Geography Department News

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

as of 25 August 2009

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Welcome (Back) to 2009-2010!

As you've all heard, the State fiscal fiasco has broken like a tsunami over the heads of everyone here at The Beach. Students are paying drastically more, faculty and staff are being "furloughed," and classes have been cut. The campus has tried to be as judicious as possible, prioritizing the preservation of classes seniors need to complete their majors this year, making sure froshies have enough classes to build full schedules, and trying to track courses so that everyone can complete their degrees without delay. Geography undergraduates should be sure to check with Dr. Deborah Thien to make sure they're taking the courses they need in the sequence that will ensure timely degree completion. Environmental Science and Policy undergraduates need to do the same, consulting with Dr. Paul Laris to get through everything on a reasonable schedule. Graduate students need to stay in touch with Dr. Christopher Lee in the fall and Dr. Chrys Rodrigue in the spring. GIScience Certificate students should talk with Dr. Suzanne Wechsler and Urban Studies Certificate students with Dr. Dmitrii Sidorov. Dr. Vin Del Casino has done backbreaking work to keep our class schedule focussed on student needs, and you need to do your part by consulting with the appropriate advisor to navigate your way through. Here are the contacts for each advisor:

• Dr. Deborah Thien, LA4-206B, (562) 985-7072, dthien@csulb.edu (Geography undergraduates)
• Dr. Paul Laris, LA4-101E, (562) 985-1862, plaris@csulb.edu (ES&P and Geography undergraduates)
• Dr. Chris Lee, LA4-205, (562) 985-2358, clee@csulb.edu (Geography graduate students, Fall 2009, and Intelligence certificate)
• Dr. Chrys Rodrigue, LA4-103W, (562) 985-4895, rodrigue@csulb.edu (Geography graduate students, Spring 2010)
• Dr. Suzanne Wechsler, LA4-206E, (562) 985-2356, wechsler@csulb.edu (GIScience certificate)
• Dr. Dmitrii Sidorov, LA4-206C, (562) 985-1988 dsidorov@csulb.edu (Urban Studies certificate)

Here are some useful forms that can help you stay on track through our undergraduate major and graduate program:

• https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geography/geogba5stepplan.doc
• https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geography/advising/plantoMAdegree.pdf

New Faculty Joining Us!

All is not glum news and disciplined scheduling! Geography is absolutely delighted to welcome two new tenure-track faculty this fall:

• Dr. Jacqueline W. Mills earned her Ph.D. in 2005 from Louisiana State University, the very year that Katrina made landfall. The new Dr. Mills flew into action as it became evident that local and state governments were completely overwhelmed and the Federal government response was in shaky hands. She and several colleagues put together a spatial data clearinghouse to get GIS and other space and time sensitve information into the hands of the responding agencies in common formats so that they wouldn't have to waste their overtaxed labor time figuring out common spatial languages. Dr. Mills later took up a research professorship at USC, where she has immersed herself in the peculiar hazards mixes of Southern California and the plethora of involved agencies. She is an expert in GIS, applications of GIS (especially in hazards and health issues), and ethical implications of spatial data.
• Dr. Hyowon Ban has just finished her Ph.D. at Ohio State! The ink is still drying on the parchment. She brings expertise in cartography, geovisualization, and GIS to our program. She is particularly interested in concepts, such as "exurbanization," that are inherently fuzzy conceptually and programming visualization systems that allow end users to see the spatial implications of a wide array of realizations of these "fuzzy-set" concepts without having to become GIS experts themselves. The concepts can be left in their natural fuzzy form and yet can still be analyzed spatially. Dr. Ban has also developed an interest in GIS applications in the arts, notably choreography and dance.

Welcome aboard!

Graduate Student Alumnus Has a Publication!

Mr. Douglas E. Fetters earned his master's degree in Geography in 2008. He has just had a publication come out based on his thesis work! The paper is entitled, "Railroad Abandonment: A Catalyst for Urban Renewal in the San Fernando Valley, California," and it appeared in the Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers in 2009. You can read the abstract here. Congratulations, Mr. Fetters!

Graduate Student Ms. Ngo and Dr. Thien Also Have a Publication!

Ms. Mary Ngo, graduate student in Geography, and Dr. Deborah Thien just published a research paper, "Interconnecting Spaces: Truck Drivers, Diesel Pollution, and Networking in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles" in the Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. You can access the abstract at this link. The Beach is all OVER the APCG!

Dr. Thien Also Has a Publication!

Dr. Deborah Thien and Dr. Jonathan Pugh (Newcastle University) just published "Long Beach Gets Radical: Stretching the Spaces of Radical Politics" in the Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. You can read the abstract by clicking here. Cool!

Geography Hosts Workshop on Women and Public Leadership

Dr. Deborah Thien is the US Node Director of the Spaces of Democracy and the Democracy of Space Network. Together with Drs. Unna Lassiter and Bipasha Baruah, she organized the second SDDSN workshop to be hosted by CSULB Geography. This is the Making It Happen: Women and Public Leadership, held in the Multicultural Center, 25-27 June. The conference flyer is available at https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geography/spaces/womenandpublicleadership.pdf

Ms. Ngo Wins a Pruitt Fellowship!

The Department is proud to announce that graduate student, Ms. Mary Ngo, has been awarded a Pruitt National Minority Fellowship from the Society of Woman Geographers. The purpose of the $1,500 fellowship is to support Ms. Ngo's master's thesis research project. Thanks to Dr. Deborah Thien for this news item and for sponsoring Ms. Ngo's application. Congratulations!

Drs. Del Casino and Brooks Have a New Baby!

Geography Department chair, Dr. Vincent Del Casino, and Communication Studies Assistant Professor, Dr. Catherine Brooks, have a new baby, Ms. Catherine Frances Del Casino (aka "Baby Cate")! Cate was born on June 11th, clearly a morning person (7:52 a.m.), weighing 7 lb., 15 oz., and 20.5" tall. Her older brother, Salvatore, is thrilled, asking to hold her and help out! Here is a picture of the two sibs:

Congratulations to the whole family!

Mr. Weber Wins the Beaton Award!

The Department is delighted to report that graduate student, Mr. Patrick Weber, won first place (and a $125 prize) in the Joe Beaton Professional Poster Competition at the California Geographical Society annual meeting this May in Solvang. The title of his winning poster is "Community gardening in South-Central Los Angeles." Good show!

GDEP 2009 Launches!

The Geosciences Diversity Enhancement Project Track 2 launched its second summer of intense research immersion for students from local community colleges and high schools, along with faculty from CSULB and the partnering institutions. This summer, there are four projects: one on the biogeography of Palos Verdes Peninsula led by Drs. Chrys Rodrigue and Paul Laris, one on the geology of the Peninsula led by Drs. Greg Holk and Tom Kelty (Geological Sciences), one on the palæoenvironments of the Eastern Sierra Nevada led by Dr. Lora Stevens (Geological Sciences), and, going much farther afield, one on Rapa Nui or Easter Island, led by Drs. Carl Lipo (Archæology), Chris Lee, and Suzanne Wechsler. GDEP ran from 29 June through 7 August, when all the projects presented posters and short talks describing their research at an on-campus symposium.

Commencement

A fabulous time was had by all on Thursday, 28 May 2009, as the Department of Geography bid farewell to its many graduates. Go on and do great things, and make sure to let us know what you're doing, as we really want to know how your Geography education is holding up in the "real world"! Thanks to Mr. James Woods, we caught a bunch of you at our party and at graduation. Check out http://www.csulb.edu/~jwoods/dept/Grad_09/!

Geography Spring Banquet

The Department of Geography held its (in)famous Spring Banquet on the 15th of May! Some of the special events included the "Star Trek" showcase and Dr. Del Casino's wonderful roast of Dr. Frank Gossette on the occasion of his retirement. Most importantly, the Department called attention to all the students winning awards this year. Receiving special note:

• Ms. Susan E. Timm, recipient of the College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Thesis Award
• Ms. Annette Quintero, winner of the CSULB University Service Award
• Ms. Dalia Hernandez, winner of the Department's Eileen Johansen Award
• Mr. Briton Voorhees, winner of the Department's Burton Anderson Award
• Ms. Doris Dialogu, winner of the Department's Rodney Steiner Award

• Winners of the Exceptional Student Awards for earning cumulative GPAs of at least 3.75 throughout their careers here:
  • Mr. John Fawcett
  • Ms. Janice Kentala
  • Ms. Katie Sims
  • Ms. Jennifer Tamura
  • Mr. Kentaro Iwamoto

• The Geography Department Finalists for the College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Baccalaureate were:
  • Ms. Janice Kentala
  • Ms. Jennifer Tamura

• The Geography Department Distinguished Undergraduates were:
  • Mr. Scott Suzawa
  • Ms. Samantha Roth

Ms. Quintero Earns a University Achievement Award!

Ms. Annette Quintero is a post-baccalaureate GIScience Certificate student, who has just learned that she is receiving a University Achievement Award for her community service work. She will be fêted on Tuesday, 19 May, from 4-6 p.m., in the Pointe at the Pyramid! Congratulations for earning this distinction!

Geography @ The Beach Pwns the LAGS Next Year!

CSULB Geography is a recurrent theme at the LAGS next year. On the program in October is Dr. Bipasha Baruah, speaking about "Slumdogs and millionaires: Making sense of contemporary India." In December, it's Mr. James Woods, who will be the annual banquet keynote speaker, with "A photographic safari to Tanzania and Kenya." Also on the program, in March, is Mr. Matt Ebiner of El Camino College, who sometimes teaches here. He'll discuss "Arabian opposites: Yemen and Dubai." In April, Dr. Ray Sumner, from Long Beach City College, who also sometimes teaches here and is a faculty partner in the Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Program, will present the summer 2009 GDEP project as "Easter Island: Mysteries and adventures of Rapa Nui." For the full program, you can visit http://www.lageographic.org/newsletters/LAGS- Newsletter(April09).pdf.

CLA Outstanding Thesis Award: Lightning Strikes Twice Twice!

The Department of Geography is very proud to announce that Ms. Susan E. Timm has earned the College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Master's Thesis Award for her thesis, Using Remote Sensing, GIS, and Landscape Ecology Techniques in Wildland Management. This is the fourth year in a row that Geography theses have won this honor (after Dr. Mike McDaniel, Mr. Scott Eckardt, and Ms. Deborah Hann). Congratulations to you and to the members of your committee, Drs. Chris Lee (chair), Suzanne Wechsler, and Rick Behl (from the Department of Geological Sciences).

GDEP/LSAMP Field Trip to Palos Verdes

The departments of Geography and Geological Sciences have teamed up to design and carry out a major NSF-funded project called the Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Program (https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geography/gdep/), which brings community college and high school students to The Beach in the summer to work with their own faculty and CSULB faculty on various geoscience-related projects in the region, hopefully convincing them they really want to become geographers, geologists, geoarchæologists, or environmental scientists. Part of GDEP is a collaboration with the CSULB Lewis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP). LSAMP runs a Summer Calculus Workshop to prepare minority students with interests in the sciences to do well in Calculus I and Calculus II. The students are exposed to various sciences, including a field trip with the GDEP faculty, where they learn about what physical geographers and geologists do out in the field and how math helps them. One of these was held on July the 18th, this time to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, where students learned about the Portuguese Bend landslide, the stratigraphy responsible for it, California sage scrub and invasive exotic species, and plate tectonic history and how to use GPS units. The trip was led by Dr. Chrys Rodrigue (Geography) and Drs. Greg Holk and Tom Kelty (Geological Sciences). A highlight this year was Dr. Rodrigue rescuing a scruffy little pigeon that had been dropped by a butterfingered hawk into the parking lot at Point Fermin in front of her car: She reports that "Pedro" survived his misadventure and is happily housekeeping with one of her pet pigeons (don't ask!).

Mike Davis Talk

The Department of Geography was delighted to host Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz, Ecology of Fear, Late Victorian Holocausts, and Planet of Slums. He spoke on Monday the 16th of March to a packed LH-150 about "Obama at Manassas," the title of his recent article in New Left Review, which you can read at http://www.newleftreview.org/?page=article&view=2769. His talk took on the issues of the mortgage meltdown, the financial bailout, and the constraints on President Obama in dealing with them. He then discussed the basis of the president's victory in November in the changing geographies of economic distress and migration, and compared the emerging geography with those of other tilt point elections defining political generations, notably FDR's and Ronald Reagan's. Many thanks to Mr. James Woods for organizing this special event.

The Association of American Geographers

The Association of American Geographers for a week in Spring 2009 in Las Vegas, and a pack of Beach geographers were off giving papers and panels. Among the delegation will be our chair, Dr. Vin Del Casino, and Drs. Chrys Rodrigue, Suzanne Dallman, Christy Jocoy, and Deborah Thien and Mr. Norm Carter, as well as incoming faculty Ms. Hyowon Ban and graduate students Ms. Mary Ngo, Mr. Gregory Ziolkowski, Ms. Cynthia Schantz, and Mr. Kevin Flaherty. Sometime part-time faculty, Dr. Ray Sumner, is also presenting, as is Dr. Richard Marcus, one of the faculty in the CSULB International Studies Program, where a couple of the Geography faculty teach. One of our recent alums is also on the program, Ms. Nazanin Naraghi (who is working on her Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada).

The British Association of Slavonic and East European Studies

Dr. Dmitrii Sidorov gave a paper at the BASEES in March, "Post-Soviet Russian Orthodox geopolitics of the Cold War." He spent the spring semester in London managing the CSULB Study Abroad program there!

The Western Social Science Association

With Dr. Eugenie Rovai of Chico State, Dr. Chrys Rodrigue gave a paper at the WSSA in Albuquerque this April on "Marijuana cultivation in National Forests and Parks, environmental impacts, and policy failure: Disaster by management."

Dr. Rodrigue Wins a Sabbatical

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue won a sabbatical. She is off in Fall 2009, pursuing her interest in the geography of Mars! Field work is really challenging!

Mr. Woods Wins Best in Show!

Mr. James Woods has long had an interest in photography, and his work has just won him (another) prize: He won "Best in Show" in the juried digital photography contest "Say Cheese Long Beach" organized by Justin Rudd's non-profit Community Action Team (CAT). You can see his winning image here. As you can see there, Woody won $250. Maybe he'll spring for a round at the Nugget? <G>

Ms. Hyowon Ban Hits the Ground Running

Ms. Hyowon Ban, one of our new faculty joining us in August, has just had a lead-authored paper, "Representing and negotiating uncertain geospatial concepts," come out in the journal Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems. The print edition is still forthcoming, but it came out online in December, and you can get to it through our library's electronic collection. The digital object identifier (doi) is 10.1016/j.comenvurbsys.2008.10.001. Congratulations to you and to Dr. Ola Ahlqvist!

Dr. Jacqueline Mills Also Keeps the Presses Running

Dr. Jacqueline Mills, our other new assistant professor joining us in August, has just had a book review come out in GIS Transactions in late 2008 (issue 5). The book she reviewed was Geospatial Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide to Principles, Techniques, and Software Tools, 2nd Ed., by Michael J. de Smith, Michael F. Goodchild, and Paul A. Longley. Sounds like a nice addition to the libraries of GIScience students? Congratulations!

Dr. Laris Has Four More Articles!

Dr. Paul Laris has had a banner year in terms of publications. He just published "An anthropogenic escape route from the "Gulliver Syndrome" in the West African savanna" in the December 2008 issue of Human Ecology. With Paul Klepeis (Colgate University), he published "Estancias, hobby ranching, and Chile's land reform legacy in The Geographical Review in the July "Land Reform" special issue. In May, he and graduate student, Aziz Bakkoury, published "Nouvelles leçons d'une vieille pratique: mosaïque du feu dans la savane du Mali" in Bois et Forêts des Tropiques. In January, William Mosely (Macalester College) and he published "West African environmental narratives and development-volunteer praxis," also in The Geographical Review, back in January. Congratulations on a fabulous year!

Dr. James Curtis' Work Published and Republished This Year

With Daniel Arreola (Arizona State University) and Dr. James R. Curtis publisheed "Border towns" in The Borderlands: An Encylopedia of Culture and Politics on the U.S.-Mexico Divide, an anthology edited by Andrew G. Wood and published by Greenwood Press. One of his classic and often-cited pieces, "Yard shrines in Miami's Little Havana" (originally in the first issue of the Journal of Cultural Geography in 1980), was re-published in Southern Crossroads: Perspectives on Southern Religion and Culture, an anthology edited by Walter H. Conser and Rodger M. Payne, and published by the University of Kentucky Press. Bravo!

Dr. Baruah Also Has Publications out!

Dr. Bipasha Baruah published "Gender and globalization: Opportunities and constraints faced by women in the construction industry in India." This paper came out in Labor Studies Journal in November. In addition, she published two book reviews. One was of The Making of Neoliberal India: Nationalism, Gender, and the Paradoxes of Globalization by R. Oza, and it came out in the journal, Gender, Place, and Culture. The other was of Public Problems -- Private Solutions? Globalizing Cities in the South, ed. K. Segbers, S. Raiser, and K. Volkmann. This review was published in Progress in Development Studies.

Dr. Dallman Has a 2008 Publication, Too!

Dr. Suzanne Dallman has a paper entitled, "GIS modeling for stormwater and groundwater management," out in a yearbook: Proceedings, American Water Resources Association Spring Specialty Conference, GIS and Water Resources.

And So Does Dr. Rodrigue

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue wrote an article on "Animal domestications" for the 2nd edition of Encyclopædia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, which was edited by Helaine Selin and published by Springer in 2008. Additionally, her article "Geography from the back of the AAG program: Is geography what we say or what we do?" just came out in 2009 in The California Geographer.

And Dr. Sidorov Is Published, Too!

Dr. Dmitrii Sidorov published "Corporatisation of urban space and the emergence of civil society in Post-Soviet Moscow" in Alfa Spectra: Central European Journal of Architecture and Planning earlier this year. He also published a book review of The Landscape of Stalinism: The Art and Ideology of Soviet Space, ed. E. Dobrenko and E. Naiman. His review was published in Historical Geography.

Dr. Thien Has a Book Review

Dr. Deborah Thien published "Disenchanting democracy," a review of the book, On the Political by Chantal Mouffe. This review came out in Area.

Joining the Mob of 2008 Authors Are Drs. Del Casino and Jocoy

Drs. Vincent Del Casino and Christine Jocoy published a joint project, "Neoliberal subjectivities, the 'new' homelessness, and struggles over spaces of/in the city," in Antipode this spring. Dr. Del Casino also published the 3rd edition of his popular Study Guide and Mapping Workbook: World Regions in Global Context.

Mr. Woods Has a Map Publication as Well

Mr. James Woods' map, "Death penalty executions in the United States" was used as a figure in Michael Kimmel's and Amy Aronson's textbook, Sociology Now.

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

 

Jobs

Part-Time Lecturing at CSULB

The Department of Geography at CSULB may have part-time lectureships available for Spring 2010, depending on the State budget and grant and contract activity. For more information on the positions and the application process, please contact the department chair, Dr. Vincent Del Casino at vdelcasi@csulb.edu or (562) 985-2357.

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

 

Faculty Advising

Graduate Advisors

In Fall 2009, Dr. Christopher T. Lee will resume graduate advising while Dr. Rodrigue is on sabbatical. He can be reached at clee@csulb.edu or (562) 985-2358, and his office is in LA4-205.

Undergraduate Advisors

Dr. Deborah Thien is the undergraduate advisor for Geography for 2009-10. She can be reached at dthien@csulb.edu or (562) 985-7072, and her office is in LA4-206B.

Dr. Paul Laris is the undergraduate advisor for ES&P for 2009-10. He can be reached at plaris@csulb.edu or (562) 985-1862 or LA4-101E.

Internship and GIS Certificate Program Director

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler is the Director of the Internship Program and the GIScience Certificate Program 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)

October 2009

The Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

The Association of Pacific Coast Geographers will hold its next meeting from 30 September through 3 October in San Diego. Details are at: http://geography.sdsu.edu/apcg/.

The North American Cartographic Information Society

NACIS is holding its meeting October 7th through the 10th in Sacramento. Details are at: http://www.nacis.org.

December 2009

The American Geophysical Union

The AGU will hold its Fall meeting from the 14th through the 18th of December at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The deadline to submit an abstract is 3 September 2009 at 23:59. Details are at: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm09/.

April 2010

Association of American Geographers

The AAG will hold its annual meeting from the 14th through the 18th of April in Washington, D.C. The deadline to submit an abstract is 28 October 2009. Details are at: http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2010/index.htm.

Western Social Science Association

The WSSA will hold its meeting from the 14th through the 18th of April in Reno. The deadline to submit an abstract is 1 December 2009. Details are at: http://wssa.asu.edu/conferences/default.htm.

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

Have Any News Items You Want to Share?

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

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