Lindley Hall, home of the Department of Geography

Geography Faculty

Spring Art on the Lawn

Greetings! We welcome your interest in the faculty, students, and activities of the Department of Geography at KU, and hope that our Web site provides you with a comprehensive sense of the things that interest us and the things we do. For those things that pique your interest or intrigue you, we invite you to contact us directly - we will be happy to respond personally.

News and Events

Spring Colloquium Schedule

4/26 Prof. Eduardo Santos, Kansas State University
4 pm, 317 Lindley
Investigating the CO2 exchange between ecosystems and atmosphere using stable isotopes and micrometeorological techniques

Congratulations to Jerry Dobson

who has garnered quite a bit of attention with his book "The Waters of Chaos" including the following URL of his presentation at the Dole center for those that missed it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVrME0nQ9uY&feature=youtu.be

In addition he was represented in the Lawrence Journal World:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/apr/12/ku-professor-hopes-shake-some-people-novel-tells-a/

and the University Daily Kansan (student newspaper):

http://kansan.com/news/2013/04/17/university-professors-book-provides-compelling-ideas/

James Shortridge - Kansas City and How It Grew: 1822-2011

Dear Professor Shortridge:

As chair of the AAG¹s Jackson Prize committee, I am very pleased to
inform you that your book, Kansas City and How It Grew, 1822-2011, is the
recipient of the 2012 J. B. Jackson Prize. On behalf of the committee,
let me extend to you our enthusiastic congratulations!

Your book was a pleasure to read and it represents a splendid and
insightful interpretation of Kansas City¹s geographical development. It
is the kind of book that, I suspect, J. B. Jackson would have read with
great satisfaction.

Craig E. Colten
Chair, Jackson Prize Committee

KU Geography Professor Dr. Jerry Dobson will discuss his new action adventure/alternative history novels (which he co-authored with twin brother Jeff Dobson) Waters of Chaos: The Modern Quest and The Waters of Chaos: The Ancient Saga.

A local newspaper in Silva, North Carolina has published an article about Deborah Kirk’s field research for her M.A. thesis on Cherokee sacred sites in the region.

Congratulations to Prof. William I. Woods on his honorary doctorate from Uppsala University.

Pete Shortridge featured in this month's Kansas Alumni Magazine.

Congratulations to Ashley Zung on her 3rd place finish in the student paper contest for the S-5 Pedology division at the 2012 Soil Science Society of America conference.

Congratulations to Leiqiu Hu on receiving a graduate visitor award at NCAR this summer!

James Shortridge - Kansas City and How It Grew: 1822-2011

For prize-winning geographer James Shortridge, Kansas City is more than the sum of cultural icons like barbecue, jazz, and sports teams. In his new book he explores more than a century of change and how Kansas City came to look and function the way it does.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/10/3911156/readorama.html

From Jerry Dobson:

Please join me in congratulating Stephanie Kozak who won 1st place in this year's student paper competition at the joint West Lakes/East Lakes AAG Divisions Meeting, held October 25-27, 2012, at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. I am triply pleased because, in addition to our KU connection, Steph is a Graduate Research Fellow at the American Geographical Society and co-author (with me and others) of a forthcoming report on the AGS Geographic Knowledge and Values Survey. Her student paper was the first public presentation of the survey's results. The survey was conducted by AGS with NSF funding, and the results are astoundingly supportive of geography.

An auspicious beginning, indeed, for the survey and for her career.

Congratulations to Aaron Taveras, Geography MA student, on winning the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Student Poster & Map Competition this past week at the annual NACIS meeting in Portland, OR. This year’s competition was one of the largest in the organizations history. His map “Humboldt Bay, California” will be on display in the department later this week.

Also Bryant Huether, BA Geography 2012, submitted his poster, “University of Kansas Men’s Basketball Program”. Even though he didn’t win, he didn’t go away empty handed. It’s not every day that someone wants to purchase a poster that has been submitted for a student poster competition. Gotta love KU basketball fans.

Congratulations to Alex Diener. Diener has co-authored a new book in the popular “A Very Short Introduction” series, published by Oxford University Press in September. Denier co-authored “Borders: A Very Short Introduction” with Joshua Hagen of Marshall University.

	Congratulations to Barney Warf on the publication of his new book "Global Geographies of the Internet."

With maps, researcher aims to bridge gap between scientists, indigenous experts

KU forecasters provide front-line defense against nation's severe weather.

Kansas Alumni magazine, No. 3 2012

Guest Lecture – Minerva Fellow - West Point Academy.
On 20 March 2012, the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at West Point Military Academy welcomed Dr. Makame Muhajir (Ph.D. May 2011) to the Academy for a short visit. Dr. Muhajir has been selected as the 2012-2013 Minerva Fellow in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Muhajir toured the Academy grounds, participated in a Minerva Initiative office call with BG Trainor, gave a presentation to faculty on urban planning in Zanzibar, and joined other USMA Minerva personnel for lunch at the West Point Club. Dr. Muhajir will return to USMA in April for the Minerva Workshop and hopes to be in residence at the Academy beginning in April.

Congratulations to Nathan Wendt, one of our undergraduate ATMO students, who received the K. Vic Ooyama Scholarship ($2000) from the American Meteorological Society.

Congratulations to Bill Johnson on winning the Steeples Service to Kansans award.

	Associate Dean Bob Goldstein presented the Steeples Service to Kansans Award to Dr. Johnson during a faculty meeting.	The surprise patrol of the College is visiting departments this spring to present awards to faculty for excellent advising, teaching and research.	The Steeples award recognizes outstanding service by KU faculty to other Kansans.

Will Price has received a 2012 Summer Research Fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies. Congratulations Will!

Our Atmospheric Sciences Program was chosen as this year’s Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award winner.

	Dean Danny Anderson recognizes the Atmospheric Sciences program with the Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award. Dr. Terry Slocum and Dr. Donna Tucker were there to represent the program from the Department of Geography, University of Kansas. Karen Ledom, Interim Director of the College's undergraduate office, was also on hand.	Dean Anderson presents the award to Dr. Tucker and Dr. Slocum.

Congratulations to Jay Johnson, Johannes Feddema, Lara O'Brien, and Stephen Egbert on their interdisciplinary research grant awards from The Commons.

Congratulations to Adam R. Smith, Atmospheric Science senior, on being named KU's first Student Employee of the Year!

Congratulations to Vijay Barve. He has been selected to participate in Google Summer of Code 2012. [http://code.google.com/soc/] This is a summer internship program supported by Google through Open Source Software organisations.

	Congratulations to Cody Lown on winning the LaTina Sullivan Memorial Award for Leadership at the McNair Scholars Program banquet.

KU meteorology students crazy about the chase.

The Russian Geographical Society (RGS) has awarded Mike Bergervoet a fellowship to participate in the Summer 2012 Kyzyl-Kuragino Archaeological and Geographical Expedition in the Tuva region of Russia. This opportunity is in large part thanks to the collaborative efforts of the American Geographical Society (AGS) and RGS. Over 100 students from the United States applied and only 8 were selected to be fully-funded participants. Congratulations Mike!

Congratulations to Deborah Kirk, who has been selected to receive a 2012 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowship. Information on the fellowship can be found at http://www.news.ku.edu/2012/april/10/nsf.shtml

Randy Baker, Geography/Atmospheric Science Advisory Board member and Atmospheric Science alumnus (B.S. 1985) was interviewed recently for Weatherbrains podcast.

We are pleased to announce that Margaret Wickens Pearce has accepted a faculty fellowship from the American Council for Learned Societies (ACLS) for 2012-2013. The ACLS Fellowship is a national award to support humanities scholarship.
Of the 1191 scholars who applied for the ACLS this year, 65 were awarded fellowships, a success rate of 5.45%. This is also the first successful ACLS award at KU since 2007.

Congratulations to So-Min Cheong, who has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.

Congratulations to David Trimbach on his Academic Year 2012-13 FLAS Fellowship!

Paper co-authored by Nathaniel Brunsell highlighted by NSF.
"Time of Year Important in Projections of Climate Change Effects on Ecosystems"

Congratulations to Atmospheric science senior Sasha Glanville, who was selected to participate in the prestiguous NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) this coming summer. Sasha and the other SARP students will conduct observations on board the NASA P-3B aircraft flying along the southern California coastal region. The student researchers will focus on trace gas measurements and multi-spectral imaging of land and ocean surfaces.

Congratulations to Vincent Artman, who recently was awarded the AAG's Graduate Student Affinity Group Student Paper Award.

Congratulations to Dr. Margaret Wickens Pearce, who has received a prestigious nine-month Anne Ray Fellowship (http://sarweb.org/?resident_scholar_anne_ray_fellowship) with the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, NM (http://sarweb.org/).

Congratulations to Prof. So-Min Cheong, who has received a NSF CAREER award to study “Community Adaptation to Changing Environmental Disasters.” This is a five-year grant that will begin on April 1.

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Lawrence Daily Forecast--courtesy of the KU Atmospheric Science student forecasters:

Synopsis:
Expect the unsettled weather pattern to continue as we head into the weekend. As a broad trough mixes in and out of the area there will be several chances for showers and storms to develop. Models are currently unsure on the timing of when the boundary will move further south. High levels of CAPE will lead to chances for severe weather on Thursday and over the weekend. Temperatures will be quite warm and dew points will remain high, leading to higher heat indexes over the forecast period. The southerly flow will aid in the warm moist air flow into our area through the weekend. Good luck with finals!
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low near 65.
Thursday: 20 percent chance of showers and storms. Mostly sunny, high 87. South winds at 10-15 mph.

Thursday night: Partly cloudy with a 40 chance of showers and storms. Low 68. South wind at 15-20 mph.

Friday: Sunny. High 90, low 69.

Saturday: Slight chance of showers and storms late, otherwise partly cloudy. High 88. Low 66.

Sunday: 30 percent chance of showers and storms with mix of clouds and sun. High 83. Low 64.

Because the UDK doesn’t publish on stop day, today will be the last forecast of the year. Thanks to everyone who signed up for the email list and helped contribute to the students’ success, I really appreciate it. And many many thanks to Bev M. for always sending them out and posting the forecasts on the department websites! I hope a faculty member or one or more atmo students will keep it going next year, I’d hate to see it end just because I’m not here.
-Shawn

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