Ellen Sue Kappel Berman is a science communicator in the area of oceanography. After earning her Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics, Kappel worked as program manager for the Ocean Drilling Program and later established a company helping to make the case for funding of geoscience programs. She has been the head editor of Oceanography since 2004.
Ellen S. Kappel | |
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| Occupation | Oceanographer, editor, science communicator  |
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Early life and education
editEllen Kappel grew up in New York City.[1]
She received a bachelor's degree in geology from Cornell University in 1980.[2] Her undergraduate thesis was on seismicity in the Sunda Arc.[3] She went on to earn a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in 1985.[2]
Career
editSeveral field trips during Kappel's undergraduate education established her interest in geology.[1] During her Ph.D. program at the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, she started her studies on the seismology group but a research cruise with marine geophysicist William B. Ryan changed her focus.[3] Kappel's Ph.D. thesis, Evidence for volcanic episodicity and a non-steady state rift valley, focused on volcanic episodicity of the ocean's crust along the Juan de Fuca Ridge.[1][4] Ryan describes the impact of her work: "More than 20 years after the publication of her thesis, Kappel's interpretation that volcanic construction of the ocean's crust along mid-ocean ridge spreading centers occurs in episodic pulses is still widely cited."[1] Her doctoral and postdoctoral work at Lamont–Doherty included multiple research cruises in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the use of side-scan sonar, deep-sea photography, and submersible observations.[2]
After nine months of postdoctoral work, Kappel moved to Washington, D.C. and became the assistant program manager at the Ocean Drilling Program at the Joint Oceanographic Institutions.[1] At that position she also served as the director of the U.S. Science Support Program, allocating funds to those in the Ocean Drilling Program.[1] Kappel worked at Joint Oceanographic Institutions for twelve years.[2]
During a sabbatical break Kappel found work communicating scientific material to agency managers and others in the scientific community.[1] In 1999 she established her own company, Geo Prose (Geosciences Professional Services), working with community members in academia and government to help promote funding for geoscience programs.[5]
In 2004 the council of The Oceanography Society asked Kappel to serve as the editor of Oceanography, a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal.[1]
She is a member of the Advisory Council for Cornell University's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.[5] Kappel is also a member of the EV Nautilus team.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Alumni Profile: Ellen Kappel, Phd '85". Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Ellen Kappel". Nautilus Live. 2015-07-22. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ a b "Ellen S. Kappel" (PDF). Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ Evidence for volcanic episodicity and a non-steady state rift valley. 1985. Retrieved June 8, 2021 – via Princeton University Library Catalog.
- ^ a b "Advisory Council". Cornell University Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Retrieved June 8, 2021.