Geography Department News

Department of Geography College of Liberal Arts 1250 Bellflower Boulevard California State University Long Beach, CA 90840-1101 USA

as of 5 March 2007

[ Jobs ] [ Talks ] [ Changes ] [ Conferences ]

Rev. Stinson Discusses Homelessness in Long Beach

Rev. Jerald M. Stinson is pastor of the First Congregational Church of Long Beach, which found itself in the news recently when the Long Beach City Prosecutor's Office sent a letter, ordering it to "abate the existing nuisance" of letting some chronically homeless people sleep on the side and steps of the church building. The church sees this as a legally and morally indefensible breach of the church-state separation and is contesting the Prosecutor's Office. Rev. Stinson will discuss "Homelessness and the City of Long Beach" on Monday, 5 March, 7 p.m. in LA4-104. Thanks to Mr. Woods for arranging this special event.

Dr. DeVerteuil Discusses Homelessness in Los Angeles County

Dr. Geoffrey DeVerteuil, from the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of Manitoba, gave a talk, entitled, "Moving beyond the punitive/post-welfare city? Causes, management, and experiences of homelessness in Los Angeles County," on 13 February 2007. Thanks to Dr. Vincent Del Casino for arranging this special event.

Ms. Julienne Gard Returns as Guest Speaker

Ms. Julienne Gard recently completed her master's degree here at The Beach and has begun doctoral studies at USC. She returned as a guest lecturer on the 26th of February to give a presentation, entitled, "Tomorrow's City: The creation of Lakewood and its continuing story." Thanks to Dr. Ray Sumner for arranging this special event!

Mr. Woods Is in the News Again

Mr. James Woods' maps of the distribution of CSULB alumni were the subject of a front page (above the fold) headlined article in the Long Beach Press Telegram on Saturday the 10th of February. The article by Mr. Kevin Butler is entitled, "CSULB maps out financial future. Education: President targets alumni across the nation in a major fundraising drive." It will be accessible for a short while at http://www.presstelegram.com/search/ci_5204990

Ms. Wranic Has an Art Exhibit at El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach!

Ms. Angela Wranic, Lecturer in Geography at The Beach, is also an artist, working primarily in the scratchboard medium. An exhibit of her artwork will be held at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach from 3 February through 16 March. The artist's reception will be on Sunday, 11 February, 1-3 p.m. The Nature Center is at 7550 E Spring St., which is between Studebaker and the 605 freeway on Spring St. Twenty percent of proceeds will be going to El Dorado Nature Center.

• To learn more about Ms. Wranic's art, please visit http://wranics.artspan.com/
• To learn more about El Dorado, please click here.

Visitors from the AAG

Dr. Beth Schlemper, Research Fellow of the Association of American Geographers, and Dr. Jan Monk, Professor Emerita, University of Arizona, gave a "Jobs in Geography" colloquium on 6 February 2007, entitled "Career Planning: You and the AAG," which discussed how geographers at all levels from baccalaureate students to Ph.D.s can formulate a career development plan that will allow them to pursue both their interests and their values and then monitor their progress through measurable steps. They also discussed the many career development resources of the Association of American Geographers.

Dr. Carter Wins Rotary Grant!

Dr. Chris Carter, Lecturer in Geography at The Beach and Associate Professor of Human Geography at Long Beach City College, has just learned that he has received a $22,500 Rotary Grant for University Teachers. He will use the grant during his sabbatical from LBCC, from Spring 2008 through Fall 2008. The goals of his grant project including teaching in the Geography Department at the University of La Serena, Chile; developing online collaborative exercises to link geography students in Chile with geography students in Long Beach; offer a seminar series on changing ethnic patterns in Southern California, trade between Long Beach and Chile, and the community college model of higher education in Californial. Congratulations!

Boldly Going Where No Geographer Has Gone Before: Taking Mars into the Geography Classroom

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue is offering what looks like the very first Geography of Mars class! The class is going through the history of Mars exploration, the basics of remote sensing as applied to spacecraft sent to Mars, the physical landscapes of Mars, the Martian weather and climate, and how Mars affects the human imagination. To learn more about the class, please visit its home page: http://www.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/mars/.

Geography Welcomes Three New Students during SOAR Winter Transfer Day!

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue met with three new Geography majors during the winter SOAR Transfer Days, 10 January 2007. We are very pleased to welcome and introduce the following new majors!

• Ms. Janice Kentala (Golden West College), who is interested in cultural geography and environmental geography
• Mr. Oscar Gallardo (El Camino College), who is interested in physical and environmental geography
• Ms. Melissa McNerney (Long Beach City College), who is interested in GIS

WELCOME ABOARD!!!

Geography Students Make Presentations

Two Geography students, Ms. Aregnaz Mooradian and Ms. Devon NelsonDrs. Christy Jocoy and Vincent Del Casino had funded through METRANS. The title of the presentation was "Homelessness, public transportation, and limitations of individual mobility in the City of Long Beach, California"

Geography Awareness Week/GIS Day

The Department of Geography and the Geography Student Association co-hosted yet another extravagant celebration of geography in National Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day:

• Monday, 13 November
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Mr. Paul Perret made a presentation, "Men and Masculinities in Gender and Development Programs: A New Way Forward?," from 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Pointe at the Pyramid. This event was a contribution to International Education Week, which coïncides with Geography Awareness Week.
• Tuesday, 14 November:
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Mr. Paul Renner, noted photographer, presented a slide presentation on the national Week theme: Africa. His presentation was entitled, "African Photographic Safaris," LA4-102, 11-11:45 a.m.
  • Fourth graders, Lowell Elementary School, will be our guests during this presentation
  • Third graders, Lowell Elementary School, were our guests for a flume demonstration and a water pollution modeling session, LA4 walkway and the LA4 quad, near LA4-100, 11-12
  • Dembrebrah West African Drum and Dance Ensemble, performed djembe drumming and dancing in the University Student Union open area in the middle of campus, Lowell Street Elementary guests attended this event, too.
  • Geography Student Association film showing: "Tsotsi," 5-7 p.m., Multicultural Center, FA3-03
• Wednesday, 15 November
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Geography Student Association bake sale, 11a.m. - 2 p.m., LA5 by walkway
  • Film showing: "Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night," 9:30-10:45 a.m., Anatol Conference Center (AS-113), hosted by Dr. Bipasha Baruah's South Asia course and co-sponsored by the Yadunandan India Studies Center, and the South Asia Subcommittee, and International Education Week
  • Dr. Thomas Blaschke, Professor of Geography and Geoinformatics, University of Salzburg, and Director of iSPACE, Austrian Research Centers made a presentation for GIS Day and for International Education Week: "Google Earth puts Geography on the Desktop ... but What's Behind It? Remote Sensing in a Nutshell" (3:30-5 p.m., Faculty Development Center, 5th floor of the Library)
• Thursday, 16 November
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Dr. Amy Glasmeier, The E. Willard Miller Professor of Economic Geography, Pennsylvania State University, made two presentations:
    • "Mapping Economic Despair in Long Beach California: Technical Challenges and Policy Opportunities," the Week Plenary, 11 a.m. -12:15 p.m., Multicultural Center
    • "Activism and Professionalism: Antipathy or Accommodation?" the Week "Jobs in Geography" presentation, 6-7 p.m., LA4-100
  • Film showing: "Water," 7-9:30 p.m., Huntington Room, University Student Union Room 224, hosted by Dr. Bipasha Baruah, Associate Director, Yadunandan India Studies Center, and co-sponsored by the South Asia Subcommittee, for International Education Week
• Friday, 17 November
  • Community College Geography Luncheon, Chartroom, 12-1:30 p.m., RSVP to Dr. Chrys Rodrigue, rodrigue@csulb.edu or (562) 985-8432
  • Announcement of Geography Photo Contest winners at the luncheon

Dr. Baruah Sponsors Another International Education Week Event

Dr. Bipasha Baruah showed the film, "Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty," and then moderated a discussion afterwards for the campus International Education Week, the Yadunandan India Studies Center (of which she is Associate Director), and the CSULB South Asian Subcommittee. The film and discussion took place on Tuesday, 17 November, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., in the Anatol Conference Center (ELIB-113 aka AS-113). This event was in addition to the two other films that Dr. Baruah is showing as part of International Education Week and Geography Awareness Week ("Water" and "Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night" -- see above).

A Huge Welcome to Ms. Julie Ortiz!

Ms. Julie Ortiz has just joined the Department as our new Administrative Support Coördinator! She is replacing Ms. Lisa Mikhail, who moved to Ohio in September to pursue an M.S.W. Ms. Ortiz was most recently the ASC for the Department of Human Development, where she managed the job search that brought Dr. Bipasha Baruah to us! She will be replaced in HD by one of our own Administrative Support Assistants, Ms. Wendy Lopez. We wish Ms. Lopez a great new assignment and thank her for helping us bridge the time between Ms. Mikhail's departure and Ms. Ortiz' arrival. And we extend Ms. Ortiz a huge WELCOME!!! We hope you'll be very happy in Geography, working with Ms. Carol Philipp, our morning ASA, and our great cast of characters!

Geography Students off to SCCUR

Two Geography students, Ms. Aregnaz Mooradian and Ms. Devon Nelsonhttp://www.sccur.org) on the 18th of November, 2006, at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. They were sponsored by Dr. Vincent Del Casino, with financial assistance from Dr. Gerald Riposa, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, which houses the Department of Geography. Thank you for encouraging and supporting our students!

Geography @ The Beach Descends on Madison, Wisconsin

Dr. Judith Tyner and Mr. James Woods represented The Beach at the annual conference of the North American Cartographic Information Society in Madison, WI, from the 18th to the 21st of October. Also in attendance was alumna (indeed, the College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumna of 2005) Ms. Nancy Yoho, now Vice-President for GIS at Rand McNally/Thomas Bros. Dr. Tyner gave a talk entitled, "Persuasive cartography revisited," while Mr. Woods' presentation addressed (literally) "A geographic analysis of graduates of California State University, Long Beach."

Dr. Baruah Has a Climatologist's Eye for Conference Settings!

Dr. Bipasha Baruah is off to a much warmer conference venue than Madison, WI: She is the invited keynote speaker at the Global Citizenship Symposium at Hawai'i Pacific University this October! Her talk is entitled "Earning her keep and keeping what she earns: Women and grassroots economic movements in India and the Caribbean." While there, she will also give an invited talk at the University of Hawai'i's East-West Center: "Holding her ground: Women and urban land issues in India." Let's hope all the aftershocks have played out!

Dr. Sumner Is Another One of Our Invited Speakers

Dr. Ray Sumner has been invted to give an invited talk, too: "Tasmania: A Wilderness Experience," to the Oasis Institute, which provides lectures and workshops for enriching the lives of senior citizens. To learn more about Oasis, click http://www.oasisnet.org/.

Welcome (back) to 2006-07

We are off and running! The Department of Geography and the Geography Student Association welcome you to another year of "Geography @ The Beach"! There are all kinds of changes you may have noticed.

Several faculty are off on sabbatical this fall, including Drs. Del Casino, Lee, Sidorov, and Wechsler. Dr. Curtis and Dr. Sidorov will be gone in the spring. There are many new faculty, too! We have two new assistant professors, Dr. Deborah Thien (Ph.D. in Human Geography from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, who works in the areas of feminist geography, the geography of mental health, and the geographies of high latitudes and the Pacific) and Dr. Bipasha Baruah (Ph.D. in Environmental Studies, York University in Toronto, who works in the areas of economic development, gender and development, microfinance schemes, and urban poverty and environment issues, especially in India, Indonesia, and the Caribbean -- she will be Associate Director of the Yadunandan India Studies Center on campus, too). We also have a distinguished visitor for Fall 2006: Dr. Thomas Blaschke of the University of Salzburg, who is here as a Fulbright Scholar and who will teach remote sensing for us this fall.

Joining them are several new part-time lecturer faculty: Dr. Suzanne Dallman (Ph.D. in geography from UCLA, who does work in hydrology, watershed management, wastewater issues, and GIS), Dr. Unna Lassiter (Ph.D. in geography from USC, who is interested in urban geography, migration issues, urban geography, cultural geography, and the Middle East -- actually, she is returning to us after two years in Texas), Mr. Paul Perret (M.E.S. in environmental studies from York University, who is interested in gender and development and several world regions), and Ms. Kathleen Moriarty (M.A. in geography from CSULB, who works in biogeography). We also have new administrative support assistants, Ms. Carol Philipp, who'll be in the front office in the mornings until noon, M-Th, and then again from 1:45-2:45 p.m. (B.A. in geography from Roosevelt University, Chicago) and Ms. Wendy Lopez, who'll be in the front office 8 a.m. to noon five days a week.

We are also saddened to report the loss of Mr. Noel Ludwig, who has moved to Colorado to work on environmental consulting. This very popular instructor has worked here since S/01, and we will really miss his many contributions to our curriculum and departmental life! Also leaving us is Ms. Lisa Mikhail, who served as our adminstrative support coördinator since F/99. She completed her B.A. in psychology here in May and decided to go on to graduate school for an M.S.W. from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she starts (with financial support -- congratulations!) on September 15th. May you both "live long and prosper"!!!

The Geography Student Association is very active and energetic, hosting Geography Awareness Week/GIS Day events (they are going to be bringing a band to campus this November!), holding "cultural nights out," sponsoring educational wine-tasting fund-raisers, and going on field trips. For more information, please contact Ms. Michelle Philipps, president, at geographystudentassociation@yahoo.com, or the undergraduate advisor, Dr. Paul Laris, whose office in in LA4- 101E and can be reached at (562) 985-1862 or plaris@csulb.edu.

Beach Delegation to the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

Things may be even more lonesome the week of September 5th-11th: Several faculty and graduate students are going to the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers meeting in Eugene, Oregon, to give papers. Among them are Drs. Chrys Rodrigue, Christy Jocoy, Vincent Del Casino, and Ray Sumner, and Mr. Norm Carter. Joining these faculty will be three graduate students, who have received APCG Women's Network travel awards: Mesdames Nazie Naraghi, Fern Nueno, and Cyd Schantz. Dr. Paul Laris has agreed to serve as Acting Department Chair while Dr. Rodrigue is out of town, so he can sign drop forms and such.

Next year, Geography @ The Beach will be hosting the APCG here (October 2007).

Geography Welcomes Seven New Students during SOAR Transfer Days!

Drs. Paul Laris and/or Chrys Rodrigue met with seven new Geography majors during the two SOAR Transfer Days, 7 and 27 July 2006. We are very pleased to welcome and introduce the following new majors!

• Mr. George Schroeder (Long Beach City College)
• Mr. Jace Leicht (Golden West College)
• Ms. Tatiana Simiz (El Camino College)
• Ms. Melissa Fiones (Santa Ana College)
• Ms. Roxanne Garcia (College of the Canyons)
• Ms. Julie Gilbert (Orange Coast College)
• Mr. Zach Long (Long Beach City College)

Delegation from the University of Qatar Visits

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue and Dr. Tim Keirn (History) met with the CSULB Provost Dr. Dorothy Abrahamse and a delegation from the University of Qatar, a similar comprehensive university, to compare how geography and history are taught in the two universities and discuss establishing ties between our two departments and their Department of Humanities (which offers two degrees, one in geography and one in history). Representing the University of Qatar were the provost, Dr. Sheikha al-Thani, and Dr. Noura al-Thani, who is a researcher in environmental science and Technical Supervisor of the Scientific and Applied Research Center there.

Drs. Jocoy's and Del Casino's Grant Written up in This Week @ The Beach

Drs. Christy Jocoy and Vincent Del Casino are the subject of a story in This Week @The Beach by Richard Manly: "Cal State Long Beach Professors Receive $84,980 Grant to Study Homeless Mobility." It describes the mission and goals of their METRANS grant and the participation in it of two Geography graduate students and, later, three undergraduates. You can read the article by clicking here.

Messrs. Espinosa and Inman Speak at the Los Angeles Geographical Society

Messrs. Michael Inman and César Espinosa gave a talk at the Los Angeles Geographical Society's annual student research symposium. Their presentation was entitled, "An Assessment of Feature Extraction Techniques from High Resolution Satellite Imagery for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach." This paper described a project comparing commercial feature extraction software against manual extraction of port neighborhood features and found that the two unfortunately take about the same amount of labor to do.

Commencement and Student Awards

Commencement commences this year on Thursday, 25 May, at 1 p.m. There will be a pre-commencement party at 11 a.m. in LA4-100, hosted by the Geography Student Association and the Department of Geography.

The following students have received honors and scholarships:

College of Liberal Arts Recognition:

• Outstanding Thesis Award: Mr. Michael McDaniel, J.D. (this is the first time a Geography thesis has been selected for this honor)
• Distinguished Undergraduates:
  • Ms. Violet Arminio
  • Ms. Deirdre Miller
• Distinguished Master Student Graduates:
  • Mr. Michael McDaniel
  • Ms. Kathleen Moriarty

Departmental Scholarships:

• Burton Anderson Award: Ms. Saori Nemoto
• Rodney Steiner Award: Mr. Nick Carlson
• Eileen Johansen Award: Ms. Deirdre Miller

Honor Society Recognition:

• Sigma Xi scientific research honor society induction to Associate Membership: Mr. César Espinosa

CSULB Scholarship:

• CSULB Graduate Research Fellowship: Ms. Doreen Crespin

Late Breaking News: Baby Emmett Wechsler Arrives!

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler has just announced the arrival of her and Charles Wechsler's baby, Emmett Ilan Wechsler, at 9:34 a.m. on 4 May. He came in at 7 lb., 2 oz., and 20.5." Here he is, too, too, toooooo cute!

   

Spring Banquet!

Our annual spring banquet was held on Sunday the 7th of May at the Lakewood Country Club. In attendance was a very special guest, Ms. W. Jane Westenberger, who wrote the first M.A. thesis in geography at CSULB fifty years ago!!! Her thesis was entitled "Occupance in the San Jacinto Mountains, California." She is a WWII veteran who was stationed in Italy and Egypt. After the war, she decided to become a teacher and, back then, a high school credential required a master's degree in a subject commonly taught in high school. The campus was brand-new and she lived nearby and so she decided Long Beach State College would be a natural for her. After graduation, she taught at Orange High School, became principal, and then got into Outdoor School education, which eventually led her into the U.S. Forest Service, where she developed a very successful and visible career. She now lives in New Mexico, but she was visiting her brother, Les Westenberger, in Long Beach this weekend and, so, was able to attend our banquet.

Late Breaking News: Baby Salvatore Brooks Del Casino Débuts!

Dr. Vincent Del Casino has just announced the arrival of his and Prof. Catherine Brooks' (faculty in the Communications Studies Department) baby, Salvatore Brooks Del Casino! Salvatore weighed in at 8 lb., 1 oz., and 20" tall. Everyone is doing fine, and the proud father notes that "he has a set of lungs on him" (which surprises exactly no-one...!).

   

Dr. Sidorov Continues His Publication Blizzard

Dr. Sidorov has just published "Post-Imperial Third Romes: Resurrections of a Russian Orthodox geopolitical metaphor" in Geopolitics 11: 317-347. This paper explores Russia's answer to American Manifest Destiny, Third Romism, against the backdrop of geopolitics, outlining a Russian Orthodox religious geopolitics.

Sigma Xi Inductions

Sigma Xi is a scientific honor society, which honors nominees from all scientific fields as practicing professionals. Full members are published scientists who have been nominated by their peers; associate members are students who have shown their promise as publishing scientists by presenting their work in a scientific conference. The Department of Geography is proud to announce the admission to Sigma Xi of Dr. Camille Holmgren (full member), Mr. James Woods (full member), and Mr. César Espinosa, current graduate student in Geography at CSULB (associate member). These three new members will be inducted during a banquet held in their honor this Wednesday from 5-7:30 (at which Dr. Chuck Hutchinson, a remote sensing expert from the University of Arizona, will be the keynote speaker). Our new inductees join several other Geography members: Drs. Suzanne P. Wechlser (vice-president of the CSULB chapter), Christopher T. Lee, Paul Laris and Christine M. Rodrigue among the faculty and graduate students Ms. Doreen Crespin, Ms. Zoe Schumacher, and Leslie Edwards.

Jobs in Geography Colloquium

There will be a "Jobs in Geography Colloquium" on Wednesday, 3 May, from 6-7 p.m. in LA4-204 to discuss teaching careers in the community colleges of California. Representatives of three different districts will be on hand to discuss teaching opportunities for recent M.A.s in geography, internship possibilities for advanced graduate students, and how undergraduate and graduate students can best prepare for careers in the community colleges. The panel will consist of:

• Dr. Ray Sumner, representing Long Beach City College
• Prof. Les Doak, representing Cypress College
• Mr. Ebenezer Peprah, representing new Long Beach City College part-time faculty
• Dr. John Menary, representing a seasoned multi-campus part-time faculty member

Dr. Rodrigue's Rôle in the UNIV 300i Katrina Class Discussed in Inside CSULB

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue and Dr. Tim Caron (English), Dr. Patricia Johnson (Religious Studies and Women's Studies), and Dan O'Connor (chair of Liberal Studies and a political scientist) co-taught UNIV 300i this semester on "Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath." This special course was the subject of an April 2006 Inside CSULB article, entitled "'Unnatural disasters' course hits home." The article, by Richard Manly, described the different perspectives about this disaster conveyed to students through the very different disciplines of the four faculty instructors. You can read the article here at http://www.csulb.edu/misc/inside/archives/v58n5/7.htm.

Dr. Sidorov's Study Abroad Class in Russia Featured in Inside CSULB

Dr. Dmitrii Sidorov and Dr. Harold Schefski of Russian Studies/RGRLL were the subjects of a March 2006 Inside CSULB article, entitled "Rediscovering Russia." The article, by Richard Manly, described the Study Abroad class that the two collaborating faculty conducted last summer in Russia. You can read the article here at http://www.csulb.edu/misc/inside/archives/vol_58_no_3/12.htm. By the way, given the tremendous success of the Russia 2005 trip, Drs. Sidorov and Schefski are going to offer the class again in Summer 2006.

Dr. Matthew Kirby Talk in Geography

Dr. Matthew E. Kirby, Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences, CSU Fullerton, gave a talk on Wednesday, 15 March. His talk was entitled, "Muddy Perspectives on Climate Change in Southern California." Thanks to Dr. Holmgren for organizing this!

Dr. James Till Spoke to Geography about Human Subjects Compliance at CSULB

Dr. James Till, Professor of Communicative Disorders and Director for Research Compliance, CSULB Office of University Research, discussed the Human Subjects protection protocols on this campus in Dr. Rodrigue's graduate seminar Wednesday, 15 March. The graduate students were asked to take the self-directed module on human subjects at
http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/research/our/compliance/orientation/modules/human_subjects/index.html and those receiving a score above 70% were automatically registered with the Institutional Review Board, which will save them a lot of time later in their research process. This module, by the way, will become a mandatory requirement of all graduate students and graduate thesis advisors in Fall, 2006, so everyone involved in research can save themselves a bit of time by going through the process now, ahead of the rush.

Dr. Laris Has Another Publication out

Dr. Paul Laris has an article out, entitled, "Managing a burned mosaic: A landscape-scale human ecological model of savanna fires in Mali." It just appeared in an anthology, Savannas and Dry Forests: Linking People with Nature, edited by Jay Mistry and Andrea Berardi, and published by Ashgate of Aldershot, UK. Congratulations!

Dr. Thien's CD Publication Project Honored at the AAG's GPOW Book Event

Dr. Deborah Thien, who will be joining us in August, has just learned that the Association of American Geographers' Geographic Perspectives on Women Specialty Group will be showcasing a multimedia CD publication she co-edited in the GPOW Book Event at the AAG meeting in Chicago in early March. She was one of the editors and also an author in the anthology, Women and Geography Study Group: Gender and Geography Reconsidered. The multimedia CD publication, edited by J. Sharp, K. Browne, and D. Thien, came out in 2004, and Dr. Thien's article in it is entitled "Love's travels and traces: The 'impossible' politics of Luce Irigaray," pp. 43-48. Congratulations for this innovative publication and its recognition at this event!

Information about this publication and how to purchase it can be found at
http://www.fordhamweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/wgsg/events2.html.

Dr. Laris in the Press-Telegram

Dr. Paul Laris, the Geography Student Association, and Ms. Pam Parkin's third grade class at Lowell Elementary School in Long Beach spent Friday, 17 February, gathering "nerdles" from the beach at Belmont Shore as part of an international citizen science research project based in a Japanese university to assess persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in ocean water. Nerdles are tiny plastic pellets a few milimeters wide, which are the raw material for plastics manufacture. The pellets are melted and then formed into plastic products. While being shipped, some of them manage to escape into ocean water before the ships make it to port. They eventually wash up on beaches everywhere but, during their time out at sea, they absorb an assortment of chemical pollutants in ocean water. A Japanese reearch team has put out a call for people around the world to collect these pellets from the shore, using tweezers to avoid contaminating them and placing them in special foil envelopes that are then mailed to Japan for chemical analysis to measure the amount of POPs in them. This citizen science project was written up in a story by Kevin Butler in the Long Beach Press Telegram, "Children gather pellets for science," on 18 February, on p. A2. The article may be read online until 4 March at http://presstelegram.com/search/ci_3521526.

Geography and GSA Welcome You (back) to Spring 2006!

The Geography Student Association is hitting S/06 running. They have a full program of activities brewing, and others fermenting. There's a rumor about another tour of Jet Propulsion Lab, a tour of Thomas Guide, Earth Day activities, and the cultural nights out that were such a hit last semester. GSA is thinking about putting out a newsletter for alumni so that current students can stay in touch with past students. For more information and to get involved, please contact President Michelle Lynch at geographystudentassociation@yahoo.com. Dr. Laris, our Undergraduate Advisor, is often in the thick of things, too. He can be reached at plaris@csulb.edu or (562) 985-1862 or in LA4-101E.

Welcome to Dr. Michael Blazey

Dr. Michael Blazey is the Director of Facility and Technology Planning for the College of Liberal Arts and a professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies (in the College of Health and Human Services). His areas of research interest are travel and tourism and community recreation, and he's quite interested in the geography of tourism. He has graciously agreed to teach GEOG 352 (Geography of Tourism), and we would like both to thank him and to welcome him into our department this spring!

Team GDEP Published Yet Again.

The Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Project gang is at it again: They have another publication out, this time in the CUR Quarterly (Council on Undergraduate Research). This is the lead article in the December 2005 issue: "Geoscience field studies at California State University at Long Beach: Urban applied research with a community focus." The authors are Drs. Elizabeth L. Ambos (Associate Vice-President for Research and External Support), Christine M. Rodrigue, Richard J. Behl (Geological Sciences), Christopher Lee, Suzanne Wechsler, Gregory Holk (Geological Sciences), Daniel Larson (Anthropology), R. Daniel Francis (Geological Sciences), and David Whitney (Psychology).

Dr. Rodrigue Published. Again. And Again.

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue has two articles hot off the press. The first is entitled "James Blaut's critique of diffusionism through a Neolithic lens," and it appeared in Antipode in December. The second is "The state of geography and its cognate disciplines in the California State Universities from Fall 1992 through Fall 2004," and this one came out in The California Geographer in December 2005.

And So Is Dr. Sumner!

Dr. Ray Sumner has an article in the December 2005 issue of The California Geographer, too. Her paper is entitled, "Tom Down Under: McKnight's relationship to the Fifth Continent."

And So Is Dr. Thien!

Dr. Deborah Thien is joining our faculty in Fall 2006. She has certainly hit the ground running, with a new article hitting the presses: The article is entitled "After or beyond feeling? A consideration of affect and emotion in geography," and it just appeared in the December 2005 issue of Area. What is this about December?!

Hold onto Your Hats! Dr. Sidorov ALSO Has an Article out!

What is going ON in Geography? Dr. Dmitrii Sidorov also saw the publication of his article, "Corporate rescaling of the city: The geographical construction of urban lightscapes in Soviet and post-Soviet" in a bilingual (English and Estonian) book entitled Constructed Happiness: Domestic Environment in the Cold War Era/, edited by Mart Kalm and Ingrid Ruudi for the Estonian Academy of Arts. It, too, came out in, you guessed it, December of 2005!

James Woods Published. Again.

Along with Roger D. Peng of Johns Hopkins University and Frederick Paik Schoenberg of UCLA, Mr. Jim Woods is co-author of a paper entitled, "Multi-Dimensional Point Process Models for Evaluating a Wildfire Hazard Index," which just appeared in the UCLA Department of Statistics Papers, paper #2003010113, which is available at http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1098&context=uclastat.

Dr. Wechsler Is the Lead Author in a Journal of Geography Article!

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler led a team of Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Project authors (which also included Drs. Chrys Rodrigue and Chris Lee) in writing an article, which just came out in the Journal of Geography! The article is entitled "Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences," and it is the lead article in the July/August 2005 issue. Other authors included Dr. David Whitney (Psychology), Dr. Elizabeth Ambos (Office of University Research), Dr. Dan Larson (Anthropology), Drs. Rick Behl, Dan Francis, and Greg Holk of Geological Sciences. Way to go!

Team GDEP Appears in EOS!

Drs. Chris Lee, Chrys Rodrigue and Suzanne Wechsler saw another of their GDEP efforts appear in EOS, the weekly newsletter of the American Geophysical Union! The article is entitled "Ethnic Differences in Geoscience Attitudes of College Students," and it appeared in the 26 July 2005 issue. The lead author was David Whitney of the Psychology Department, who was the GDEP program evaluator. Other authors included Drs. Rick Behl, Elizabeth Ambos, Dan Francis, and Greg Holk of Geological Sciences, and Dr. Dan Larson (Anthropology).

Dr. Rodrigue's Letter Appears in the New York Times!

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue wrote a letter challenging columnist David Brooks' conclusions about the government rôle in the Katrina disaster, and it was published in the New York Times Op-Ed section on 13 September 2005.

Mr. Frazier on Roundtable Panel

Mr. Tom Frazier served as a panelist on a roundtable discussion, entitled "What in the World is Happening in Germany? Elections September 2005." Mr. Frazier is finishing up his Ph.D. at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Joining him on the panel are Dr. Christian Stocks, German Consul General, Los Angeles; Mr. Daniel M. Evans, American Council on Germany, Los Angeles; and Dr. Jutta Birmele, Chair of the Romance, German, and Russian Language and Literature Department, CSULB. The panel is 11-12:30, Thursday, 15 September. For more information, please contact RGRLL at 985-4318.

Dr. Holmgren Receives Grant!

Dr. Camille Holmgren has just learned that a $12,000 grant proposal she and Dr. Julio Betancourt of the USGS and the University of Arizona submitted to the National Park Service has been funded! The study, entitled, "A Long-Term Vegetation History of the Mojave-Colorado Desert Ecotone at Joshua Tree National Monument," will fund the collection of woodrat middens, which contain fossils and pollen that allow the reconstruction of vegetation history and climate change over thousands of years. The field work sounds like good clean dirty fun! For more information, please contact Dr. Holmgren at cholmgre@csulb.edu or (562) 985-8432. Congratulations!!!

Ms. Doreen Jeffrey Crespin Lands a Beach Graduate Research Fellowship!

One of our graduate students, Ms. Doreen Jeffrey Crespin, has been awarded one of the first CSULB Graduate Research Fellowships! Graduate Research Fellowships will be awarded competitively each year to master's students engaged in scholarly research or creative activity in their field of specialization. The awards are based on the strength of the proposed research or creative activity and the faculty mentor's nomination. Only ten of these substantial fellowships were awarded this year. Congratulations! We are really proud that one of our graduate students put together a winning proposal.

Dr. Gossette Puts Us on the Map

The current issue of the CSU Geospatial Review has an article, entitled, "Long Beach: GIS Goes Global," which showcases the "International Coördination with GIS Mini-Exchange Program" run by Dr. Frank Gossette during Spring 2005.

Dr. Laris Appears in Print

Dr. Paul Laris has co-authored an article with Peter Klepeis of Colgate University, which is coming out in Geoforum. Its title is "Contesting sustainable development in Tierra del Fuego." The article is available through the CSULB's electronic journal subscription service. Congratulations!!

Mr. Woods Has a Publication out

Mr. Jim Woods co-authored an article with Roger D. Peng (post-doctoral fellow in biostatistics at Johns Hopkins) and Frederic Paik Schoenberg (Associate Professor of Statistics at UCLA). It is entitled "A space-time conditional intensity model for evaluating a wildfire hazard index," and it appeared in the March issue of the Journal of the American Statistical Association. Our library has electronic access, so you can get your own copy online. Congratulations on this achievement, Woody!

Dr. Curtis Has Another Publication out

Dr. Jim Curtis has an article out in a long-awaited international anthology. His chapter is entitled, "A typology of Brazilian urban squares: Its application in the city of Manaus," and it appeared in Cities and Urbanism in Latin America, ed. Vicent Ortells Chabrera, Robert B. Kent, and Javier Soriano Martí, published by Universitat Jaume I Press in Spain. Outstanding!!

Dr. Wechsler Has an Article Forthcoming. Again.

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler has just learned that her article, "A methodology for quantifying DEM uncertainty and its effect on topographic parameters," has just been accepted by Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. Way to GO!!!!

Internship Web Page

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler would like to remind students and faculty to visit the Geography Internship web page, which has been redesigned and is being updated very frequently. There is always a list of new jobs available to students and the current speaker coming up in the "Jobs in Geography" lecture series.

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Jobs

Part-Time Lecturing at CSULB

The Department of Geography at CSULB may have part-time lectureships available for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008. For more information on the positions and the application process, please click here.

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Lectures and Field Trips

Visitors from the AAG

Dr. Beth Schlemper, Research Fellow of the Association of American Geographers, and Dr. Jan Monk, Professor Emerita, University of Arizona, gave a "Jobs in Geography" colloquium, entitled "Career Planning: You and the AAG," which discussed how geographers at all levels from baccalaureate students to Ph.D.s can formulate a career development plan that will allow them to pursue both their interests and their values and then monitor their progress through measurable steps. They also discussed the many career development resources of the Association of American Geographers.

Los Angeles Geographical Society Presentations

The Los Angeles Geographical Society hosted its fourth annual special student research symposium on 5 May 2006. The student research symposium is made up of papers and posters that students have presented at research conferences or thesis defenses in the last year, which they are invited to re-present to the LAGS. The following CSULB Geography students have been invited:

• Messrs. César Espinosa and Michael Espinosa co-presented their work critically evaluating feature extraction software for remote sensing in the context of the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach.

Community College "Jobs in Geography" Colloquium

The "Jobs in Geography" colloquium series hosted a panel of four faculty from local community college districts, both full-time and part-time, who explained to graduate students interested in community college teaching how to apply for part-time and tenure-track positions, jobs prospects, and the subtleties that each district looks for. The panel was held on Wednesday, 3 May. On the panel was:

• Dr. Ray Sumner, Chair of the Social Sciences Department at Long Beach City College, Professor of Human Geography (and adjunct faculty here at CSULB)
• Prof. Les Doak, Professor of Geography, Cypress College
• Dr. John Menares, Geography Instructor, Long Beach City College, Pasadena City College, Ventura College, and Saddleback College
• Mr. Ebenezer Peprah, new Geography Instructor, Long Beach City College

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Changes among the Faculty

Fulbright Scholar Joins Our Faculty for Fall 2006!

Dr. Thomas Blaschke spent the Fall of 2006 with our Department as a Fulbright Scholar. It was a tremendous honor for us to host a Fulbright Scholar! Dr. Blaschke is Associate Professor of Geography and Associate Director and Research Manager of the Centre for Geoinformatics of the University of Salzburg, Austria. Several of our faculty have gone abroad as Fulbright Scholars, but this is the first time our Department has hosted a Fulbright Scholar! While here, Dr. Blaschke very kindly agreed to teach in the area of remote sensing and GIS. Wilkommen zu unserer Abteilung, Herr Doktor Blaschke!

New Faculty Member to Join Us in Fall 2006!

Dr. Bipasha Baruah will begin teaching here in Fall 2006. She earned her Ph.D. from York University in Canada, specializing in gender and development; the informal sector of the economy; microcredit programs; urban poverty; and housing and water issues in India, Indonesia, and the Caribbean. Her doctoral studies were funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research council, which is a very signal honor. She has served as a gender expert on CIDA's Eastern Caribbean Economic Management Program and as a liaison between local civil society organizations and multilateral funding agencies on a United Nations field mission in East Java, Indonesia. Part of her position here will entail serving as the Associate Director of the Yadunandan Center for India Studies, where she will be helping CSULB faculty mainstream Indian content into their classes and curricula. She is right now working on a post-doctoral research and teaching project at the University of Toronto We are really looking forward to welcoming her (and her husband, Paul Perret) to our Department!

New Faculty Member to Join Us in Fall 2006!

Dr. Deborah Thien will begin teaching here in Fall 2006. She earned her Ph.D. from Edinburgh University in Scotland, specializing in feminist geography; the geography of emotions; uneven social geographies of health; health and well-being in remote, rural communities; and qualitative research methods. She focusses particularly on the high latitude rural areas of Scotland (e.g., the Shetland Islands), northern Canada, and New Zealand (where she was an International Exchange Scholar). She is exploring the theme of (social) isolation for research topics in rural California and urban Long Beach and looks forward to resuming her work on New Zealand, too. She is the recipient of a Commonwealth Scholarship, a very prestigious and very subtantial award, to pursue her doctorate in Scotland, and she is right now working on a post-doctoral research and teaching project at the University of Northern British Columbia. We are very much looking forward to her arrival!

New Faculty Member Survives First Year!

Dr. Camille Holmgren began teaching in Fall 2005. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, specializing in palæoclimatology and palæoecology, particularly in the arid environments of the Southwest. In these environments, micro- and macro-fossils in woodrat middens provide a great record, sometimes going back many thousands of years. They are invaluable to the examination of global climate change and its timing, speed, and magnitude over the last 12,000 years or so. Dr. Holmgren has started a project entailing collection of these middens from Joshua Tree in the ecotone between high desert and low desert, and she's going to be going out there this spring, which may be of interest to students who'd like to get out in the field. You can learn more about her interests by clicking here and here and now here! We hope the first semester hasn't been toooooo trying!

Departing Faculty

Dr. Joel Splansky has decided to retire, effective winter, 2006. He has long been a legend teaching Field Methods, Africa, and World Regional Geography (and more than a bit notorious for his "shrink wrap"). His classes were always very thorough and meticulous in preparation and very challenging for students. Students don't necessarily shy away from hard work, though, or at least Geography students don't, since he recruited a lot of majors. He served as chair from F/99 through S/01 and then again during F/02. He isn't planning a quiet retirement, however, with travel plans and teaching a class at the University of Judaism up on Mulholland Drive, and he has agreed to teach Africa and World Regional Geography on a part-time basis in F/06.

Dr. Judith Tyner decided to retire (prematurely in our opinions!), effective summer 2005. She has long been a prominent scholar in cartography and the history of cartography, authoring a well-regarded textbook in cartography and pursuing topics as diverse as the women who made maps for the WWII effort ("Millie the Mapper"), the Colonial education technique of having girls embroider maps and globes, the cartography of the moon, and, most recently, the use of maps in murder mysteries ("bloody maps"). She and Dr. Peters developed the first computer cartography and, later, GIS courses, and she worked with Dr. Gossette on the Cartography and GIS certificates the Department offers. She will be sorely missed, both professionally and personally!

Graduate Advisor

Dr. Christopher Lee is the graduate advisor. His office is in LA4-205, and he can also be reached at (562) 985-2358 and clee@csulb.edu.

Undergraduate Advisor

Dr. Paul Laris is the undergraduate advisor. His office is in LA4-101E, and he can also be reached at (562) 985-1862 and plaris@csulb.edu.

Internship and Extension GIS Certificate Program Director

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler is the Director of the Internship Program and the GIS/Cartography Certificate Program run through University College Extension Services. Her office is in LA4-206E, and she can also be reached at (562) 985-2356 and wechsler@csulb.edu. She will be on sabbatical this fall, and so we won't run GEOG 492 as such this fall. Students can do an internship and receive credit for it in the spring or, alternatively, work with a particular faculty member to do an internship in the fall and receive credit in the fall through that faculty member's GEOG 497 listing. The Extension GIS Certificate will continue under the leadership of its co-director, Mr. Woods.

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Upcoming Conferences and Calls for Papers (by month of conference)

March 2007

California Geographical Society

The CGS will be holding its annual meeting a little earlier than usual this year, from the 16th through the 18th of March in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. For more information, please visit http://www.csun.edu/~calgeosoc/conference.html

April 2007

Association of American Geographers

The AAG will be holding its annual national meeting from the 17th through the 21st of April in San Francisco. For more information, please visit http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/SF2007/index.cfm

May 2007

Los Angeles Geographical Society

The LAGS will hold its annual Student Research Symposium on 4 May, in which students who have presented their research at conferences and other fora are invited to re-present their papers and posters to the LAGS.

June 2007

Southern California Academy of Sciences

SCAS will hold its annual meeting at CSU Fullerton this year, from June 1st through June 2nd. Abstracts are due 1 May. For more information, please visit http://scas.jsd.claremont.edu/annual/annual.html

ESRI International User Conference

The ESRI International User Conference will be held in San Diego from the 18th through the 21st of June. It will be immediately preceded by the ESRI Education User Conference from the 16th-19th of June. For more information, please visit http://www.esri.com/events/uc/ and http://www.esri.com/events/educ/.

October 2007

Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

The Department of Geography at CSULB is proud to announce that it is hosting the 2007 APCG meeting from the 17th through the 20th of October. More information is available at https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geography/apcg/.

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Have Any News Items You Want to Share?

This news page is for everyone in the Department -- students, faculty, staff, and alumni. If you would like to tell folks about your accomplishments or notify us of something you think we'd like to know about, please contact Dr. Rodrigue (rodrigue@csulb.edu) or LA4 206D and she'll get your news up here.

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