News as of the Ides of March 2001

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GSA Ethnic Food Night

The GSA is holding its second ethnic food night of the semester on Friday, the 30th of March, at 7:00 pm, at Amy's. The theme this time is Croatian- and Korean-style barbeque! For the Korean-style main course, you can thank Jimmy/Mark and for the Croatian-style contribution, it's Danny. Tiffany will provide sodas, Will other beverages, Eric a salad, and Amy "s'mores" (and a venue). The whole deal will cost you $5 OR food, and there's a sign-up sheet in the Geography office (LA4-106) and the lab (LA4- 207), so the chefs will know how much to fix up. For additional information and directions, contact Amy Eifler or Joe Recker. Be there, or be BBQ-deprived!

Distinguished Visitor

Dr. Frank Gossette reports that Dr. Josef Strobl, chair of Geography at the University of Salzburg visited our campus Monday, 5 March. He was treated to lunch at the Chart Room by Dr. Gossette and then shown around the campus and department.

Our Grad Students Wow 'Em in Portland!

Congratulations to the large contingent of graduate students who made their way to Portland in early February for the 5th Annual Western Geography Student Conference. This group, in fact, won the prize for the most highly represented department at the meeting (and thanks to Dr. Chris Lee for supporting his students' travel to this meeting). On top of the general great attendance, students presented two papers, entitled:

"In the Line of Fire: An Investigation into the Relationship between Aspect and Fire History in the Santa Monica Mountains, 1925-1997" by Lewis Francis, Romey Hagen, Shaun Healy, and Steve Newberg.

and

"Using GIS to Update 27 General Plan Maps" by Valerie Müller

Nice job!! The Department is really proud of you! For photographs of the delegation, check out the Portland Files.

New Margaret Trussell Scholarships

The Women's Network of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers is pleased to announce the availability of the new Margaret Trussell Scholarships, which were established to support the research endeavors of women students (who must be members of the APCG), who are pursuing graduate studies in geography. Up to two awards will be made this year of $1,500 per award. The application deadline is March 30th, 2001. To learn more about the awards, including how and where to apply, please click here. Dr. Rodrigue knew Dr. Trussell, who was Professor Emerita at Chico State, and she was a really neat lady. It was a tradition for the women faculty at CSUC to make expeditions out to her home in Bodega Bay north of San Francisco and enjoy her hospitality and wonderful personality. It would be just fabulous if one of our graduate women applied for and received this award.

California Geographical Society Scholarships!

The California Geographical Society is offering TWO David Lantis scholarships for geography majors! One provides $500 to a graduate student, and the other offers $400 to an undergraduate student (who could be a community college student, as well as a four-year college student). To qualify for consideration, you have to have maintained a 3.7 GPA for the last 30 units attempted, and you have to be enrolled the fall after the scholarship is announced: They issue the check upon proof of enrollment. This is because the scholarship is supposed to help defray the costs of continuing in geography.

Other requirements include signing up to be a student member of the California Geographical Society by the time you apply (which'll set you back $10 and postage, and you can get the application by clicking here). To apply, you need to assemble a package consisting of a cover letter indicating which of the two Lantis scholarships you seek; an essay on your career goals, specific interests in geography, and recent geography-related activities; two sealed letters of recommendation from your instructors, one of whom must be a geographer; and a set of unofficial transcripts. They want you to submit a complete package at one time to:

Emily B. Lieb

P.O. Box 406

Madera CA 93639.

The deadline is 1 April!!! You can learn more about the CGS and its scholarships at their web site, http://www.calgeog.org/. It would be wonderful if Long Beach students got these, as Dr. Lantis was one of my retired colleagues up at Chico State, who died a few months ago. He was one of geography's colorful characters, and he did an awful lot to promote geography and to help geography students whenever he could.

Computing Help Available to Students Now...

Faculty have enjoyed a telephone, e-mail, and web-based Technology Help Desk for years: Someone to contact when your computer goes non-linear on you. Well, that service has just been extended to students, too! The Help Desk can help you out on a wide range of computer issues, including operating systems, CSULB e-mail account problems, problems with remote connection to CSULB from home, Microsoft Desktop applications, anti-virus programs, Internet and Web related topics, and Blackboard (formerly CourseInfo), too. You can get hold of them by phoning (562) 985-4959, e-mailing them at helpdesk@csulb.edu, pointing your browser to http://helpdesk.csulb.edu, or simply visiting them in LA5-363. The only downside is it's going to make that trusty old "my computer chewed up my homework" excuse a wee bit less credible! Thanks to Dr. Richard Outwater for this news item (and he helped push the initiative to make this service open to students, too).

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.

Heads up, Students (and Faculty): The CSU Annual Student Research Conference

The CSU's Social Science Research and Instructional Council (SSRIC) is pleased to announce the 25th Annual Student Research Conference. The conference will be held at CSU Sacramento on Friday, April 27, 2001. Papers are welcome from both undergraduate and graduate students, from people working in all social science disciplines, and from students using a variety of scholarly approaches. Awards will be provided for the best papers in various categories. This year's conference has been expanded to include excerpts from longer works, multi-media presentations, poster presentations, and papers coauthored with faculty members (provided the student or students make the actual conference presentation). Single authored student papers and papers authored by more than one student continue to be welcome. We especially encourage submission of papers making use of social science data sets. Limited funding for trips to Sacramento may be available from your campus. Questions should be directed to Professor Ted Lascher, Graduate Program in Public Policy and Administration, California State University, Sacramento, 95819-6081, (916) 278-4864, tedl@csus.edu. Completed papers should be sent to Professor Lascher in hard copy form and timed to arrive by Friday, April 20, 2001.

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Jobs

Earth Science Associates

A small petroleum research/software development firm in Long Beach seeks a part-time undergraduate or graduate student in geography or geology for administrative and research work. The job starts as soon as possible and will be part-time through the end of the semester, followed by full-time work over the summer, and part-time or full-time work during the 2001-02 academic year. Compensation depends on experience and ranges from $12 to $20 an hour. The work schedule is flexible and the atmosphere is informal.

Requirements include knowledge of Microsoft Office programs (including Word, Excel, and Access) and of ArcView. Candidates must have completed at least one course in GIS using ArcView. Highly desirable is experience in Avenue programming, Oracle (SQL), Visual Basic, JAVA, and HTML/XML, as well as experience or course work in petroleum geology, math and/or geostatistics.

Earth Science Associates specializes in quantitative analysis in oil and gas exploration and development, GIS, and creation of spatial analysis tools. Projects range from model development through building add-on tools for spatial analysis to empirical, site-specific projects for clients. ESA's clients are mainly major oil and gas companies, but they also include other consulting firms and government agencies.

Students meeting the qualifications are invited to fax their resumés to (52) 437-7722 or e-mail brandy@earthsci.com. You can scope out the company at their web site: http://www.earthsci.com.

Many thanks to Jim Woods for this scoop!

Watch This Space!

The Department has just learned that it has been given a rather large budget for student assistantships, which will be offered to qualified graduate students and relatively advanced undergraduates. The jobs will include teaching assistantship duties, webmastering for individual faculty, and research assistantship work. So, keep your eyes peeled for further news, as this exciting opportunity to work on campus this semester is developed and finalized.

Job Fair on Campus

There will be a job fair on campus on Wednesday, March 14th, from 1-5 pm (right after Dr. Gossette's talk) at the University Student Union. Students, bring your resumés and click here for a list of employers registered. Thanks to Dr. Wechsler for the heads-up.

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Lectures and Field Trips

Dr. Vincent Del Casino

Dr. Vincent Del Casino will be giving a talk to the College of Education Brown Bag Series at noon, Monday, 23 April, in ED2- 158. The talk is entitled, "Social Protest, Spatial Praxis, and Radical Geography in the Teaching of World History." Dr. Del Casino reports that this talk is part of a larger paper that he is working on with Dr. Tim Keirn in the History Department, continuing a long tradition of interaction between the Geography and the History departments on this campus.

Dr. Frank Gossette

Dr. Frank Gossette will be giving a talk to the International Brown Bag Lunch Discussion Series at noon, Wednesday, 14 March, in the Multicultural Center Conference Room (FO3-003). His talk is about "Living in Salzburg, Austria." The International Brown Bag Lunches are hosted by the Center for International Education and the Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society. Beverages and light desserts will also be provided to enhance whatever you remember to bring in your lunch pail! For further information, please call Linda Olson Levy at (562) 985-8440 or visit her in the Center for International Education (BH-201).

Mr. Kris Jones

Mr. Kris Jones will be giving a talk to the Los Angeles Geographical Society on Friday, 6 April, 8 pm at Los Angeles City College (855 N. Vermont Ave., Franklin Hall, which is right on Vermont, in Room 101). The title of his talk is "Cuba 2000." The LAGS is a 48 year old public service organization, which promotes geography to the community in the form of free public lectures (with free cookies and beverages!), field trips, dinner talks, and a number of scholarships. For more information on this great organization, visit their web page at http://www.lageographic.com.

Ms. Susanne Byrne-Dronkers

Ms. Susanne Byrne-Dronkers, presently a graduate student in geography, gave a talk on "Careers in GIS" to the "Jobs in Geography" lecture series on Tuesday the 27th of February. The Jobs in Geography guest lecture series is sponsored by the Geography Department Internship Program, which is coördinated by Dr. Suzanne Wechsler. For more information on the Internship Program, either contact Dr. Wechsler or visit the program's web page.

Ms. Robin Lee

Ms. Robin Lee is the Coördinator for Coöperative Education at the CSULB Career Development Center. On the 26th of February, she presented a talk, entitled, "How to Make the Most of Your Internship," to the Jobs in Geography lecture series organized by Dr. Suzanne Wechsler this semester.

Dr. Frank Gossette

Dr. Frank Gossette made a presentation on "Study and Teaching abroad as Part of the Liberal Arts Experience" to the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Retreat on February 9. The theme for the heavily-attended all-day retreat this year was "Teaching and Learning in the Liberal Arts: Different Formats, Different Paths."

Dr. Stan Trimble

Dr. Stan Trimble of UCLA was our guest for National Geography Awareness Week. The theme this year was conservation, and Dr. Trimble gave a guest lecture on this theme, focussing on "Human-Induced Soil Erosion and Sedimentation in the Upper Midwest." Many thanks to Dr. Suzanne Wechsler for organizing this talk.

Dr. Bryan Baker

Dr. Bryan Baker of Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) out in Redlands, was our featured speaker for GIS Day 2000, a part of National Geography Awareness Week. His lecture addressed "Can GIS Survive the Internet?" This talk was organized by Dr. Suzanne Wechsler.

Dr. Peter Black

Dr. Peter Black of Syracuse University visited our campus on Thursday, 9 November, on his way to give presentations in New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, and Ethiopia. Dr. Black is a world-known expert in watershed hydrology and related land resources. He is the author of numerous books including Watershed Hydrology and Soil and Water Conservation Policy. He made a dynamic, accessible, and engaging presentation on how watersheds function in Dr. Suzanne Wechsler's class on Thursday, November 9th.

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue took her biogeography students into the field for an all-day data-gathering expedition to Charmlee Park. Charmlee Park is in westernmost L.A. County, in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking Malibu (about 12 miles west of downtown Malibu and 4 miles up Encinal Canyon). It contains four distinct vegetation communities (coastal sage, chaparral, California prairie, and oak park) and the ruins of an old cattle ranch. Students examined soil compaction and severe gullying on trails and the change in vegetation as a trail is approached (using a transect sampling method). They got plenty of practice in the use of a floristic key to identify woody plants and composites. They then assembled two one square meter quadrat sampling frames (thanks to Dr. Jean Wheeler, recently retired, for those!) and used the grids to map three species of lichen on rock faces. Field data were brought back to class and analyzed statistically, the results presented in class and in group reports. A dividend on this trip was the bus driver, who turned out to be unexpectedly (and sometimes disconcertingly) entertaining!

Ms. Cecilia Padres

Ms. Cecilia Padres, Environmental Project Manager for Geotek, Inc., of Vista, California, spoke about her career in environmental assessment to the Jobs in Geography lecture series, being organized this semester by Dr. Suzanne Wechsler.

Dr. Stephen Pyne

Dr. Stephen Pyne, an expert on wildfire in America and on the Grand Canyon and author of numerous books, gave the Phi Beta Kappa lecture on Monday, 2 October. Dr. Pyne is an historian and professor in the Biology and Society Program at Arizona State University. His riveting talk was entitled, "Where Have All the Fires Gone? A Look at Why and How the American West Burns." The talk was co-sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Fellows and The Odyssey Project, hosted by Dean Dee Abrahamse, and was organized by Dr. Suzanne Wechsler and Mr. James Woods.

Dr. Judith Tyner

Dr. Tyner gave an invited lecture to the Santa Clara Chapter of the Embroiderer's Guild of America, up in Saratoga, CA, on the 19th of July, 2000. Her talk was entitled, "The History of Embroidered Maps and Globes."

Dr. Tyner describes the Guild as an outgrowth of the British Guild, which was organized on this side of the "Pond" in 1958 and incorporated here in 1973. The different chapters have classes in skills and history (Dr. Tyner's thing). She is scheduled to co-teach a national workshop in October, 2001 (these workshops are so competitive they must be booked two years in advance).

Dr. Jim Curtis

Dr. Jim Curtis conducted a field trip of the Long Beach area for new faculty at CSULB. Dr. Curtis has been offering this popular field trip for a few years now to help orient new faculty in all disciplines to the cultural and environmental riches of the area the campus serves. This year's trip was held on Saturday, 30 September..

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Changes among the Faculty

Dr. Richard Outwater has accepted appointment as the Associate Vice President, Academic Information Technology, effective immediately! He is responsible for technology planning and development for Academic Affairs. Academic Affairs includes all of the colleges and the campus-wide support services, such as Academic Computing Services and Audio Visual Services. He reports that his e-mail remains the same, outwater@csulb.edu, but his new office is in Brotman Hall (BH 308), and his new telephone number is (562) 985-4128. The department is very proud of Dr. Outwater's achievement and campus-wide recognition, and we wish him the best of luck in his new position. Very sadly for us, this is a full-time position, so he cannot continue to teach for us or serve as undergraduate advisor. Dr. Judith Tyner (who was undergraduate advisor last year) has graciously agreed to resume undergraduate advising for Spring 2001.

The Department of Geography is very pleased to report the hire of a new full-time physical geography lecturer, Mr. Noel Ludwig. Professor Ludwig will be with us for three semesters to replace Dr. Azary, who's on parental leave. Mr. Ludwig has a joint BS/BA degree in Geology and English from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. degree in Geophysics from the University of Hawaii. He is ABD (which means nearly done with his Ph.D., "all but dissertation") from the Department of Geography at the University of Hawaii. His area of specializaton is watershed science and management, and he also has a background in international environmental issues. He has published research articles on various topics in well-regarded academic journals. He served for five years as project manager of the Environmental Center at the University of Hawaii. He has taught courses in physical geography, statistics, water and society, and the geography of peace and war. He'll be teaching introductory physical geography and climatology next semester. Welcome aboard!!!

In Memoriam

Dr. Fred Scantling, Professor Emeritus of Geography, died of cancer on 31 July. He had joined the faculty in 1966, retiring in 1980. Dr. Splansky had this to say about him: "His most remarkable class was Geography of the Pacific area. Fred's knowledge of the region and his stylish delivery made the class an early favorite. We will all certainly miss his charm and ready smile, yet he has left us with many warm memories."

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Social Events

Mr. Jim Woods is tickled pink to report that he has been selected for the pool of potential contestants on the quiz show, "Jeopardy." Way to go, Woody!

The Geography Student Association held its first GSA Ethnic Food Night, featuring Greek Mediterranean Cuisine, on Friday, the 23rd of February, at The Greek Grill. The Greek Grill is on the corner of Cherry and Broadway in Long Beach. For more information on this or other GSA events, please contact Amy Eifler or Joe Recker.

Dr. Irisita Azary is now a mom! She and her husband, Roger Lee, are really excited and very happy, as they have been looking forward to this for a very long time. She will be taking two years of parental leave. Here's a picture of the adorable little guy (Alexander) and one way happy Dr. Azary. By the way, while she's on leave, she can still be reached at azary@csulb.edu. ¡¡¡FELICITACIÓNES!!!

A Brand-New Baby Menguita!!!

Graduate student, Ron Menguita is proud and happy to announce that he and his wife, Azin Menguita, have JUST had their baby!!! Her name is Kiana, and she was born Saturday, February 10, 2001, at 1:58 pm. She weighed in at 6 pounds 10 ounces, and is 20 1/2 inches tall. Mom is doing fine, and so is dad. Heavens -- is a Geography baby boom underway? You can congratulate them by e-mailing Ron and Azin. Here's a picture of Kiana taking a nap, and here's Kiana enjoying a big yawn! What a cute kid! CONGRATULATIONS!

Dr. Judith Tyner, her husband, Dr. Gerald Tyner, and Dr. Chrys Rodrigue trekked out to Los Osos in January to catch up with Dr. Jean Wheeler, newly retired from our department and Dr. Gary Peters formerly of our department and now at Chico State. It was one soggy time on the Central Coast, as the faculty party got wetter than marine mammals while visiting the elephant seals building up their colonies just north of Morro Bay and while hiking out at Montaña de Oro State Beach. Everyone enjoyed catching up with one another, fighting off hypothermia, checking out Dr. Wheeler's great new digs, and comparing notes on the Beach and Chico campuses.

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Publications

An article co-authored by Dr. Irisita Azary has just come out! The reference is: Weir, Daniel and Azary, Irisita. 2001. Quitovac Oasis: A sense of home place and the development of water resources. The Professional Geographer 53, 1: 46-55. The article is a humanistic analysis of the cultural geography of a seemingly failed agricultural development in the Sonoran Desert. This "failure" actually strengthened the residents' Tohono O'odham ethnic identity within the modernizing Mexican cultural milieu and ensured the continuation of religious rites surrounding a sacred site. Daniel Weir, by the way, is a doctoral student at Louisiana State University, who was once one of Dr. Azary's master's students at San Diego State. He spoke here last year.

Mr. James Woods reports that an atlas of maps he produced completely within Atlas GIS has been selected for inclusion in this year's ESRI's 2001 Map Book, Vol. 16. The map collection is entitled "Membership Analysis of the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific." This is the second time that Jim Woods has been honored by having his work showcased in the ESRI Map Book series (the last time was in Vol. 14 in 1999).

The Daily News, a newspaper out in the San Fernando Valley, published a brief letter to the editor by Dr. Chrys Rodrigue objecting to the movement to have the Valley secede from the City of Los Angeles and pointing out the advantages of remaining within the L.A. City Department of Water and Power. The letter came out Friday, 9 February.

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue's research on media performance during natural disasters has just been profiled in the campus publication, Inside CSULB. The reference is: Manly, Richard. 2001. Some media coverage a disaster. Inside CSULB 53, 1: 1. You can get a PDF copy by clicking here.

Dr. Vincent Del Casino has just learned that an article of his has just been accepted for publication in The Professional Geographer. The reference is: Del Casino, Vincent. 2001. Healthier geographies: Mediating the "gaps" between the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS and health care in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The Professional Geographer (forthcoming).

Prof. Noel Ludwig has just learned that an article of his is coming out right now: Ludwig, Noel A. 2000. Swords into timeshares: A marine park alternative for the Spratly Islands. Ocean Yearbook 15 (University of Chicago Press). This article is based on a paper he presented at the 17th Pacific Science and Technology Conference, Honolulu, HI, June 6-10, 2000.

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue has just been notified that an article she wrote based on her Hazards Workshop presentation this July has been accepted for publication and is due out in early 2001. The reference is: Rodrigue, Christine M. 2001. Impact of Internet Media in Risk Debates: The controversies over the Cassini-Huygens mission and the Anaheim Hills, California, landslide. The Australian Journal of Emergency Management 15.

Dr. Judith Tyner has an article about the history of map samplers coming out -- "Following the Thread: The Origins and Diffusion of Embroidered Map Samplers."Mercator's World (forthcoming).

Dr. Vincent Del Casino has an article out about his work on the geography of organizations, such as health care agencies. Our new faculty member is hitting the ground running! The reference is Del Casino Jr., V.; A. Grimes; S. Hanna; and J.P. Jones III. "Methodological frameworks for the geography of organizations." Geoforum 31, pp. 523-538.

Dr. James R. Curtis recently had a book review published on Urban Latino Culures: La vida latina en L.A., edited by Gustavo LeClerc, Raul Villa, and Michael Dear (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999). Dr. Curtis' review can be round in Urban Geography 21, 3 (April-May, 2000): 278-279.

Jan Olsen's, Ed Huefe's, and Jim Covin's March 29th public presentation, Emergency Preparedness in Pedro, was the focus of a front page article in the Random Lengths biweekly newspaper. The article, with the byline of staff writer, Andy Harris, gave a very positive review of the three CSULB Geography graduate students' research and summarized the highlights of citizen discussion with local Fire Chief Lou Roupoli and L.A. Firefighter David Stamp. The full reference is Harris, Andy. 2000. "Disaster Preparedness: When the Big One Hits Pedro," Random Lengths Harbor Independent News (April 28-May 11): 1, 16.

Jim Woods, alumnus, Geography Computer Lab Manager, and lecturer, reports that his map, "Executions by State Since 1976," is published online by the Death Penalty Information Center, at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executionmap.html. Mr. Woods' map is updated each month. This necrogeography represents a socially, politically, and culturally revealing use of GIS and cartography and is well worth visiting on a regular basis.

Mr. Woods is also profiled on the Association of American Geographers website in its "Geographers at Work" page, under its "Careers in Geography" section. The profile is entitled, "An Interview with James A. Woods - Hazard Geographer," and the direct link is http://www.aag.org/Careers/Geogwork/Woods.html. The article describes a lot of Mr. Woods' GIS work in fire hazard analysis and mitigation and his work with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. It is nice to see our department's strong record in applied geography recognized by a profile of one of our alumni on the AAG web site!

Dr. Irisita Azary recently had an article out in a peer-reviewed proceedings. It's entitled, "Application of the Rosgen Stream Classification System to Southern California Wildland Streams," and it came out in the June/July 1999 issue of American Water Resource Association Conference Proceedings: Wildland Hydrology.

Dr. Judith Tyner had an article on her work on embroidered maps and globes appear as, "Stitching a New Country," in Needlearts 33, 1 (March 1999): 12-14.

Dr. Tyner had an article, "Millie the Mapper," in the February 1999 issue of Meridian, which is the journal of the Map and Geography Round Table of the American Library Association. The article is in volume 15, pp. 23-28. Dr. Tyner also served as the guest editor for this special theme issue on Women in Cartography.

Dr. Tyner also had another article, "A World of Their Own, James Wilson and the First American Globe," in the January/February 1999 issue of Mercator's World 4, 1: 28-33.

Our hyperactive Dr. Tyner was invited to submit a commentary in California 49, California Map Society Occasional Paper. Its title is "A New Map of Texas Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining," and it appeared in the sixth issue (1999) on p. 30.

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Faculty and Graduate Students off to Conferences

Association of Asian Studies, Chicago, 21-24 March 2001

Dr. Vincent J. Del Casino is the primary co-author (with Rachel Safman, Cornell University) of a presentation, entitled:

"Working the 'Middle Ground': NGOs, Health Care, and AIDS in Chiang Mai, Thailand."

Association of American Geographers, New York, 27 February-3 March 2001

The Department of Geography at CSULB sent one of the largest delegations to the AAG conference (the major national conference across the discipline) of all the Southern California geography departments. Only UCLA, SDSU, and UCSB sent larger groups (8-10 people), but their Ph.D.-granting departments are considerably larger than ours (18-24 tenured and probationary faculty each). At 58 percent, our delegation included the largest percentage of the faculty from any Southern Califoria geography department, and towered over the 29 percent average for all the CSU campuses. This kind of showing at a major national conference is just one easily quantified expression of a diverse and hard-working group of scholars, teachers, and university and community servants! Go Beach!

Dr. Chris Lee authored a paper with a large group from UC Santa Barbara's Department of Geography and Institute for Computational Earth System Science (Dar A. Roberts, Phil Dennison, Charles Jones, and Marco Morais) and The Ærospace Corporation of El Segundo (Ray Talbot):

"Integrated Assessment of Fire Hazard in Southern California using Remote Sensing, GIS and Wind Models."

Dr. Vincent Del Casino presented:

"Organizational Ethnographies and the Politics of Fieldwork."

Dr. Del Casino also served on a panel, which he co-organized. The title of the session is:

"Interrogating Tourism Maps: New 'Guides' to Space and Identity."

Dr. Jim Curtis presented a paper with Ms. Aimée R. Mindes (Physical Sciences Department, Rio Hondo College, Whittier, and a graduate alumna of Geography at CSULB):

"Urban Structure in Ensenada and La Paz, Mexico."

Dr. Curtis also chaired a session, entitled:

"Latin American Urban and Economic Geography."

Dr. Suzanne P. Wechsler delivered:

"Effect of Digital Elevation Model Uncertainty and Scale on Topographic Parameter Estimators."

Dr. Judith Tyner went off to New York to present:

"Millie the Mapper II: Experiences of Women Geographers and Cartographers in WWII."

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue, also headed to the AAG to present:

"Construction of Hazard Perception and Activism on the Internet."

Dr. Rodrigue also chaired a session, entitled:

"New Departures in Research on the Human Dimensions of Technological Hazards."

Dr. Frank Gossette, frantically flew to New York to present:

"Geography of the Last Moment." Or so he insisted right up to the very end. Actually, he co-presented (with Dr. Roni Wade of Stanford University) "Using GIS to Model At-risk Populations for Emergency Planning and Response" and, yes, the real abstract is now available by clicking on Dr. Gossette's name above.

Dr. Unna I. Lassiter was also part of the New York delegation, showcasing her USC dissertation research:

"Cultural Diversity and the Construction of Marine Animals."

Dr. Stephen R. Koletty, also representing El Camino College, delivered:

"Tiki L.A. -- Geography of an Urban Exotica."

Mr. Ed Huefe, a graduate student in the Geography Department, was also part of the AAG delegation, where he made the following presentation:

"Across the Borderline: U.S.-Mexico Borderlands as Locus of Transformation in North American Popular Music."

Mr. Huefe is working on his thesis with Dr. James Curtis.

Mr. Tom D. Frazier, an M.A. alumnus of the Geography Department, also went to the AAG to present:

"The Waning Berlin Wall: Topography of a Relict Boundary."

Mr. Frazier is presently working on his doctorate at the Geographic Institute of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. He noted that his AAG presentation is based on research he started while doing his master's thesis here (under Dr. Gary Peters, now at Chico State) and he wants to say hello to everyone here and be considered an unofficial member of our huge AAG delegation this year! We got to catch up a bit there, Tom (and regards to Dr. Marlies Schulz, who spoke here last year)!

College of Liberal Arts Faculty Retreat, CSULB, 9 February 2001

Dr. Frank Gossette made a presentation on:

"Study and Teaching abroad as Part of the Liberal Arts Experience."

Several other Geography faculty attended, including Drs. Suzanne Wechsler, Vincent Del Casino, Irisita Azary, Joel Splansky,and Chrys Rodrigue.

Western Geography Student Conference, Portland, OR, 2-4 February 2001

Ms. Valerie Müller presented:

"Using GIS to Update 27 General Plan Maps."

Mr. Lewis Francis, Ms. Romey Hagen, Mr. Shaun Healy and Mr. Steven Newberg presented:

"In the Line of the Fire: An Investigation into the Relationship between Aspect and Fire History in the Santa Monica Mountains, 1925-1997."

American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, 15-19 December, 2000

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue presented:

"The Use of the Internet and Web-Based Technology for Space and Geoscience (Mis)Education: New Media in Natural and Technological Hazard Debates."

In addition, Dr. Rodrigue chaired a session at the AGU:

"New Tools and Perspectives on Understanding Natural Hazards Worldwide."

GIScience 2000, Savannah, Georgia, 28-31 October, 2000

Dr. Suzanne P. Wechsler presented:

"Applications of a Methodology For Digital Elevation Model Uncertainty Simulation Within ArcView Spatial Analyst."

Texas Map Society, October, 2000

Dr. Judith Tyner gave an invited presentation:

"The Hidden Cartographers: The History of Women in Cartography."

Western Conference of the Association of Asian Studies, CSULB, 6-7 October, 2000

Dr. Vincent Del Casino gave a panel presentation on:

"HIV/AIDS in Thailand."

Hazards Research and Applications Workshop, Boulder, CO, July 9-12, 2000

Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue made an invited hour-long research presentation:

"Public Perception and Hazard Policy Construction When Experts and Activists Clash in the Media."

Dr. Rodrigue also made a poster available at that conference:

"Internet Recruitment and Activism in the Cassini Controversy."

Dr. Ben Wisner served as an invited discussant in a plenary session. This is his last professional presentation while still a professor in this department (he has since moved to Oberlin College, in Ohio). His presentation was:

"The Political Economy of Hazards: More Limits to Growth?"

Dr. Frank Gossette also attended the Workshop, with his new bride, Dr. Ronnie Wade, of Stanford University.

[ Jobs ] [ Talks ] [ Changes ] [ Social ] [ Conferences ] [ Publications ] [ Grants ]

Grants

Drs. Chrys Rodrigue and Suzanne Wechsler

just signed off as principal investigators (PIs) on a major grant being submitted to the National Science Foundation on March 16th. This project was spearheaded by Dr. Beth Ambos, Department of Geological Sciences and Associate Dean for Instruction, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Other PIs in the three year project include Drs. Dan Francis, Rick Behl, Jim Sample, and Maria-Teresa Ramirez-Herrera of the Department of Geological Sciences, Dr. Laura Henriques of the Department of Science Education, and Dan Larson of the Department of Anthropology. Dr. Chris Lee is also an associate of the proposed project and will put the resources of the Wildfire Hazards Research Center at the disposal of the project. The purpose of the grant is to integrate underrepresented students in the geosciences by involving them in research projects to be conducted by CSULB geosciences faculty and faculty from several community colleges and high schools in the area. The students recommended by the high school and community college faculty will work as research assistants during the summer and then co-author scientific publications and conference papers and present their work to their home institutions. This project is to help remedy the lack of exposure to the field-oriented geography, geology, and archaeology disciplines experienced by promising young urban students who may never have even gone on a field trip outside the city. The hope is that, by participating in field research and working with faculty in the geosciences, some of these students may begin to put the various geosciences on their radar for possible major selection and lend their perspectives to geography, geology, and archaeology. If urban students won't come to the geosciences, then the geosciences will come to them! Here's hoping the NSF finds the proposal as exciting as the participants do.

Dr. Chris Lee

gave a recent report to the department on his NASA research projects. He directs a NASA Regional Earth Science Application Center (RESAC), which he brought over from CSU Dominguez Hills on moving to our department. This RESAC is the Southern California Wildfire Hazard Center. There are only eight RESACs in the country (the others, all doctoral institutions, are UC Berkeley and the universities of Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, Maryland, and Connecticut). Besides CSULB, the other partners in this center are UC Santa Barbara, Ærospace Corporation, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and Jet Propulsion Lab. Funding amounts to $1.5 million through February of 2002. The goal of this NASA RESAC is to provide fire hazard maps incorporating remote sensing and weather modelling data to the LACFD to assist them in managing fire hazards at the urban-wildlands interface.

Beside the Wildfire Hazard Center, Dr. Lee is conducting two pilot projects for the NASA Earth Science Applications Research Program (ESARP), in coöperation with the Soil and Water Science Department of the University of Alexandria in Egypt, the University of Guelph in Canada, and Boulder County in Colorado. The overall purpose of the ESARP is international, state, and local workforce development and capacity-building in support of NASA Earth Science Enterprise goals. This $300,000 pair of pilot projects includes one project in Egypt and one in Colorado. The first entails analysis of new high resolution satellite data for farm systems analysis and to build an historical data archive of 50 Landsat Thematic Mapper images for use by the students of Alexandria, Guelph, and CSULB in studies of long-term vegetation dynamics and agricultural development on the northwest coast of Egypt. The second project is to assist Boulder County in developing remote sensing capacity, including high resolution IKONOS imagery, software and training, and image processing support.

Dr. Lee arrived at CSULB after spending a year away from CSUDH as a NASA Visiting Senior Scientist in Washington, D.C., where he worked on developing the NASA State, Local, and Tribal Initiative design. He was (and remains) responsible for the Workforce Development and Capacity Building element, which he represents at conferences, workshops, and to NASA Headquarters.

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue

was pleased to learn that she has been awarded one class of reassigned time in the fall and student assistant money to work on a campus project on incorporating program assessment into the curriculum.

Dr. Frank Gossette

reports that the Department is currently working with the CSULB President's Office on an enrollment management mapping project. Its purpose "is to provide a visual representation of a proposed CSULB service area which maintains the university's ethnic, geographic, and academic program diversity while enrolling applicants who demonstrate the most potential for academic success."

Two versions of the map are planned. The maps will show CSULB and indicate high school districts, individual high schools, and their distances from CSULB with the use of 5-mile concentric rings. The locations of CSU Fullerton and CSU Dominguez Hills will also be shown for reference. In addition, the first version will include the number of first time freshman enrollees for Fall 1999, and the second will include Stanford 9 scores and the percentage of AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) population for each school.

Dr. Judith Tyner

reports that she received an AAG Research Grant to help with expenses for "Millie the Mapper: The Role of Women in Geography and Cartography in WWII." She commented that this means she'll actually have to do this project! ;-)

[ Jobs ] [ Talks ] [ Changes ] [ Social ] [ Conferences ] [ Publications ] [ Grants ]

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