CURRICULUM VITAE
Karen G. Bemis
Department of Geological Sciences & Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Rutgers University
610 Taylor Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854-8066
Fax: (732) 445-3374
email: bemis@rci.rutgers.edu
PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION
1995, Ph.D., Rutgers University, Geological Sciences, Dissertation Title: A morphometric study of
volcanoes in Guatemala, Iceland, the Snake River Plain, and the South Pacific.
1991, M.S. , MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, Marine Geology and Geophysics, Thesis Title:
Geothermal heat flux from hydrothermal plumes on the Juan de Fuca Ridge
1988 B.A.Rice University, Geophysics (magna cum laude)
APPOINTMENTS
July 2001 – present
January 2005 – 2009
July 1996 – June 2001
May 1996 - July 1996
September 1991 -October 1995
September 1988 - July 1991
May 1988 - August 1988
Research Associate, IMCS, Rutgers University
Part Time Lecturer, Geol. Sci., Rutgers University
Postdoctoral Associate, IMCS, Rutgers University.
Intern, NJ Geological Survey.
Graduate Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, and
Excellence Fellow, Rutgers University.
Research Assistant, MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography.
Summer Fellow, Amoco Production Co.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Rona, P., K. G. Bemis, G. Xu, and K. Mitsuzawa, Estimations of heat transfer from Grotto’s North
Tower: a NEPTUNE Observatory case study, Deep-Sea Research II, Rona Special Issue,
doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.05.010, 2015, in press.
Bemis, K. G., Silver, D., Xu. G., Light, R., Jackson, D., Jones, C., Ozer, S., Lui, L., The path to
COVIS: a review of acoustic imaging of hydrothermal plumes. Deep Sea Research II., Rona
Special Issue, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.06.002, 2015, in press.
Xu, G., Jackson, D. R., Bemis. K. G., and Rona, P. A., Time series measurement of hydrothermal
heat flux at the Grotto mound, Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge, Earth and Planetary
Science Letters, 404, 220-231, 2014.
Ozer, S., Silver, D., Martin, P., and Bemis, K., Activity Detection for Scientific Visualization, IEEE
Transactions in Visualizaton and Computer Graphics, PP(99), doi 10.1109/TVCG.2013.117,
2014.
Bemis, K. G., Xu, G., Jackson, D., Rona, P. and Light, R. Cabled observatory enabled acoustic
monitoring of hydrothermal discharge, UA2014, the 2nd international conference and
exhibition on Underwater Acoustics, June 22-27, 2014.
OTHER RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Xu, G., Jackson, D., Bemis, K., and Rona, P., Observations of the volume flux of a seafloor
hydrothermal plume using an acoustic imaging sonar, G-cubed, 14(7), 2369-2382, 2013.
Bemis, K., Lowell, R., and Farough, A., Diffuse flow on and around hydrothermal vents at midocean ridges, Oceanography, 25(1), 182-191, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.16 2012.
Bemis, K.,Walker, J., Borgia, A., Turrin, B., Neri, M., and Swisher, C., The growth and erosion of
cinder cones in Guatemala and El Salvador: models and statistics, Journal of Volcanology and
Geothermal Reseach, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2010.11.007, 2011.
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Rona, P. A., Bemis, K. G., Jones, C. D, Jackson, D. R., Mitsuzawa, K., and Silver, D., Entrainment
and bending in a major hydrothermal plume, Main Endeavour Field, Juan de Fuca Ridge,
Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L19313, doi:10.1029/2006GL027211, 2006.
Bemis, K.G., P.A. Rona, D. Jackson, C. Jones, D. Silver, K. Mitsuzawa, A comparison of black
smoker hydrothermal plume behavior at Monolith Vent and at Clam Acres vent field:
dependence on source configuration, Marine Geophys. Res., 23, 81-96, 2002.
SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES & PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
 Support of interdisciplinary research as a member of the Endeavour Integration and Synthesis
Oversight Committee, NSF Ridge 2000 program (June 2008 – 2011) and in the development of
applications of mathematical analysis, fluid mechanics and computer visualization to geological
problems (hydrothermal systems, volcanos, structural geology).
 Development of visualization literacy training to assist disadvantaged students in penetrating fields in
which 3D scientific visualization skills are an essential asset and
 Mentoring professional development in graduate and undergraduate students through research
collaborations and advising
 Support of interagency and international coordination of marine research cruises in the Northeast
Pacific, Sept 2008 – Sept 2012.
 Member of American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, IEEE (Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.)
COLLABORATORS
Rutgers University: Prosenjit Bagchi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University; Peter
A. Rona, Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University; Deborah Silver and Marilyn
Tremaine, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University; Roy Schlische, Carl
Swisher, Brent Turrin, and Martha Withjack, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University
Oxford University (Oxford E-Research Center): Alfie Abdul-Rahman, Min Chen, and Simon Walton
Elsewhere: Andrea Borgia, the Open University; Matthieu Kerwyn, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Darrell R.
Jackson, University of Washington; Russ Light, University of Washington; Christopher D. Jones,
University of Washington; Macro Neri, Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; Sedat
Ozer, University of Virgina; Jim Walker, Northern Illinois University
ADVISORS
Michael J. Carr
Peter A. Rona
Rutgers University
Rutgers University
STUDENTS ADVISED
Current students: Jay Tackle, ECE doctoral student; Li Lui, ECE masters student; Guangu Xu,
IMCS doctoral student; Margot Ferencz, EPS masters/doctoral student
Member of thesis committee: Guangyu Xu, Ph.D, IMCS, tba; Beatriz Serrano Sanchez, MS. EPS,
2013; James Chiang, MS. ECE, 2011; Kristina Santilli, MS. ECE, 2006; Triyani Nur
Hidayah, MS. EPS, 2009
Graduate intern: Varun Vijayaraghavan, spring 2010
Undergraduate interns: Jeff Wallace (with G. Xu as primary mentor), fall 2012-spring 2013; Kyle
Cavorly, winter 2012; Peter Lin, summer 2011; Jeff Rabinowitz , winter 2010 and summer
2011; Craig Gutterman, summer 2009; Emily Pirl, summer 2009 – 2010
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