Katharine E. Kolpan
Assistant Professor
Student Health, 322
208-885-6752
Department of Culture, Society & Justice
875 Perimeter Dr. MS 4207
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83843-1110
- Ph.D., University of Florida, 2017
- M.A., California State University, Chico, 2009
- B.A., New York University, 2004
Courses
- ANTH 101 Biological Anthropology
- ANTH 404/504 The (Bio)archaeology of Modern War and Conflict
- ANTH 411/511 Human Evolution
- ANTH 451/551 Forensic Anthropology
Kate Kolpan is a bioarchaeologist and forensic anthropologists whose research focuses on migration, violence, warfare and the politics related to the exhumation, identification and the commemoration of human remains in both the past and present. Her most recent work examines the possibilities of utilizing isotope analysis to help identify the origins of unknown combatants who perished while fighting for the Axis Powers in the Second World War. She has also been exploring the politics involved in identifying combatants from conflicts to assess how contemporary stakeholders utilize human remains to serve their own purposes.
Dr. Kolpan has worked with prehistoric, historic and contemporary skeletal collections and her education, research and professional development has provided her with opportunities to travel to many places such as the West Indies, Thailand, Vietnam, the Balkans, Germany, California, Florida, Iowa and Washington State. A Philadelphia native, Dr. Kolpan received her B.A. from New York University, her M.A, from Chico State and her Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
- Bioarchaeology
- Forensic Anthropology
- Osteology and Osteometry
- Isotope Analysis
- Genocide and Victimization
- Conflict and Military Archaeology
- Contemporary Archaeological Theory and Materiality Studies
- Warfare
- Disease and Heath
- World War II
- Central Europe and the Balkans
Kolpan, KE and EJ Bartelink. 2019. “Dental disease in prehistoric Central California: sex differences in early period Windmiller populations.” Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 11(6): 3001-3012.
Kolpan, KE and MW Warren. 2017. “Utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Analyze Geographic and Demographic Patterns Related to Forensic Case Recovery Locations in Florida.” Forensic Science International 281: 67-74.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Strategic Partnership Grant, co-PI with Nicholas Passalaqua
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for German, 2015-2017
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Summer 2015
Forensic Science Academy Fellowship, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (currently DPAA), Fall 2013