Physical Oceanography Research

Areas of Research

• Fluid dynamics (Craig Gilman, Erin Hackett)
• Ocean/atmosphere interactions, including hurricanes, El Nino, and coastal weather patterns (Shaowu Bao, Craig Gilman)
• Remote sensing (Craig Gilman)
• Physics of the coastal ocean, hypoxia and ocean currents, seafloor topography and mixing ratios (Diane Fribance)

Faculty

• Diane Fribance, Ph.D. (Associate Professor) received a B.A. in computer science from Williams College in 2003, and has a master's degree and a Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Connecticut. She was the recipient of a National Research Council fellowship and spent two years working for the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Her research focuses on the physics of the coastal oceans, including estuarine health and circulation, effects of hurricanes on coastal transport, and the connections between seafloor topography and mixing rates.

• Craig Gilman, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Department Chair) has research interests in the interdisciplinary field of atmosphere/ocean dynamics and satellite oceanography. Several of his recent research projects encompass Gulf Stream dynamics, hurricane formation, and impacts of El Nino.