Karen M. Fischer
Professor:
Geological Sciences
Phone: +1 401 863 1360
Phone 2: +1 401 863 3338
Karen_Fischer@brown.edu
The overall goal of my research is to more clearly image the structure of the Earth's crust and mantle using seismic waves in order to better understand dynamic processes inside the Earth. Our recent work has focused on two topics: the continental lithosphere and its interactions with the deeper mantle, and mantle flow and melting processes in subduction zones. These studies blend analysis of observed seismic body and surface waves - often gathered through temporary field deployments of seismic stations - with numerical modeling of mantle processes and prediction of theoretical waveforms.
Biography
I graduated with a BS in geology and geophysics from Yale in 1983 and received my PhD in geophysics from MIT in 1989. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (Columbia University), I joined the faculty in the Department of Geological Sciences at Brown in the fall of 1990. I was a Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence from 2004 to 2007.
Awards
RECENT HONORS
Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence, Brown University 2004-2007
Board of Directors of the Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS) 2004-2007
Secretary of the Seismology Section of the American Geophysical Union 2006-2008
NSF MARGINS Distinguished Lecturer 2006-2008
Affiliations
American Geophysical Union
Seismological Society of America
Teaching
GEOL 0160: First Year Seminar: Living Within the Landscape
GEOL 1650: Earthquake Seismology
GEOL 0220: Physical Processes in Geology
GEOL 2650: Advanced Seismology
GEOL 2920: Tectonics of the Western U.S.
ADVISING
Current Graduate Students:
Julia MacDougall
Heather Ford
Recent Former Graduate Students:
David Abt, Ph.D. '09
Matthew Fouch, Ph.D. '99
Aibing Li, Ph.D. '01
Catherine Rychert, Ph.D. '06
Mariela Salas, Sc.M. '09
Xiaoping Yang, Ph.D. '95
Web Links
- Subduction Zone Processes
- The Continental Lithosphere
- Crustal Roots of Old Mountains
- Fischer Named Royce Family Professor
- Brown's Tectonophysics Group
- More about my research...
