Phone: (206) 685-9250
Fax: (206) 543-0275
University of Washington
School of Oceanography
Box 357940
Seattle, WA 98195-7940
mpruis@ocean.washington.edu
matt@nwra.com
Geophysical Methods and Data Analysis: I have always tried to keep a very diverse background in a variety of geophysical methods and techniques. I believe that great power in remote sensing is not any one geophysicsal method, but the combination of several techniques to get consistent and useful results. In the past three years, I have been in projects that have involved:
Physical properties of sediments: Our lab has been extensively involved in designing a near-shore sediment lander which uses Vp and active gamma logging techniques to characterize the density and elastic properties of soft sediment. We hope to deploy this new tool to characterize and model the effectiveness of sediment caps frequently used to mitigate surface water contamination in bays and esturaries.
Coastal Oceanography: Since beginning work at NorthWest Research Associates (April, 1997), I've been working on a project to use near-shore wave spectra to examine both the topographic features of the near-shore, as well as information on the size and distribution of the surf zone. In particular, I've been working on developing an inverse model that uses frequency and wavenumber spectra to predict the beach topography. I also have general responsibilities at NWRA of preparing the instruments that we are developing for this project for field deployment. My primary supervisor is Dr. Joan Oltman-Shay.
If you're interested in more information on my research, please visit my publications page which currently contains the four abstracts I've published. If, on the other hand, you're interested in a more consise overview of my skills and background, feel free to take a look at, and download, my resume or cv.
I firmly believe that there are two parts that are crucial to conducting science. One is the sucessful collection, examination, and thoughful interpretation of data. The other is to express these ideas to other people. Thus, since coming to the University of Washington I have tried to relay my information to the public in several different ways. As well as publishing two abstracts and presenting my research in oral and poster format at two national conferences. I have also created a web-based
Magnetics Tutorial to help people get an introductry feel for the fairly obtuse idea of magnetic fields and the measurement of them.
I also created and managed an outreach activity which involved developing an interface where high school and middle school students could interact with oceanographers while they were at sea. This web site is called MaGIC '96, and has been a remarkable sucess by any standard. The students of the three classes involved recieved maps (in poster and 8.5 x 11 format) and a video describing what the scientists where planning to do before the cruise. During the cruise they were encouraged to send questions via email to scientists on board. Their questions were answered both directly and posted on the internet site. Then after the three-week long cruise some of the local students from the Puget Sound Area were invited out to take a tour of the ship, with their tour leaders being members of the science cruise. The students were active and engaging. Hopefully, more outreach activities like MaGIC '96 will continue in the future.