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Frederika
(Fraka) Harmsen Ph.D., Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 1984 Professor, Associate Dean Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences California State University, Fresno 2576 E. San Ramon Ave., Mail Stop ST-24 Fresno, CA 93740 Tel. 001(559)
278-2395 Office: Science II 114 Links: EES Department, University Homepage |
ADMINISTRATION TEACHING Dr. Harmsen has taught courses in Sedimentology, Basin Analysis, Petroleum Geology and Paleontology. Field trips are an integral component of these courses and range from shipboard cruises to study ocean sediments and geophysical profiles to analyzing ancient strata in the mountains and deserts of California. Dr. Harmsen founded the South Pacific Semester, an international semester abroad program based in New Zealand and Australia. Students spend much time in the field visiting active volcanoes, glaciers and coral reefs. Dr. Harmsen served on the Governing Board of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) for 23 years and spent a year as the Visiting Scientist there. MLML functions as an extension of the Fresno State campus and numerous courses in marine sciences are available to students. RESEARCH Dr. Harmsen recently started the Institute for Climate Change, Oceans and Atmosphere in the College of Science and Mathematics. The goal of the Institute is to foster interdisciplinary research in climate change, oceanography and atmospheric science, as well as such closely related fields as sustainable development and energy policy. Dr. Harmsen and fellow researchers recently completed a comprehensive report for the City of Fresno entitled “Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change in Fresno, California.” See http://www.csufresno.edu/icoa/projects/fresnoclimate.shtml Dr. Harmsen and Dr. Hasson (Chemistry) have a large federal grant from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study atmospheric pollution in the Fresno area with a focus on ozone. Dr. Harmsen has a second grant from the National Parks Service to conduct benthic marine habitat mapping to aid in understanding conservation and exploitation of marine resources. She recently completed a NOAA grant on similar research and has several MS students working on this project. Prior work included the study of the geomorphology, hydrology and riparian condition of the Kings River Experimental Watershed (KREW). The grant supported three graduate students. The study focused on characterization of watershed geomorphology that was focused on assessment of channel morphology and condition. Analysis of transport capacity, sediment supply, and channel history provide for a more detailed diagnosis of channel condition and guide determination of major processes controlling channel morphology and habitat structure throughout the channel network. A sediment budget was determined that included a quantitative description of sediment production rates, transport, storage, and output by the different processes in the drainage system. Dr. Harmsen has also received multiple grants from Caltrans to provide a database and maps of paleontological resources in central California using GIS and to perform environmental field analysis at various sites of vertebrate remains. At least five graduate students have been, and are being, supported by these grants. Examples of Recent International Research Projects Facies Analysis of the Gogo Formation and Diagenesis of Fish Fauna Sedimentological Studies of the Lower Beacon Supergroup, Darwin Mountains, Antarctica. Past Graduate Students: Dr. Harmsen has supervised numerous graduate students on their MS thesis work. The most recent student, Tim McConnico, won the Presidential Graduate Medal for outstanding graduate work at CSU Fresno. He is currently a Fulbright scholar pursuing his Ph.D. in Sedimentology in New Zealand. |