Geography Department News

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

as of 17 October 2005

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The Four Contenders for CSULB President Are on Campus This Week

The four finalists for the presidency at California State University, Long Beach are visiting the campus this week to meet with various campus and community groups as part of their interview process. The order of the candidate visits are as follows:

• Gary W. Reichard, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, Cal State Long Beach, who will meet with the campus community on Monday, Oct. 17;
• Richard H. Wells, chancellor, University of Wisconsin -- Oshkosh, who will visit the campus on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
• Wilson G. Bradshaw, president, Metropolitan State University (Minnesota), who will visit the campus on Wednesday, Oct. 19;
• F. King Alexander, president, Murray State University (Kentucky), who will visit the campus on Thursday, Oct. 20;

Each of the four will spend the day on the campus meeting faculty, staff, students, alumni and the community. An open forum will be held daily for the campus and community from 3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Horn Center.

GSA Korean BBQ Run

The Geography Student Association enjoyed a cultural night out featuring Korean BBQ on Friday, 30 September, at Manna Korean BBQ, up in Koreatown, just west of Downtown Los Angeles. The students met at the Willow Blue Line Station and rode up the Blue Line and then the Red Line to get to the restaurant.

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!!!

Geography and GSA Welcome You (back) to 2005-06!

The Geography Student Association is hitting F/05 running. They have a full program of activities brewing, and they would like to get the word out about events coming up soon. GSA will be participating in Welcome Week, hosting tables in the quad area in front of the Bookstore with the other student organizations on campus and near the Department. Welcome Week tables will be operating on Wednesday and Thursday, 7-8 September, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m..

Also, GSA will hold an Open House on those days, too. On Wednesday, it'll be from 5-7 p.m. in LA4-102 and on Thursday from 5-6 p.m. in LA4-100. Be there or be square!

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!

Graduation Day

The Department is proud (and a little sad) to see another class of geographers graduate! Here are the geography majors who have graduated between Summer 2004 and Spring 2005, our newest alumni:

Mr. Brett Michael Katsuyama Mr. Albert Christopher Armijo Mr. Cameron John Beatty Mr. Matthew F. Blume Ms. Leslie Charlet Edwards Ms. Tiffany Noreen Edwards Mr. Jacob W. Hanson Mr. Scott Webb Holleman Mr. Stephen Su Kim Mr. José Paolo Magcalas Mr. Luis Sebastian Martínez Mr. William John Morrish

Mr. Michael D. Quon Ms. Pamela Joann Smith Ms. Loidy Ugarte Ms. Michel R. Perlin Ms. Angela Susan Bartlett Mr. Donald C. Bettencourt Ms. Emily Michelle Blackmore Mr. Frank H. Carragher Mr. Fayçal Ferhat Mr. Bryan John Freet Mr. Ryan Yu Fukazawa Mr. Jack Haswaeng

Mr. Charles Mark Hungerford Mr. Steven Nikola Jareb Mr. Stefan James Klain Ms. Heather Jean Kokesch Mr. Brian Matthew Lee Liu Mr. David S. Peck Mr. Ryan Zensho Taira Mr. Michael Takeo Tokumoto Mr. Tuan Tranh Tran Mr. Gerald Winston, II Ms. Jennilyn Marie Zabala

Dean's List Honorees

The Department is very proud to announce that eight of its undergraduate students have received the College of Liberal Arts Dean's List honor, which is reserved for those students earning a 3.75 GPA. They were fêted at the CLA Distinguished Student Reception on 21 April. Congratulations to the Spring 2005 list of Distinguished Geography Students:

• Ms. Denise Behrens
• Ms. Adrienne Bosler
• Mr. Nicholas Carlson
• Mr. Charles Hungerford
• Mr. Steven Jareb
• Ms. Deirdre Miller
• Ms. Saori Nemoto
• Ms. Joy Turlo

Graduate Dean's List!

Ms. Julienne Gard and Ms. Lisa Pitts, graduate students finishing up their theses, have just been named to the CLA Graduate Dean's List. This is quite an honor, as usually fewer than ten students throughout the College of Liberal Arts are selected each year, and having two graduate students on that list is almost unheard of for a small department like ours! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Retirements Looming

Drs. Judith Tyner and Richard Outwater "threw in the towel" at the end of Spring 2005! They retired! Dr. Tyner's last semester featured teaching GEOG 381, 482, and 484. Dr. Outwater was on administrative re-assignment for several years, serving as Special Assistant to the Provost for Academic Technology and Facilities Planning. Before that, he taught urban and human geography.

The Beach Converges on Yosemite

A large contingent represented Geography @ the Beach at the annual meeting of the California Geographical Society in Yosemite the 22nd and 23rd of April: Drs. Chrys Rodrigue, Dimitrii Sidorov, Suzanne Wechsler, Ray Sumner, and Mike McDaniel, Ms. Lisa Pitts, Ms. Zoe Schumacher and Ms. Doreen Jeffrey. Everyone gave a paper, except Ms. Jeffrey, who was the David Lantis Graduate Scholarship Award recipient. Mr. McDaniel entered his talk in the student awards competition, but Ms. Pitts didn't (absent-minded already, upon the completion of her master's degree!): Mr. McDaniels received the second place Tom McKnight Paper Award in the graduate student division. Ms. Pitt, having spent some of her formative years in Yosemite, knew about a strange local phenomenon that she shared with the CSULB (and CSU Pomona) delegations: a "moonbow." In spring only, if the sky is clear, the full moon rises at just such a point that it falls directly on the base of Yosemite Falls -- and creates a nighttime rainbow! It was spectacular: Imagine an Ansel Adams black-and-white photograph of a daytime rainbow! For some pictures of Yosemite scenery this weekend, click here.

Ms. Denise Behrens Receives Award

Ms. Denise Behrens, CSULB Geography student (and front-office staff person and daughter of Prof. Douglas Behrens) has just been inducted into Who's Who among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Congratulations!!!

Prof. Wranic Receives Teaching Award

Ms. Angela Wranic, lecturer in geography at CSULB and at Long Beach City College just received an Outstanding Teacher award from Alpha Gamma Sigma at LBCC. She was nominated by Ms. Shirley Gooding, who obviously has excellent taste in outstanding teachers!!! Congratulations!

Our Incoming Faculty Member Delivers a Paper at Geodaze

Ms. Camille Holmgren, the newest member of the Geography faculty, gave a paper entitled, "Reconstructing 31,000 years of vegetation dynamics in the northern Chihuahuan Desert: A packrat midden study from the Peloncillo Mountains" to the annual Geodaze Symposium. Geodaze is a student-run symposium at the University of Arizona showcasing research by graduate students and undergraduate students there.

Prof. Camille Holmgren Receives Award

Prof. Holmgren received the $300 Chevron-Texaco Prize for the best Geodaze paper in the palæoclimatology/climate/palæoecology area. Congratulations!!

Inadvertant Geography "Away Team" Expedition

The Department sent a large delegation to the Association of American Geographers annual conference in Denver the week of the 4th-9th of April (that's why it was mighty lonesome around here that week). Most people got back before a major blizzard hit Denver and closed down Denver International Airport. Less lucky were Drs. Christy Jocoy and Judith Tyner and Mr. Noel Ludwig, who were stranded there by the airport closure. They, therefore, were not available to teach their Monday classes on the 11th, when they are, hopefully, finally winging their way home. Talk about exciting geography!

Geography Baby Boom Continues!

Ms. Alma Vargas, graduate student, has just delivered a baby girl, Alyssa Rebecca, 5 lb., 15 oz., on Saturday, 2 April 2005 at 9:07 p.m. Yay!!! Congratulations. Thanks to Prof. James Woods for keeping us all in the loop!

Boxer Who Died in the Golden Glove Competition Was a Geographer

The first female amateur boxer to die as a result of a boxing match injury was Dr. Becky Zerlentes, who earned her Ph.D. in geography at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her dissertation was on the environmental impacts of NAFTA on the US-Mexico borderlands. She taught geography at Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, CO, and pursued boxing as a hobby and became quite successful at it, qualifying for Golden Gloves competition and once holding the State 132 lb. title, having won 6 bouts in 10 matches. This was to have been her last match, as she felt that at age 34 it was time to hang up the gloves. How sad that geography now has its own "Million Dollar Baby," and our hearts go out to her family, friends, students, and the geography community of Colorado.

Dr. Del Casino Named as an Editor

Dr. Vincent Del Casino has just learned he's been named Book Review Editor for the journal, Social and Cultural Geography. Congratulations.

Dr. Jocoy the Lead Story in This Week @ the Beach

Dr. Christy Jocoy's selection as a finalist for the Association of American Geographers' J. Warren Nystrom Award was the lead story in "This Week @ the Beach." The Nystrom Award is for an AAG presentation based on an outstanding recent dissertation. The full story can be read by clicking here. Congratulations both on the Nystrom finalist selection and on the campus visibility that resulted!

Dr. Del Casino Attains the Celestial City

Dr. Vincent Del Casino has just been granted early tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in the College of Liberal Arts (Geography) and the College of Education (Liberal Studies). CONGRATULATIONS on hard work well done!!!

Visitors Dropping by

Dr. Unna Lassiter dropped by to visit the Department on Tuesday the 15th of March. She is now a tenure-track faculty member at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX, and is visiting friends in Los Angeles during their spring break. Also turning up was Nicholas Mikhail, on break from his Illinois high school. What a great twin blast from the past!

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!!!!

Dr. Rodrigue Also Has an Article Coming out!

Continuing the Departmental flurry of publications, Dr. Chrys Rodrigue has just found out that her article, "James Blaut's critique of diffusionism through a Neolithic lens: Early animal domestication in the Near East," is going to come out in Antipode. This will be a special issue in which several geographers influenced by the late Jim Blaut were invited to discuss various aspects of his work and how they played out in their own research.

Dr. Jocoy Is a Finalist for the Nystrom Award!

Dr. Christy Jocoy is a finalist for the very prestigious J. Warren Nystrom Award for a paper based on a recent dissertation in geography! She has, thus, been invited to present a paper at the Association of American Geographers meeting in April, at which point from one to four people will receive cash awards. She has also been invited to submit her paper for The Professional Geographer. What fabulous news! Congratulations!!!

Dr. Jocoy Has a Book Review out

Dr. Christy Jocoy did a 2005 review of the book Architectures of Knowledge: Firms, Capabilities, and Communities, by Ash Amin and Patrick Cohendet. It just came out in Regional Studies.

Dr. Jocoy Attends Faculty Development Institute

Dr. Christy Jocoy attended the Japan Studies Institute at San Diego State University from June 1st through the 24th. Her participation was funded through a Sasakawa Fellowship. The Institute involves a month of intensive seminars, readings, films, discussion groups, and cultural activities related to Japanese history, culture, literature, government, business, language, and education. The Institute is designed for faculty who wish to incorporate inforamtion about Japan into the undergraduate courses they teach. Congratulations, and we all look forward to learning more about Japan from Dr. Jocoy!

Dr. Wechsler and Ms. Pitts Have an Article out

Dr. Suzanne P. Wechsler and Ms. Lisa A. Pitts published an article in the latest issue of The California Geographer. The article is "GIS in High School Integrates Geography with Technology: A Case Study." Congratulations!

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.

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

 

Jobs

Part-Time Lecturing at CSULB

The Department of Geography at CSULB may have part-time lectureships available for Spring 2006, though the ongoing State fiscal crisis may negatively impact the number of courses the Department has to offer. For more information on the positions and the application process, please click here.

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

 

Lectures and Field Trips

Drs. Lee, Rodrigue, Behl, and Wechsler Host an AMP Field and Lab Project

Drs. Chris Lee, Chrys Rodrigue, and Rick Behl (Geological Sciences) are taking a group of Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) students from Cerritos College and CSULB into the field on Monday, 25 July. The field trip will go to Del Cerro Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, where Dr. Lee will train students in the use of GPS and relate the appearance of vegetation and slopes in a 1 meter panchromatic IKONOS image to actual points on the ground. Dr. Rodrigue will discuss the fire ecology of chaparral and coastal sage vegetation and changes in the fire régime created by such invasive plant species as fennel and thistle. Students will see (and smell) the fire scar from the recent Rancho Palos Verdes fire and learn why no homes were lost this time in an area that saw dozens of homes burn in 1973. Dr. Behl will introduce the marine stratigraphy of the area and how it poses a very severe landslide hazard, showing students the surface expressions of active slides. The three faculty will train students in the application of the mathematical concepts of scale and slope and then connect changes in slope angle with landslide and the accelerated erosion seen after a major fire. The purpose of AMP is to support and encourage minority students interested in majoring in sciences, math, and engineering. The program prepares students for enrollment in precalculus and calculus, in order to give them the greatest flexibility in pursuing any scientific or technical field that attracts their interest without having to delay their graduations to backtrack through math late in their college careers. The idea is to relate abstract mathematics to real world (and really fun) applications in the field and lab and help reduce math phobia. Once the students have collected their field data and return to campus, Dr. Wechsler will show them how to process their data in the lab using GIS and remote sensing.

Los Angeles Geographical Society Presentations

The Los Angeles Geographical Society hosted its third annual special student research symposium on 6 May 2005. 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:

• Ms. Alma Vargas presented her thesis, "Implementing Modern Geographic Technology in the Trucking Industry: A Case Study"
• Ms. Wanjiru Njuguna presented her thesis, "Water Perception and Consumption Patterns Among Latinos and Whites in Whittier, CA"
• Mr. Terry Lumati dislayed the poster, "The use of digital elevation models (DEMs) in managing natural habitats in the South Coast Wilderness" (originally presented at the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research)
• Ms. Denise Behrens displayed the poster, "The Lost Constellations of European Celestial Cartography" (originally presented at the Association of American Geographers)

Dr. Del Casino Is an Invited Speaker at the UCLA Geography Colloquium

Dr. Vincent Del Casino was invited to make a presentation at the UCLA Tod Spieker Geography Colloquium. His talk was entitled, "Sexuality/Health/Geography" and was presented on 6 May.

Community College "Jobs in Geography" Colloquium

The "Jobs in Geography" colloquium series hosted a panel of faculty from a variety of local community college districts, 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, 4 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)
• Dr. Robert Kreger, Professor of Geography, Cerritos College
• Ms. Irene Naesse, Professor of Geography, Orange Coast College
• Ms. Vicki Drake, Geography Instructor, Department of Earth Sciences, Santa Monica College
• Mr. Dan Walsh, Chair, Geography Program, Saddleback College

Mr. Robert Franklin Gives "Jobs in Geography" Presentation

Mr. Robert Franklin, CSULB Geography alumnus, is Principal Planner, City of Fountain Valley. He gave a presentation on 20 April entitled, "Applied Geography: City and Regional Planning." He discussed his own educational background here (B.A. and M.A. in Geography) and the "non-linear" path he took into the planning profession, the key break being a message from Dr. Joel Splansky concerning a planning position in Huntington Beach. Mr. Franklin then described the different kinds of planning jobs in the private sector (planning consulting companies) and the public sector (local, county, regional, state, and federal). He described two key functions, advance planning (long-term) and current planning (dealing with short-term modifications to established plans). He emphasized how important it was to have a basic background in geography and local knowledge of a region's character and personality, good writing skills, ability to do public speaking, and familiarity with Windows computers, Microsoft software (notably Excel and PowerPoint), cartography and GIS, and map and air photo interpretation. Mr. Franklin discussed the structure of a general plan and its seven required elements (land use, circulation, housing, open space, conservation, noise, and safety) and then the specific plans adopted for unique subareas within a planning jurisdiction. He emphasized familiarity with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which is the source of authority for planning decisions in accordance with it. He sketched out the nature of regional planning, too, and then discussed how geography students can prepare for careers in planning while still students here at CSULB. He emphasized doing well in school and seeking at least 6 to 12 months of internship experience (some of which may be unpaid). Very practically, he showed the audience how a typical job interview proceeds and the kinds of questions that will come up, and he noted that samples of work from internship projects is very helpful. Mr. Franklin noted that most planning jobs and internships are advertised in the California Chapter of the American Planning Association's Jobs Available (to which the Department is going to subscribe) and its online venue, http://www.calapa.org/jobs.html.

Ms. Nancy Yoho Discusses "Jobs in Geography"

Ms. Nancy Yoho, a Geography alumna (and the 2005 Distinguished Alumna of the College of Liberal Arts) and Vice-President of Thomas Bros.-Rand-McNally, spoke at the "Jobs in Geography" colloquium on Tuesday, 19 April 2005. She discussed the history of the famous city-street mapping company and its acquisition by Rand-McNally and then the combined companies' acquisition by Leonard Green & Partners of Santa Monica. She described the geography of the combined company's operations, with street guides production based in Irvine and national atlases and other products based in Skokie, Illinois. She also described the structure of hiring and promotion, from entry level cartographer/GIS technician up through project management and higher executive positions. In the technical area of map production, the company tends overwhelmingly to promote from within; marketing and sales see lateral transfers from other firms as well as internal promotions. So, for anyone interested in a geography-related career in retail map products, interning and starting out as an entry-level baccalaureate cartographer/GIS technician is the way to go (and the company offers education benefits for people wanting to earn master's degrees. Ms. Yoho also discussed the kinds of things they look for in résumés: A B.A. in geography, with several classes both in cartography and in GIS, as well as map and air photo interpretation. A remote sensing class or two would also be helpful. The GIScience Certificate would automatically ensure a student had acquired a really ideal background for Thomas Bros. Ms. Yoho's planned one hour talk turned into two hours of energetic discussion and avid examination of all the Thomas Bros. and Rand-McNalley products she brought along! Thanks to Dr. Judith Tyner for organizing this event and hosting it through her GEOG 484/584 course.

Dr. Norman Thrower Gives Talk @ the Beach

Dr. Norman Thrower, Professor Emeritus of Geography at UCLA, gave a talk, "Compass, Chart, and Course: Piri Reis in Context," in Dr. Judith Tyner's GEOG 381 (Maps and Civilization) course. It was held on 14 April.

Ms. Julienne Gard Gives a Talk at the LAGS

Ms. Julienne Gard, one of our graduate students, spoke to the Los Angeles Geographical Society entitled, "Medical Geography, Culture, and Tourism," focussing on the Native American sweat lodge health tourist phenomenon in California. The talk was well attended and discussion was quite animated. Congratulations!

Ms. Lisa Pitts Also Spoke at the LAGS

Gregory Kee and one of our graduate students, Ms. Lisa Pitts, also gave a talk at the LAGS, this one on 1 April. It was entitled, "Geographers of the Future: Teaching Geography and GIS to K-12 Students."

Graduate Student Thesis Proposal Defenses

Four graduate students successfully defended their thesis proposals on Friday, 29 April:

• Ms. Bridget Cooney, "The Impact of Policy upon Refugee Spatialities: Resettlement Policies and the Hmong of Southeast Asia"
• Ms. Wanjiru Njuguna, "Water Perception and Consumption Patterns among Latinos and Whites in Whittier, CA"
• Ms. Lisa Wilkinson, "The Nature of Atascadero, 1913-2005"
• Ms. Jennifer Cochran, "Using GIS to Assess Non-Point Source Pollution in the Lake Barbara Watershed"

Four graduate students successfully defended their thesis proposals on Friday, 11 March:

• Ms. Josi Jenneskens, "Bobcat habitat characterization in the North Irvine Ranch Land Reserve"
• Mr. Greg Bishop, "Development of a groundwater monitoring reporting and analysis system"
• Ms. Colette Simonds, "Exotic plant species pattern in selected areas of Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks"
• Ms. Alma Vargas, "Implementing modern geographic technology in the trucking industry: A case study."

Geography "Away Team" Expedition

Drs. Suzanne Wechsler and Christopher Lee have been invited to give a talk entitled, "Geography in Action," at Lakewood High School. This was a campus-wide two-hour long event in the high school's auditorium.

Ms. Angela Wranic Gives a Talk

Ms. Angela Wranic gave a talk entitled, "Geography in the high school classroom" to a colloquium for student-teachers in the Single-Subject Teaching Credential program at CSULB. Thank you for informing student-teachers about the nature of geography and how teachers can bring it to their students.

Dr. Jim Till Discusses Institutional Review Board

Dr. Jim Till, Director of Compliance at the CSULB Office of University Research, will be an invited guest speaker in Dr. Chrys Rodrigue's GEOG 696, Seminar in Geographical Research Methods. Dr. Till will discuss the Institutional Review Board on this campus and how it handles research done by CSULB students and faculty that in any way deals with human subjects. The seminar will meet on Wednesday, 30 March, 7 p.m., in LA4-204. If you would like to attend, please let Dr. Rodrigue know by e-mailing her at rodrigue@csulb.edu.

Mr. Woods Talks about the Sumatra Tsunami at a Local School

Mr. Jim Woods gave his outstanding multi-media presentation on the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami to St. Joseph's parochial school of Long Beach in March.

Mr. Woods Discussed the Sumatra Tsunami

Mr. James Woods presented an overview of the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami from a physical geography standpoint. He showed videos of the tsunami in action and an examination of some of the physical changes that have occurred as a result. The talk, entitled, "The Sumatra Tsunami: An Overview," was held on 16 February.

Dr. Laris Is an Invited Speaker at the UCLA Geography Colloquium

Dr. Paul Laris has been invited to make a presentation at the UCLA Tod Spieker Geography Colloquium. His talk is entitled, "Exploring the Scale Issue in Nature-Society Geography through a Study of Mosaic Fire Regimes in West Africa," and was presented on 11 February.

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

 

Changes among the Faculty

New Faculty Member!

Dr. Camille Holmgren begins 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. She has started a project entailing collection of these middens from Joshua Tree in the ecotone between high desert and low desert. You can learn more about her interests by clicking here and here! Welcome aboard!

Departing Faculty

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.

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

 

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

September 2005

Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society

RSPS will be holding its annual conference from September 6th- 9th at the University of Portsmouth, England. This conference is entitled, "Measuring, Mapping, and Monitoring a Hazardous World." Abstracts are due 11 March 2005, and full papers are required by 24 June. More information is available at: http://www.rspsoc.org/calendar/Calendar2005/RSPSoc2005/Details_Oct04.pdf.

October 2005

Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

The APCG will be meeting in Phoenix from October 19th - 22nd. Information is available at http://geography.asu.edu/apcg/.

North American Cartographic Information Society

NACIS will be meeting in Salt Lake City from October 12th - 15th. Information is available at http://www.nacis.org/meetings.html.

National Council on Geographic Education

NCGE will be meeting in Birmingham, AL, from October 12th - 15th. Information is available at http://www.ncge.org/activities/meetings/.

Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers

CLAG will meet in Morelia, Michoacán, from October 26th - 28th. Information is available at http://sites.maxwell.syr.edu/clag/clag.htm.

November 2005

28th Annual Applied Geography Conference

The Applied Geography conference will meet in Washington, DC, from November 2nd through 5th. More information is available at: http://www.appliedgeog.org/html/main.htm.

Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research

SCCUR will be meeting on 19 November at UC Riverside. This conference is a prestigious showcase for undergraduate student research, and Geography at The Beach has been well represented there in recent years. To learn more, please visit http://www.sccur.org/. Students who wish to present their faculty-mentored research must complete the presentation and abstract submission form no later than 17 October.

December 2005

American Geophysical Union

The AGU has scheduled its fall meeting for December 5th-9th. The call for papers is available from: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/. Abstracts are due no later than 03:59 p.m. on 8 September.

March 2006

Association of American Geographers

The AAG will be meeting in Chicago from March 7th-11th. The call for participation is available at http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/. Abstracts for spoken papers, illustrated papers, and the new interactive short papers is 13 October, while poster abstracts are due 20 October.

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