News as of 26 October 2001

2002 Student Research Competition

CSULB will hold its annual Student Research Competition on Friday, 8 March 2002. The purpose is to focus attention on the outstanding accomplishments of students engaged in significant research and creative activity at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in all disciplines. Students must have been enrolled during either the spring or fall semesters of 2001/02 and must be nominated by a faculty member. Nomination forms are available by clicking here. Nominated students need to submit a 5 page (double-spaced) written paper (not including references) and then make a 10 minute oral presentation at this conference. There are also prizes for first ($200) and second ($100) place papers, as judged by a panel of faculty. Up to 10 students will then be selected to compete in the Annual CSU Statewide Student Research Competition, which will also be held at CSULB in early May.

Local Golden Key Chapter Wins International Award

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler was startled and gratified to receive a press release from the Golden Key International Honor Society, concerning the Long Beach chapter of which she is the Chapter Advisor. The International awarded the Long Beach chapter "The Most Improved Chapter Award." This award is presented to chapters that have been active for more than one full academic year and have most drastically improved their leadership and involvement in Golden Key. The Department is very proud to see Dr. Wechsler's hard work culminate in this kind of recognition for the chapter she advises. Golden Key is a non-profit, international academic honors organization that provides academic recognition, leadership opportunities, career networking, community service, and scholarships. Membership into the Society is by invitation only to the top 15 percent of juniors and seniors in all fields of study. To learn more, please contact Dr. Wechsler.

Internationalization of the Curriculum Award

The Department is delighted to announce that Dr. James R. Curtis has received an "Internationalization of the Curriculum Award" for his new course proposal, Geography 468/568, "Geography of World Cities." This is a very prestigious award granted by the CSULB Center for International Education. Congratulations! A formal reception for awardees will be held on the 24th of October, from 4-5:30 pm, in the Alamitos Bay Rooms (President's Rooms) of the University Student Union. RSVPs may be directed to Ms. Linda Olson-Levy at 5-8440.

New Course: Geography 381*

Dr. Judith Tyner will be offering Geography 381*, "Maps and Civilization," in Spring 2002. This will be a cross-cultural examination of the history of maps through the millenia from papyrus to computer. This is an asterisked course, so it may be used in graduate programs. Undergraduates can use it as a systematic course in human geography, and it can also be used as a GIS/Cartography elective. For more information, please contact Dr. Tyner at jztyner@csulb.edu.

In Memoriam

The Department is very saddened to announce the sudden death of alumna, Ms. Bernice Kinsman. Her death was unexpected: She had gone in for some medical tests, and she had a fatal reaction to one of the drugs used in the test. More information will be posted here soon.

Jorge Quintero

Geography grad student, Jorge Quintero, stopped by for graduate advising and happened to mention that, after the HTML boot camp of Geography 600 a couple of years ago, he wound up the webmaster for the Long Beach Group of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club! Check out his elegant artistry at: http://angeles.sierraclub.org/longbch/! Way to GO, Monsieur Quintero!!!

CSULB Geography Students Win ESRI Mapping Honors!!!

Graduate students, Mike Jenkins and Shaun Healy, and recent graduate, Caroline Kolb, were fêted at the ESRI International User Conference 2001 by earning second prize in the Map Gallery Best Cartographic Publication competition!!! Their entry was the City Street Map they had done for the City of Lakewood. Thanks to Dr. Frank Gossette for this news item, who remarked, "Map On!!!" We are way proud of your achievement, folks! For more details, check out http://www.esri.com/events/uc/results/map_gallery_results.html.

Check Out the Alumni News Page!

Alumni have been responding to the Geography Department Newsletter that Dr. Ed Karabenick put together. As reports come in, they'll be shared on the brand-new alumni news page. So far, we have information on the doings of:

• Dr. Douglas M. Cotner (1967)
• Prof. Bill Courter (1987)
• Mr. Kevin Eick (1977)
• Mr. Tom Frazier (1999).
• Mr. Timothy Holmes (1994).
• Mr. Glenn Lajoie (1985)
• Ms. Lindsay D. Tognetti (1978)
• Ms. Stephanie Uribe (1998).
• Mr. James A. Woods (1992)

Send in those newsletter surveys or e-mail us to let us know what you've been up to, and we'll be happy to share your news with the entire CSULB Geography community.

Donations from Alumni and Parents: Thank You!

The Department wishes to thank the following alumni for their kindness in making recent donations to the Department's Special Project Account. Support from alumni is important and very much appreciated because it enables activities and resources that can't be funded through the regular State public university budget. Thank you very much!

• Ms. Carol R. Austin (1974)
• Ms. Nancy Marie Joel (1981, now Nancy M. Yoho)
• Mr. Steven W. Yoho (1982)
• Ms. Margaret C. Turner (1973)
• Ms. Amy Marie Rosenquist (1965, now Amy M. Davis)
• Mr. Dennis T. Davis (1972)
• Mr. Timothy P. Holmes (1994)
• Ms. Diana L. Borden (1992, now Diana L. McCarthy)
• Mr. Jared H. Richard (1971)
• Ms. Sharon P. Richard (1977)
• Mr. Lee Jester (1996)
• Mr. Scott P. Lew
• Ms. Vickie Dye
• Mr. Robert E. Reynolds (1992)
• Mr. John L. Sprague (1977)
• Mr. Barry E. Neel (1966)
• Ms. Cynthia A. McCarty (1998)
• Mr. Raymond Thomas Hiemstra (1998)
• Ms. Gretchen M. Honan (1980)
• Ms. Florine F. Lubkin (1978, now Florine F. Karabenick)
• Dr. Edward Karabenick (parent)
• Mr. Michael D. Wittman (1979)
• Mr. Stephen C. Denny (1977)
• Mr. Raymond Hetherington
• Ms. Catherine A. Robley
• Mrs. Blair Brignall
• Mrs. Karen Beth Mittleman (1996)
• Dr. Judith Tyner
• Ms. Andrea Karabenick
• Ms. Jill Axup (1982, now Mrs. Jill S. Griffiths)
• Mr. and Mrs. Barry Neel (parent)
• Mr. and Mrs. Robert Barone
• Mr. and Mrs. W. Scott (Vickie A. Bushey, 1973) Garland (1972)
• Mr. Raymond Hetherington

Thank You for Donations to Specific Departmental Scholarships!

The Department is also very pleased to acknowledge donations made to specific scholarships. Thank you for making funds available for awards to outstanding students!

• Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Diekmann (Burton T. Anderson scholarship)
• Ms. Sonya J. Branson (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Ms. Katherine M. Higgins (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Mr. and Mrs. Paul Malkemus (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Mr. and Mrs. Roderick J. Murphy (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Mr. and Mrs. Chris W. Jenkins (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Ms. Shirley J. McFall (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Ms. Marina E. Marrelli (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• First Union Corporation (matching Ms. McFall's donation to Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Ms. Catherine Light (Eileen Johansen Memorial Scholarship)
• Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue (to fund the upcoming one time Robert Erving Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship with monies donated to her by his mother, Susan M. Erving, the late Robert Erving having been one of Dr. Rodrigue's graduate students at CSU Chico)

Major NSF Grant Award!

Drs. Rodrigue and Wechsler and their collaborators in geology, archaeology, and science education have just learned that their $852,000 grant proposal to the National Science Foundation has been selected for funding! For more details, click here.

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.

Sigma Xi

Dr. Rodrigue was inducted into the local chapter of Sigma Xi, the science research honor society, on 15 May 2001. She joins Dr. Suzanne Wechsler, who was inducted in Syracuse back in 1996 and affiliated with the CSULB chapter last spring; Dr. Irisita Azary, who was inducted in 1998; and Dr. Chris Lee, who was inducted at Dominguez Hills. Dr. Azary mentioned that one of our graduates, Mr. Larry Harlan (M.A., 2000), is also an associate member at Dr. Azary's nomination!

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 ] [ Social ] [ Conferences ]

Jobs

Part-Time Lecturing at CSULB

The Department of Geography at CSULB is offering part-time lectureships for Spring 2002. For more information on the positions and the application process, please click here.

City of Lakewood

One of our spring 2001 alumni, Ms. Carolyn Kolb, has been hired to do GIS for the City of Lakewood. Not too surprising, given her GIS and cartography skills, which just earned her and her collaborators on a City of Lakewood mapping project an award from ESRI!

Port of Long Beach

The Department just learned that one of our graduate students, Mr. Steve Newberg, has been working as a GIS technician for the Port of Long Beach. He says he's been there a couple of months already and that it's a lot of fun applying GIS and the working environment is very nice and stimulating. Way to go, mountain lion webmeister! <G>

Isuzu

The Department is very pleased to announce that one of our newest alums, Mr. Jorge Campbell-Ulloa, was just hired for a position in GIS-based market area analysis for Isuzu Corporation. Congratulations!

Earth Science Associates

A small petroleum research/software development firm in Long Beach sought a part-time undergraduate or graduate student in geography or geology for administrative and research work. 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.

The Department is delighted to learn that our own Ms. Christiane Candelaria was the student chosen for this challenging position! Congratulations!

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

Lectures and Field Trips

Dr. Stephanie Pincetl

The Department of Geography and its Internship Program were delighted to sponsor a lecture on "Democracy and Local Control -- How Cities Are Governed!" by Dr. Stephanie Pincetl. Dr. Pincetl is Research Associate Professor of Geography; Adjunct Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Policy, Planning, and Development; and Program Coördinator for the Sustainable Cities Program at USC. Her presentation was held on Monday, 22 October 2001.

Dr. Robin T. Lee and Ms. Veronica Lopez

The Internship Program of the Department of Geography was proud to sponsor another lecture in the "Jobs in Geography" series. Dr. Robin T. Lee (Coördinator, Coöperative Education) and Ms. Veronica Lopez (Graduate Assistant) will present "Résumé Review, Interview Techniques, and How to Make the Most of Your Internship!" The presentation was held on Monday, 22 October 2001.

Understanding September 11

Dr. Vinnie Del Casino, together with several colleagues in several departments, put together a teach-in on the horrifying events of the 11th of September. The teach-in took place Wednesday, 10 October, 1-4 p.m. at the Speakers' Platform and was heavily attended (at least 1800 people took questionnaires with them). Dr. Del Casino led off as the first of the the featured speakers.

This event was organized by an ad hoc committee of the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Council, with thanks to Dr. Dee Abrahamse, Dean of CLA. Extra thanks to the Women's Studies Student Association and "the Clothesline Project" for sharing the speakers' platform space for this event. Co-sponsors include the History Students Association and the Spanish Club.

Ian Hanigan of the Long Beach Press-Telegram wrote a story entitled, "CSULB Holds Terror Forum," which ran in the Thursday, 11 October 2001 edition, on p. A4. The story reported on this three hour teach-in on the events of 11 September 2001, and our own Dr. Vincent Del Casino is quoted in the report! For more information, please click here.

Guests from Thomas Brothers Maps

Two representatives from Thomas Bros. Maps visited our campus Thursday, 17 May. Mr. Rob Jesesko, Director of Human Resources, and Ms. Nancy Yoho, Vice- President (and one of our alums), were our guests. The purpose of their visit was to meet with students, talk about Thomas Bros., and collect resumés for possible future employment. Dr. Judith Tyner's Cartography class hosted their talk, and Dr. Suzanne Wechsler organized the visit.

Ms. Angela Wranic

Ms. Angela Wranic, a chemist on the scientific staff at Planet Earth Tech and a lecturer in the Department of Geography, discussed her work and educational experiences for the Jobs in Geography lecture series. The talk was held on Monday, 7 May. Ms. Wranic holds an M.S. in Environmental Science and teaches physical geography courses here and at other local colleges. The Jobs in Geography lecture series is part of the Geography Department Internship Program. For more information on internships and the lecture series, please contact Dr. Suzanne Wechsler.

Dr. Vincent Del Casino

Dr. Vincent Del Casino gave a talk to the College of Education Brown Bag Series on Monday, 23 April. The talk was entitled, "Social Protest, Spatial Praxis, and the Teaching of Radical Geography in 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 the long tradition of interaction between the Geography and the History departments on this campus.

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler

Dean Abrahamse invited Dr. Wechsler to address the Emeritus Faculty Luncheon, which is a series of colloquia given to retired faculty and faculty participating in the Faculty Early Retirement Program. The purpose of the luncheon series is "Informal conversation and a program where three new junior faculty discuss their research with time for discussion about their experiences at CSULB." Dr. Wechsler discussed what geographical information systems are, what they can do, and the work she does to improve GIS' rôle in predicting stream runoff and flood hazard. The Emeritus Faculty Luncheon was held on April 20th. It's a small world after all: Dr. Wechsler knows the other two speakers from other contexts. She was a classmate of Dr. Sherry Span (Psychology) back at Tufts University, and Dr. Sara Goering (Philosophy) is co-advisor with her of the CSULB Golden Key National Honor Society!

Dr. Yonni Schwartz

Dr. Yonni Schwartz gave a talk to Dr. Unna Lassiter's Geography 100 course on 18 April 2001. Mr. Schwartz is a traveler extraordinaire, who rode on a horse through South America for two years, has hiked in the Himalayas several times, and guided other adventurers through the Sinai Desert. For this presentation, he focussed on Nepal, with slides showing the adjustments made by the Nepalese people to their difficult living conditions, conditions that have barely improved in the last decade since democracy. He also discussed some of the negative impacts of tourism, such as massive deforestation and landslides set off by the need to provide wood fuel for small inns where most foreign trekkers overnight.

Dr. Ren Vasiliev

Dr. Ren Vasiliev was our visiting professor in Spring 2001. She is the chair of the Department of Geography at the State University of New York at Geneseo and is here to do her sabbatical research (on the historical derivation of place names in New York). She also normally lives here each summer! She is interested in maps and cartography, and she gave an invited guest lecture to the department on 17 April. The title of her presentation was "Maps in Art/Maps as Art." Her exciting and provocative devil's advocate argument that map-like art objects are in fact maps set off a lively exchange among the audience about what exactly qualifies a representation of the terrain as an authentic map. The debate brought out the different constructions of the "map" among the geographic and the artistic communities. This was such a well-attended talk that people were turned away at the door for lack of space.

Dr. Judith Tyner

Dr. Tyner conducted a field trip for her Geography 482 ("Principles of Thematic Map Design") class to the famous mapping company, Thomas Bros. Dr. Suzanne Wechsler accompanied the class, and she and Dr. Tyner met with the new head of Human Relations there to learn his expectations of new hires there, which may lead to even more internship opportunities there.

Mr. Kris Jones

Mr. Kris Jones gave a talk to the Los Angeles Geographical Society on Friday, 6 April, at Los Angeles City College (for future reference, LACC is at 855 N. Vermont Ave., Franklin Hall, right on Vermont, and the talks are always held in Room 101). The title of his talk was "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.

Mr. James Woods

Mr. James Woods gave a guest presentation on the 17th of April concerning his award-winning atlas project, "Membership Analysis of the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific."

Ms. Fay Mancebo

Ms. Fay Mancebo gave a guest lecture on the 4th of April. The topic of her presentation was "Overview of Remote Sensing and GIS in the Philippines."

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue was one of a panel of eight hazards experts flown to St. Petersburg, Florida, by the Center for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. The panel reviewed 24 research proposals submitted for funding in order to recommend four or five that fit within the CDMHA budget. Dr. Rodrigue made presentations and moderated discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of three proposals.

Ms. Brandy Berker

Ms. Brandy Berker gave a talk in the "Jobs in Geography" series. Ms. Berker is a CSULB Geography Department alum, who now works for Earth Science Associates. ESA is a petroleum research and software development firm located in Long Beach, and Ms. Berker discussed her work and how her educational experiences relate to what she does now. ESA, by the way, is advertising for geography and geology students to work for them part-time and, later, full-time. Check out the announcement in the "Jobs" section above. Ms. Berker's talk is sponsored by the Geography Department Internship Program.

Dr. Frank Gossette

Dr. Frank Gossette gave a talk to the International Brown Bag Lunch Discussion Series on Wednesday, 14 March. His talk provided information 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.

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."

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

Changes among the Faculty

New Undergraduate Advisor!

Dr. Molly Debysingh will be assuming the position of Undergraduate Advisor during Fall of 2001. Dr. Debysingh's office is in LA4-103, and she can also be reached at (562) 985-4453 and debysing@csulb.edu. She will also serve as faculty advisor to the Geography Student Association.

New Graduate Advisor!

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue will serve as Graduate Advisor during 2001-02. Her office will be in LA4-105, and she can also be reached at (562) 985-4895 and rodrigue@csulb.edu.

Department Chair Changing of the Guard

Dr. Joel Splansky, who chairs the Department of Geography, has decided to enter the Faculty Early Retirement Plan (FERP). He will be taking every other semester off. As a result, he is stepping down as chair, effective late summer of 2001. In a triumph of democracy, Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue handily defeated Dr. Write-in Candidate to become the new department chair. On learning the results, Dr. Rodrigue commented, "Thank you. I think." She knows she has one tough act to follow! The department wishes to thank Dr. Splansky for his leadership in two years of unprecedented change and growth in the department.

Dr. Outwater Takes Administrative Leave

Dr. Richard Outwater has accepted appointment as the Associate Vice President, Academic Information Technology. 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.

Geography Welcomes New Human Geography Lecturer!

The Department of Geography is delighted to report the appointment of a new full-time human geography lecturer, Dr. Terence Young. Dr. Young comes to us with a B.A. in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Biogeography from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in Cultural-Environmental Geography from UCLA. His areas of specialization are the cultural aspects of North American recreational environments in urban, rural, and wildland settings. He has published in a range of academic journals and edited volumes, including a forthcoming article, "Moral Order, Language, and the Failure of the 1930 Recreation Plan for Los Angeles County" in Planning Perspectives and a book, The Parks of San Francisco, from the Johns Hopkins University Press. He has served as Acting Director of Studies in Landscape Architecture at Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks and as a Project Manager in the Sustainable Cities Program at USC. He has also held fellowships at Dumbarton Oaks, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, and at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. Dr. Young also has ten years teaching experience at Clemson University, George Washington University, Mary Washington College, UCLA, and USC with courses in cultural geography, environmental geography, history and philosophy of geography, geography of the US and Canada, historical geography of the US, historical-environmental geography of European expansion, urban geography, and world regional geography. Professor Young will be with us for one year to replace Dr. Outwater. Next semester, he is scheduled to teach Geography 100 ("World Regional Geography"), Geography 160 ("Human Geography"), and Geography 466 ("Principles of Urban Geography"). We are pleased to welcome Dr. Young!

Geography Welcomes New Physical Geography Lecturer!

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 is teaching introductory physical geography and climatology this semester and will also be doing people as agents of environmental change 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."

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

Social Events

Grad Student and Faculty Get-Together

There was a graduate student and faculty kick off get- together this weekend in Long Beach at E.J. Malloy's. Spotted enjoying the spectacular food and a lovely place were grad students Tim Anhorn, Samantha Antcliffe, Azis Bakkoury, Greg Bartleson, Gigi Burns, Thomas Ellrott, Debbie Hann, Shawn Healy (and guest), Daniel Hofer, Michael McDaniel, Keith Miller, Kathy Moriarty, Steve Newberg (and guest), Sarah Powers, Erin Stockenberg, Robert Neumann, and Lisa Pitts, as well as faculty members Molly Tyner, Richard Tyner, Vincent Tyner, Jim C. Tyner (and guest), Frank Tyner, Chrys Tyner, Terry Tyner (and guest), Kris Tyner, Jim W. Tyner, Suzanne Tyner, Judith Tyner, and Gerry Tyner. You had to have been there!

Many thanks to Dr. Vincent Del Casino for researching the possible venues and recommending a wonderful place! He is the consummate field geographer!

Dr. Unna Lassiter Visits Dr. Jean Wheeler

Dr. Unna Lassiter trekked out to Los Osos to visit Dr. Jean Wheeler, Professor Emerita, who retired in summer of 2000. The highlights of this visit were Dr. Wheeler's travel stories of heart-stopping adventures in the South Pacific, stepping over tiger snakes in Australia, and witnessing police brutality in Papua New Guinea. In Los Osos, Dr. Lassiter was also treated to a walk through Elfin Forest, a dense coastal grove of small oaks, that is home to rare and endangered species of plants and animals of the Morro Bay Estuary and that Dr. Wheeler has become active in protecting. While there, the two discussed Geography 326, Pacific Island Area, which Dr. Wheeler taught for many years and which Dr. Lassiter has been preparing lately.

Dr. Eugenie Rovai Visits Campus

Dr. Eugenie Rovai, incoming chair of the Department of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico, is visiting Dr. Chrys Rodrigue this week (25 June through 28 June), so that the two of them can work on the anthology on earthquake hazards they are putting together for Routledge Press.

Dr. Azary's Husband, Roger Lee, Is Fêted by NASA

Dr. Irisita Azary reports that she, her husband, Roger Lee, and their son, Alexander Lee, trekked to Washington, D.C. While there, Roger Lee, was honored with a "Mid-Level Management" award from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Congratulations! Dr. Azary took Alexander to the Museum of Natural History in D.C. Here is a picture of them at the museum, and is that kid ever a cutie! Dr. Azary comments that he's already half as tall as she is!

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.

Dr. Azary Becomes a Mom!!!

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 is 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 had a 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. 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!

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Upcoming Conferences, Calls for Papers, Contests

Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research

The ninth annual Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research (SCCUR 2001) will be hosted by UCLA on 3 November 2001. The purpose of SCCUR is to celebrate research by undergraduates in a variety of disciplines from colleges and universities in the region. SCCUR was hosted by CSULB last year. It was an extremely worthwhile event, and over forty CSULB undergraduates and faculty members participated.

Presentations in ALL fields are encouraged, from biochemistry to Chicano/a Studies, philosophy to neuroscience, economics to poetry, microbiology to history. Details about the daylong conference are now available at: http://www.college.ucla.edu/ugresearch/sccur.html.

Thanks to Dr. Beth Ambos, Department of Geosciences and Acting Associate Dean, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, for bringing this opportunity to our attention!

URISA Conference

The Urban and Regional Information Systems Assocation (URISA) is holding its 39th annual conference here in Long Beach, 24-29 October 2001!!! It will be held at the Long Beach Convention Center. Registration is $132 for professional members of URISA and $68 for students (and there is a discounted membership program available if you join and register for the Long Beach meeting by the 17th of September).

And URISA really needs student volunteers, too!!! Students who agree to volunteer just 16 hours (or more) receive FREE full registration (up to a $345 value!!!). To sign up, please send a message to Cheryl Hickam, Student Volunteer Coördinator, at clhickam@csupomona.edu, containing the following information:

Name
Organization (CSULB)
Address
City, State, ZIP
Telephone
Fax (you may use ours for this purpose: 562 985-9883)
E-mail

You can also reach her at (909) 869-4575 and fax her at (909) 869-4908. For more information about the conference, please visit: http://www.urisa.org/2001AnnualConference/program.htm.

International Conference on Human Geography: The Third U.S. - China Symposium

The Department of Geography at California State University, Northridge, is hosting the International Conference on Human Geography: The Third U.S. - China Symposium, from the 8th through the 10th of November, at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills (in the southwestern San Fernando Valley off the 101). Everyone is invited to attend.

So far, more than sixty Chinese geographers have registered for this conference. Their names and the abstracts of their papers can be read at: http://www.csun.edu/geography/conference.html.

The deadline for submitting abstracts for North American colleagues is 15 September 2001. Registration for North American colleagues is $50. For students, registration is only $30.

The preliminary program is:

• Thursday, 8 November: One day tour of Los Angeles and evening reception
• Friday, 9 November: Opening ceremony, paper session, evening banquet
• Saturday, 10 November: Paper session, closing ceremony

For more information, please feel free to contact the organizer, Dr. I-Shou Wang.

Association of American Geographers

The AAG will be holding its annual national conference in Los Angeles (at the Westin Bonaventure downtown) next year from March 19-23! The call for papers is out now and available in the AAG Newsletter and at http://www.aag.org/PDF/cfp2002.pdf. The AAG looks to the geographers and geography departments in the area to develop field trips in the local area, so, if you have a great field trip you'd like to showcase nationally, you might start thinking about proposing it to the AAG. Also, there are a whole bunch of student competitions. You can learn more about the meeting at: http://www.aag.org/AnnualMeetings/Intro.html.

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