January 22, 2025
Marcellus Caldas appointed interim head of geography and geospatial sciences
Marcellus Caldas, professor of geography, has been named interim head of Kansas State University's geography and geospatial sciences department by Chris Culbertson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, effective Jan. 5.
Caldas joined the geography department in 2008 and has recently been serving as its graduate program director. He has also served as the university's director of international research and chaired the Faculty Affairs Committee of Faculty Senate. He served K-State as assistant provost for international collaboration and education programs from 2013 to 2024.
As an environmental and economic geographer, Caldas studies the interaction of social, economic and environmental processes. He is interested in land system science, especially in understanding the drivers of land use and land cover change and the effects of wildfire on farmers and biodiversity conservation and policies. His research has focused on forest frontier of Latin America, especially in the Brazilian Amazon, but he has also worked in the Brazilian Cerrado and the U.S. Great Plains.
Caldas is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he received the 2022 ENLACES Award from the Conference of Latin American Geographers and the 2013 K-State International Educator of the Year Award.
"Dr. Caldas is a distinguished researcher with substantial administrative experience, and we thank him for being willing to lead the department during this transitional period," Culbertson said.
Caldas has doctoral degrees in applied economics and geography from the University of São Paulo and Michigan State University, respectively. He received postdoctoral training at the Center for International Development in Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from Catholic University, in Brazil, and a master's degree in agricultural economics from the Federal University of Vicosa, also in Brazil.