News Release, Kansas Geological Survey, Oct. 12, 2005
LAWRENCE--Evan Franseen, a specialist in geologic stratigraphy and sedimentology, has been named acting head of the Stratigraphic Research Section at the Kansas Geological Survey, based at The University of Kansas.
As acting section chief, Franseen is responsible for the Survey's program that explores the history of the state's rock layers at and below the earth's surface. He also oversees the county geologic mapping program.
Stratigraphic Research Section geologists explore the age, composition, distribution of fossils and geophysical and geochemical properties of rock layers. Their findings can be used to enhance the study of the state's natural resources, including water, oil and gas, coal, and industrial minerals, such as crushed rock, sand and gravel, salt, and helium.
Currently a senior scientist, Franseen joined the Survey in 1989. He has a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Wisconsin and has written or co-authored more than 150 scientific publications and reports. He has received grant and contract funding for research from a number of agencies, including the Kansas Department of Transportation, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Department of Energy.
"Evan Franseen is an innovative and forward-thinking scientist who will develop a research program of national prominence," said Bill Harrison, acting Survey director. "He will lead a broader research effort that will find prompt and widespread applications in ongoing Survey programs such as groundwater, fossil energy, industrial aggregates, and geophysics."