POLAR-PALOOZA - Karen Harpp

Karen Harpp
Geochemist, Colgate University, NY

Karen Harpp uses chemistry as a tool to study how the Earth works, making her a "geochemist." After visiting Antarctica in 2006, she is about to start a new research project in the Dry Valleys close to McMurdo Station in December 2007. Her focus is on volcanic systems, mostly ocean island chains such as the Galapagos. Material erupted from volcanoes provides us with one of our only windows into Earth's interior; her fundamental goal is to try to figure out what the chemistry of those materials at the surface, such as lava, tells us about the processes that control volcanic behavior.

Karen got her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Dartmouth College and her Master's and PhD degrees jointly in geology and chemistry from Cornell. At Colgate University, in upstate New York, where she has been for the past eight years, she blends her chemistry and geology interests by teaching volcanology, environmental geochemistry, introductory geology, and even a course on the science of the atomic bomb that she developed for the liberal arts core program. Over the years, she and her students have carried out fieldwork in such places as the Galapagos Islands, Iceland, Japan, and Antarctica. Together, they have presented their work in scientific publications and at international scientific conferences. Many of the students have gone on to pursue careers in geology and in teaching science. Currently, her research team is focusing on Floreana (Galapagos) and Hekla (Iceland) volcanoes, and Antarctica.

POLAR-PALOOZA and the materials on this website are based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0632262. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE/Geoff Haines-Stiles Productions, Inc., and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.