For over half a century, the Department of Geography at UNCG has developed its programs and resources to prepare students for careers and advanced research in geography. Geography is an expanding and diverse field focusing on the spatial organization of landscapes from a variety of perspectives. Common pursuits in geographic research include the analysis of population problems, economic development, urban and environmental planning, climate and climate change, the spatial dynamics of vegetation and animal assemblages, earth surface processes and landforms, environmental impacts of human activities, resource management, satellite-based and low-altitude remote sensing, cartography, and geographic information science (GIS).

The Department offers the B.A., M.A. (applied geography), and Ph.D. degrees. Formal concentrations in urban/economic/transportation geography, GIScience/remote sensing, and earth/environmental science are offered within the B.A. program. Post-baccalaureate certificates are available in "Global and Regional Studies in Geography" and "Urban and Economic Development" through the Department.

 

The July 11th issue of Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v499/n7457/full/499128c.html) discusses an article published in the Journal of Climate that was coauthored by two former graduate students and their advisor, Dr. Knapp. Both Justin Maxwell (2012) and Jason Ortegren (2008) received their Ph.D.s from our department and were part of the Carolina Tree-Ring Science Laboratory. Justin is now an assistant professor at Indiana University while Jason is an assistant professor at the University of West Florida. Great to see our grads doing outstanding work!  J. T. Maxwell, J. T. Ortegren, P. A. Knapp, and P. T. Soulé. (2013). Tropical cyclones and drought amelioration in the Gulf and Southeastern Coastal United States, Journal of Climate(doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00824.1).

Jacob Turner and Dr. Roy Stine were doing some ground penetrating radar at the House in the Horseshoe. That's a State Historic Site, revolutionary era, in Moore County. The Secretary for the NC Dept. of Cultural Resources, happened to stop by for a tour (Secretary Susan Kluttz). Someone in the NCDCR snapped a photo, and we're up on their web page www.ncdcr.gov - click on "Secretary Kluttz Experiences Archaeology, Living History at House in the Horseshoe". At the bottom of that page you will see Dr. Stine with the Secretary.

Jasraj Gramopadhye, a PhD student in the department of geography, was one of three students who received the prestigious AAG International Geographic Information Travel Award to present his dissertation research at the AAG annual meeting held in Los Angeles this April 2013. The program is designed to support college and university student career development in the academic areas of applied spatial data analysis or GIS. The award came with a stipend of $500.

Jasraj also received the competitive Urban Geography Specialty Group Travel Award. The award is presented by the AAG's Urban Specialty Group to student urban geographers, and is intended to help cover travel expenses incurred when a student attends a conference. The award came with a stipend of $100.

John Nowlin won 1st place in the Social Sciences section of the Graduate research expo competition. His poster presentation was based on his MA thesis, Directed by Dr. Bunch and (committee members: Drs. Royal and Lui). The title of his poster was "A Mesoscale Geophysical Capability/Suitability Model for Vitis Vinifera Vineyard Site Selection in the North Carolina Piedmont Triad Region: Case Study of Rockingham County, NC."

Congratulations go to Jason Greer who has won a Student Excellence Award, UNCG's highest academic honor for undergraduates.

Geography doctoral student Jennifer Alford will be chairing and presenting a session at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers to be held in Los Angeles in April.  The title of the session is Water Resource Protection: Exploring the Influence of Multiple Strategies which will feature current research on the impacts of human activities on surface water resources.   Her session is being sponsored by the Applied Geography Specialty Group, the Water Resources Specialty Group, and the Regional Development and Planning Specialty Group.  In addition to the session, Jennifer will serve on the Community Geography Teaching and Research panel where she will discuss her experiences as a National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 Graduate Fellow.  The chair of Jennifer's dissertation research committee is Dr. Keith Debbage.