Katrina Frank
Summer 2007 WAS*IS
 I have a Master's in geography from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in climatology from the University of Delaware. Next, I held a post-doc at the University of Delaware on a Forest Service project exploring the connection between upper-level circulation patterns and the introduction of white pine blister rust, a fungus that can lead to the death of trees, into previously uninfested forests. I am a member of the Center for Climatic Research at UD. My current projects include investigation of the rapid spread of the gypsy moth in Wisconsin since its introduction in the mid-1990s and a cold weather warning system for cow/calf producers in Montana. I also serve as webmaster for the International Society of Biometeorology.
Having been a part of several interdisciplinary research teams, working on problems ranging from livestock response to climate change to atmospherically-driven transport of fungal spores, I understand that cooperation between disciplines is essential to our complete understanding of the Earth system and how we interact with our environment. I hope that the workshop will help me to better integrate ideas in my future work. I believe my background in geography allows me to apply the unique perspective of a social scientist to problems that would be considered ‘hard science' and I think my experience with interdisciplinary research means that I have a lot to contribute to the workshop.
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