Dirk Frankenberg

Background

Dirk Frankenberg was born on November 25, 1937, in Woodsville, New Hampshire, United States. He was a son of Charles Henry Frankenberg, an advertising executive, and Patricia Edith Frankenberg (maiden name Smith), a teacher of art.

Education

Dirk Frankenberg studied at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology in 1959.

He pursued his training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where he gained his Master of Science in Biology in 1960 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree two years later.

Career

Dirk Frankenberg started his career at the University of Georgia Marine Institute, Sapelo Island serving as an assistant professor of zoology from 1962 to 1966. By 1967, he had been promoted to an associate professor and worked in that capacity till his assignment as a full professor in 1972.

In a couple of years, Frankenberg joined the professor’s staff of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He led marine sciences curriculum from 1974 to 1990 and directed the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City from 1980 to 1993.

In addition to his career in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frankenberg also lectured at his alma mater, Dartmouth College, and worked as an assistant professor at the department of biological science in the University of Delaware during the 1960s.

Dirk Frankenberg also served in various boards and commissions, including the National Science Foundation, Washington where he directed the ocean science division from 1978 to 1989, the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System as a vice chairman from 1981 to 1984, as chairman of the Governor's Advisory Committee on the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, and the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission.

Dirk Frankenberg dedicated the last ten years of his life to writing books on the nature of North Carolina and helping to preserve its beauty. Among his writings about the natural treasures of the area can be cited such works as ‘The Nature of the Outer Banks’, ‘The Nature of North Carolina's Southern Coast,’ and ‘Exploring North Carolina's Natural Areas.’

Achievements

• Dirk Frankenberg was an accomplished scientist whose researches and books on the environment of North Carolina are internationally recognized.
  
  His research on carbon in estuaries was cited by the specialists from all over the world.
  
  To celebrate Frankenberg’s contributions to marine science, the Frankenberg Oceanographic Award was established.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Nature of North Carolina's Southern Coast: Barrier Islands, Coastal Waters, and Wetlands

    (The book provides a close-up look at the natural environm...)

    1997
  • The Nature of the Outer Banks: Environmental Processes, Field Sites, and Development Issues, Corolla to Ocracoke

    (The book describes the dynamic natural forces of North Ca...)

    1995
  • Exploring North Carolina's Natural Areas: Parks, Nature Preserves, and Hiking Trails

    (The book edited by Dirk Frankenberg leads the reader on t...)

    2000
  • Handbook on the Common Marine Isopod Crustacea of Georgia

    (A book in collaboration with Robert J. Menzies)

    1966

Views

Quotations: "I write because I believe that human abuse of natural systems is rooted in ignorance of the nature of such systems. I draw descriptions and examples of natural systems from more than thirty-five years of researching and teaching about ecology and coastal processes. I include ecotourism guides in my books because I believe that nature is studied directly, not in books. That is what I hope my readers will do – study nature directly."

Membership

• American Association for the Advancement of Science , United States

• Association Southeastern Biologists , United States

• Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography , United States

• Ecological Society of America , United States

• Estuarine and Brackish Water Sciences Association , United States

• Oceanography Society , United States

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "The man was full of energy and enthusiasm and popular with students." Dr. Conrad Neumann, Professor Emeritus of marine sciences
  
  "I can't emphasize enough that he wasn't just a fine teacher and scientist, but also that so much of his work was dedicated to improving the lives of the people of North Carolina." George Watts Hill Jr.

Interests

• restoring old furniture and houses

Connections

Dirk Frankenberg married Susan Alice Campbell on June 25, 1960. The family produced two children - Elizabeth Alice and Eben Whitfield.

Father:

Charles Henry Frankenberg

Mother:

Patricia Edith Frankenberg

Spouse:

Susan Alice Campbell

Daughter:

Elizabeth Alice Frankenberg

Son:

Eben Whitfield Frankenberg