Kansas State University

Geography faculty, graduate students present at national conference

Submitted by Chuck Martin

Faculty and graduate students from the geography department participated in the annual Association of American Geographers meeting from April 8-12 in Tampa, Fla. The meetings are the largest annual gathering of professional geographers in North America. The following faculty and graduate students made presentations at the meetings:  

Kyle Anibas, graduate student, presented "An Analysis of Land Cover and Habitat Change in Volyn, Ukraine: The Effect of the Fall of the Soviet Union."

Lynn Brien, graduate student; Kevin Price, professor; and colleague M.B. Bethel presented "A Remote Sensing-Based Method for Mapping Vegetation Biophysical  Characteristics Related to Nutrient Enrichment in a Coastal Louisiana Marsh."

Ben Champion, ancillary assistant professor and director of K-State sustainbility, presented "Institutionalizing Sustainability: Leadership in a Public Land-Grant University."

Julie Commerford, graduate student, presented "Python Applications for Geospatial Pollen Analysis." 

Gabriel Granco, graduate student, and Marcellus M. Caldas, assistant professor, presented "Is Sugarcane a New Driver of LUCC Change in the Cerrado?"

Bartosz Grudzinski, graduate student; Melinda Daniels, adjunct associate professor; Anibas; and colleague M. Rawitch presented "Influence of  Watershed Grazing Management on Baseflow Suspended Sediment Dynamics in Grassland Headwater Streams."  

Brandon Haddock, graduate student, presented "Keeping the Circle: Examining Rural Sexuality and Gender Identity in Sustainability Practices."   

John A. Harrington Jr., professor, presented "Variability and Exceptionalism in Sustainability."

Ian Howard, graduate student, and Harrington presented "A Synoptic Climatology of Nocturnal Rainfall Events for Northeast Kansas, 1950-2012."

Bohua Ling, graduate student, presented "Estimating Leaf Nitrogen Content of Mixed  Grass Species Using PROSPECT Model."

Max Lu, associate professor, and colleagues J. Yang and M. Guo presented "The Drivers of Rapid Urbanization in Post-Reform China."

Richard Marston, university distinguished professor, presented "Meander Migration and Associated Farmland Loss, Big Blue River, Kansas."

Heidi Mehl, graduate student, presented "Land Tenure and Watershed Restoration on a Fractionated Indian Reservation."

Bimal K. Paul, professor, presented "Determinants of Tornado Safety Measure Implementation:  The Case of Joplin, Missouri."

Jeffrey Smith, associate professor, presented "North America’s Colonial European Roots, 1492-1867."

Lisa Tabor, graduate student, and Harrington presented "Advancing the Teaching of History and Geography in the K-12 Classroom Using Dual-Encoding and Geographic Information Systems."

William Wetherholt, graduate student, presented "A Humanistic Approach Toward the Sustainability of America’s Great Plains."  

The following geography department faculty and graduate students served as discussants, chairs, or organizers for panels or sessions at the conference:

Caldas, panelist for "Pan-American Geography: Working across Academic, Non-Profit, and Public Sectors to Enrich Research and Education in the Americas."

Champion, ancillary assistant professor, organizer and chair for "Sustainability and Education."

Commerford, graduate student, discussant for "Integrating Careers Awareness and Preparedness into the Geography Curriculum."

Gabriel Granco, graduate student, and Caldas, organizer and chair, both for "Large-Scale Farming and Landscape Change in the Brazilian Savanna."

Harrington, organizer, chair and discussant; and Ian Howard, graduate student, discussant, both for "Building the Body of Climate Knowledge."

Lisa Butler Harrington, professor, organizer for "Perspectives on Rural Sustainability: Scale and Place I — Livelihoods"; organizer for "Perspectives on Rural Sustainability: Scale and Place II — U.S. Regional Situations"; organizer for "Perspectives on Rural Sustainability: Scale and Place III — Concepts and Concerns"; organizer for "Perspectives on Rural Sustainability: Scale and Place IV — Concepts and Concerns"; organizer for "Sustainability and Education"; and panelist for "At What Scales Should Sustainability be Examined, Acted Upon or Evaluated?" 

Marston, chair for "The Natural and Human Structuring of Rivers and Other Geomorphic Systems I: A Special Session in Honor of Will Graf"; organizer and discussant for "Mountain Geography: Physical and Human Dimensions"; discussant for "Mountain Landscapes and Communities in a Changing World"; and discussant for "IEG."

Lis Pankl, graduate student, panelist for "Teaching Geography Critically II."

Paul, panelist for "Coastal Hazards, Risks, and Disasters: Enhancing Safety in an Era of Global Change."

Wetherholt, organizer and chair for "New Voices in Rural Geography."