, Conn. - Coast Guard Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe (left) shakes hands with Capt. Michael A. Alfultis Friday, Aug. 20, 2010, during a retirement ceremony at the Coast Guard Academy here. After serving more than 28 years in the Coast Guard, Alfultis received a Meritorious Service Medal for his contributions while stationed at the academy. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class NyxoLyno Cangemi.

NEW LONDON, Conn. - A marine science professor retired from the Coast Guard Academy today after more than 28 years of military service.

Capt. Michael A. Alfultis will continue sharing his expertise with young adults at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus.

Alfultis graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1982 with a degree in Marine Science. His first assignment was in Guam as operations officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Basswood. He attended the University of Washington and received his Master of Science degree in Oceanography. He served as operations section chief of the International Ice Patrol from 1987 through 1989.

Alfultis returned to the Academy in 1989 having been selected as a member of the permanent commissioned teaching staff. He later received his Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island in 1997. His dissertation was entitled Statistical Characterizations of North Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water.

Alfultis is one of the original architects of the Marine and Environmental Sciences major. Alfultis has taught marine science courses including Oceanography, Meteorology, Ocean Dynamics, Ocean Circulation and Remote Sensing, and developed a three-course Geospatial Sciences curriculum to educate cadets and officers to better serve Coast Guard mission needs using this emerging technology.

Alfultis has also supervised extensive cadet research serving Coast Guard Sectors, and various agencies of state, local and federal entities. He was a New England Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation Self-Study Team leader from 1999 to 2000, the Director of Academic Advisors from 2000 to 2002, NEASC Fifth-year Interim Report project officer from 2001-2005, Marine Science section chief from 2002 to 2005, and head of the Department of Science from 2005 to 2009.

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