Chair Update
Message From the Chair Spring 2024
This semester we welcomed Dr. Bharat Rastogi to our faculty as a new Assistant Professor. Dr. Rastogi¡¯s research focuses on examining the role of CO2 emissions on climate change and impacts on a variety of territorial ecosystems. We had a busy semester that included three job searches for new faculty...
Faculty News and Updates
Abdalati Visits Washington, D.C. to Advocate for Funding Science
On April 10, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Director and Geography Professor Waleed Abdalati, along with Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) Director Dan Baker met with staff members of Colorado congressional delegation to discuss the impacts of science reductions in the President¡¯s 2025 budget request...
Keith Musselman Briefs U.S. Congress on Advancing Community-based Research and Knowledge Co-Production in the Arctic
Keith Musselman was on Capitol Hill on March 5th, 2024 where he contributed to a Congressional Briefing hosted by the Senate Arctic Caucus Co-Chairs (Senators Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Angus King (ME)) and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. I contributed to the briefing with ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉ䡯s Dr. Twila Moon (NSIDC/CIRES)...
8 in 10 lizards could be at risk due to deforestation
In Colorado, people flock to the Rocky Mountains when the summer heat gets unbearable. Animals seek shelter too when temperatures become extreme, and forests serve as critical sanctuaries for small tree-dwelling animals like lizards. In a new study published March 5 in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientists from ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä...
Emily Yeh Named College Professor of Distinction
Emily Yeh has been named Professor of Distinction by the College of Arts and Sciences in recognition of her exceptional service, teaching and research. This revered title is reserved for scholars and artists of national and international acclaim who college peers also recognize as exceptionally talented teachers and colleagues. Honorees...
Isaac Rivera receives the AAG Digital Geographies Outstanding Dissertation Award
Incoming Geography faculty member, Isaac Rivera has received the Outstanding Dissertation award from the Digital Geographies Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. His dissertation is entitled: "Mapping the Terms of Freedom & the Ongoing Refusal of Settler Imaginaries". Abstract: Originating in Denver, Colorado in 1907 and exported as...
Jessica Finlay Receives Emerging Scholar Award in Health and Medical Geography
During the 2024 Association of American Geographers (AAG) meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dr. Jessica Finlay was awarded the Emerging Scholar Award in Health and Medical Geography. This is a highly competitive award. According to the AAG website , this award "seeks to recognize early career scholars who show significant potential...
Student Updates
Using spatial data science to improve infectious disease forecasting
My name is Zhongying Wang . I am currently a third-year PhD student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where I have had the privilege of immersing myself in the vibrant academic environment of the Geography department. Through advanced coursework, including specialized classes like spatial machine learning and applied deep...
Brandon Brown Defends Honors Thesis Visualizing Renewable Potential in Colorado
I am Brandon Brown, an undergraduate dual major at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä-Boulder, with an independent focus on applied GIS for sustainable development planning. Geography¡¯s interdisciplinary nature sets it apart from other majors due to the flexibility with which a student can dual major, minor, or pursue a certificate. I transferred from Colorado...
Does fire beget fire? Nathan Korinek investigates the relationship between fires and previously burned areas in western US forests
My name is Nathan Korinek, and I am finishing my final year as a master¡¯s student in the Geography department. I¡¯ve been working with the Geography department and ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉ䡯s Earth Lab since 2017. I went from an undergraduate to a research assistant and am now receiving my masters. During my...
Climate Change and Resource Conflicts in Mozambique: Insights from Lauren Herwehe's Fieldwork
In October and November 2023, Lauren Herwehe conducted preliminary dissertation fieldwork in the Sofala and Gaza provinces of Mozambique. This research was undertaken in collaboration with Eduardo Mondlane University and made possible by a Solstice Graduate Research Award from the Geography Department. Herwehe is a PhD student advised by John...
Using a Model River to Investigate How Wood Moves During Floods
By: Josie Welsh (Graduate Student, ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä GEOG), and Bridget Mendel (communications at Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL)) In a large windowless room and with the hum of a motor steadily pumping water, brightly painted sticks are dropped one at a time into the top of a model river system. Carried...
Geography Hosted its First Dumpling Making Party
On February 9, 2024, the Department of Geography held a Dumpling Making Party to celebrate two cultural events: the Chinese Spring Festival (´º½Ú ch¨±nji¨¦) and Tibetan New Year (Losar). Both cultures follow their own calendars for festivals and holidays. This year, these two holidays coincided with February 10 marking the...
Alumni Updates & Dept News
Hannah Escareno, now a geospatial Analyst, remembers her time at the Geography Department
My name is Hannah Escareno and I received my BA in Geography in 2023. Today, I am a geospatial analyst by profession, while in my free time, I¡¯m an avid rock climber and violist with an affinity for crochet, analog photography, and poodles! Growing up, playing viola music by composers...
Tai Koester: Building on Undergraduate Training to Lead Research in Political Ecology and Indigenous Geographies
My name is Tai Koester. I am a human-environment geographer and former community organizer currently based in Tucson, Arizona. I graduated with a Bachelors from the Department of Geography at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä-Boulder in 2019. I am a Masters student in the School of Geography, Development and Environment at the University of...
David Kimmett: Generations of Geography: Reflecting on a Legacy of Learning at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä GEOG
My time wandering the halls and climbing the central staircase of Guggenheim really was a long time ago ¨C Class of 1994?!? Heck, that¡¯s pre-internet! However, it doesn¡¯t feel like a galaxy far, far away¡I learned so much about so many things in such a short-but-immensely influential epoch during my...
Giving Back
Donor Support
Thank You! The Department of Geography is grateful to its alumni and friends for their financial support over the years. Our donors have had a big impact, making a difference not only to the Department as a whole, but to the lives of many individual students. As we strive for...