Kenneth R. Papp
Ken manages daily operations for a diverse team of 65 geoscientists with an annual budget of $15M. He earned his B.S. in Geology from the University of Cincinnati, and his M.S. in Volcanology and Remote Sensing from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Ken has worked for the State for almost 20 years as a geologist with DGGS in Fairbanks, a project manager at the Alaska Energy Authority, and the Curator of the Geologic Materials Center (2009-2015) and Operations Manager for the survey.
Professional Experience
SKILLS
- Supervisory: Oversees the Division's administrative staff and section chiefs
- Operational: Provides division-wide operational coordination to meet the Governor's, DNR Commissioner's, and Director's priorities for the survey
- Geologic: Former Geologic Materials Center Curator and Alaska Volcano Observatory remote sensing analyst
- Speaking/presentation: Countless talks and presentations at local and international venues
- Web design: HTML, CSS, UX/UI analysis
- Database: metadata, SQL, data modeling
- Geospatial analyses: Google Earth, KML, ESRI ArcGIS, Generic Mapping Tools (GMT)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Cook Scholarship for outstanding geologic laboratory research (Univ. of Cincinnati)
- Multi-year field research on three active, Alaskan volcanoes (AVO)
- Remote sensing analyst: Operational monitoring of active volcanoes using satellite data (AVO, UAF Geophysical Institute)
- Wrote formal documentation for 35+ legacy geologic mapping projects (DGGS)
- Developed survey-wide interface for geologists to publish digital map data (DGGS)
- Established the Alaska Energy Data Inventory (Alaska Energy Authority)
- Led a year-long project enabling clients to browse/search the entire geologic sample archive (Alaska GMC)
- Established a transfer plan to move the GMC's entire 30,000-ft² collection to a new facility
- Active role in collaboration with DGGS management, the Department of Natural Resources Commissioner's Office, the Department of Administration, ECI/Hyer, and the Governor's Office helped secure a new building for the Alaska GMC
- Helped educate numerous State legislators, department directors, and division heads about the purpose and importance of the GMC and its sample archive
- Helped promote the GMC by providing information to news outlets and the DNR Commissioner's Office
- Provided helpful guidance and recommendations to the new GMC building's design, engineering, and procurement teams
- Led a year-long project with DGGS programmers and IT staff to completely redesign and implement a new GMC inventory database and sample-tracking system
- Supervised the unfinished cataloging of the entire GMC sample archive and related transfer preparations
- Led the successful relocation of the GMC's entire geologic sample archive (2,522 pallets in 142 trucks) from Eagle River to Anchorage in 31 working days, with no injuries
- Lead the implementation of a fee schedule for services offered and data sales at the Geologic Materials Center to help bring in revenue to the state
Selected Professional Activities
COLLABORATION
- High school science research advisor and mentor
- Member of the Alaska Geological Society and Geological Society of America
- Committee and proposal review panel member (USGS National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program)
- Hosted ~500 visitors/yr from the oil and gas and mining industries, engineering firms, academia, and the general public (Alaska Geologic Materials Center)
- Associate member of the Association of American State Geologists
Selected Publications
- Papp, K.R., and DGGS Staff, 2015, Geologic Materials Center FY15 project description, in DGGS Staff, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2014: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2014-F, p. 81-82. https://doi.org/10.14509/29185
- Papp, K.R., and DGGS Staff, 2014, Geologic Materials Center FY14 project descriptions, in DGGS Staff, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2013: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2013-F, p. 82-83. https://doi.org/10.14509/27006
- Papp, K.R., and DGGS Staff, 2013, Geologic Materials Center FY13 project descriptions, in DGGS Staff, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2012: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2012-F, p. 69-70. https://doi.org/10.14509/24790
- Papp, K.R., 2012, Geologic Materials Center FY12 project descriptions, in DGGS Staff, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2011: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2011-F, p. 79-80. https://doi.org/10.14509/23308
- Papp, K.R., 2011, Geologic Materials Center FY11 project descriptions, in DGGS Staff, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2010: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 2010-F, p. 81-82. https://doi.org/10.14509/22186
- Papp, K.R., and Parker, P., 2008, Alaska Mapper: A web-based tool to access land ownership and other state-wide geospatial data, in Soller, D.R., ed., 2008, Digital Mapping Techniques '07--Workshop Proceedings, Columbia, South Carolina, May 20-23, 2007: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 2008-1385, 140 p. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1385/
- DGGS Staff, and Papp, K.R., 2005, Alaska GeoSurvey News - A summary of the past, present, and future of distributing Alaskan geologic data in digital format: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Newsletter 2005-2, 8 p. https://doi.org/10.14509/14595
- Papp, K.R., Dean, K.G., and Dehn, J., 2005, Predicting regions susceptible to high concentrations of airborne volcanic ash in the north Pacific region: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 148, no. 3-4, p. 295-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2005.04.020
- Dean, K.G., Dehn, Jonathan, Papp, K.R., Smith, Steve, Izbekov, Pavel, Peterson, Rorik, Kearney, Courtney, and Steffke, Andrea, 2004, Integrated satellite observations of the 2001 eruption of Mt. Cleveland, Alaska: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 135, n. 1-2, p. 51-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2003.12.013
- Miyamoto, Hideaki, and Papp, K.R., 2004, Rheology and topography control the path of a lava flow: Insight from numerical simulations over a preexisting topography: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 31: L16608, . http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004GL020626
- Patrick, M.R., Dehn, J., Papp, K.R., Lu, Z., Dean, K., Moxey, L., Izbekov, P., and Guritz, R., 2003, The 1997 Eruption of Okmok Volcano: A synthesis of remotely sensed imagery: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 127, n. 1-2, p. 87-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0377-0273(03)00180-X
- Dean, K.G., Dehn, Jon, Engle, Kevin, Izbekov, Pavel, Papp, K.R., and Patrick, M., 2002, Operational satellite monitoring of volcanoes at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, in Harris, A. J. H., Wooster, Martin, and Rothery, D. A., eds., Monitoring volcanic hotspots using thermal remote sensing: Advances in Environmental Monitoring and Modelling, v. 1, n. 3, p. 70-97.
- Papp, K.R., 2002, An analysis of volcanic ash plume movement and dispersion within the north Pacific: University of Alaska Fairbanks, M.S. thesis, 162 p. http://www.worldcat.org/title/analysis-of-volcanic-ash-plume-movement-and-dispersion-within-the-north-pacific/oclc/50565969