People
Timothy D. Baird
Associate Professor
Human/environment interactions, East Africa, information and communication technologies, sustainability.
John Boyer
Senior Instructor
World regions, viticulture, geography of wine, agricultural geography, educational technology.
Anamaria Bukvic
Assistant Professor
Climate change impacts, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction; population displacement, resettlement, and relocation; coastal hazards and disasters, transdisciplinary research.
Laurence W. Carstensen Jr.
Professor
GIS, cartography, wireless telecommunications modeling, unmanned vehicle navigation, GIS uncertainty, spatial decision-support in GIS.
Thomas W. Crawford (Tom)
Professor and Department Chair
Geographic Information Science & Systems, Coastal Geography, Human-Environment Interactions, Hazards, Geospatial Health Applications.
Andrew W. Ellis
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Meteorology, hydroclimatology, drought, climate change, water resources.
Eranga Galappaththi
Assistant Professor
Climate change adaptation, resilience, & vulnerability, Social-ecological systems, Indigenous peoples & knowledge systems, Multi-level governance, Systematic literature reviews
Scarlett Jin
Post Doctoral Associate
Urban geography, GIS, spatial analysis, Sharing economy and shared mobility, Shrinking cities, Urban China
Luke Juran
Associate Professor
Human Ecology of Water, WASH & HWTS, Hazards & Disasters, Reconstruction, South Asia.
Lisa M. Kennedy
Associate Professor
Long-term environmental change, biogeography, vegetation dynamics, fire history and ecology, human-environment interactions, tropical America, Caribbean, Appalachians/US southeast.
Korine N. Kolivras
Professor
Health and medical geography, climate and health, environmental variability and disease emergence, public health applications of geospatial techniques.
Robert Oliver
Associate Professor
The Geography of the Modern City, Urban-Political Geography, Mega-Event Planning and Politics (Sport Development).
Craig Ramseyer
Assistant Professor
Climate Modeling, Hydroclimatology, Tropical Climatology, Artificial neural network applications in the Atmospheric Sciences.
Lynn M. Resler
Professor
Biogeography, alpine treeline, mountain environments, field methods, digital image analysis.
Santosh Rijal
Collegiate Assistant Professor
Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing, Spatial Analysis, Land condition disturbance, Ecosystem Services, Natural Resource Management.
Stewart Scales
Advanced Instructor
Cartography and Map Design, Appalachia, Virginia, Physical Geography, Pyrogeography & Fire Ecology.
Yang Shao
Associate Professor
Remote sensing, GIS, land use and land cover change, watershed assessment and modeling.
Kenneth L. Stiles
Instructor
Intelligence Operations, Counterterrorism , Geospatial applications used in the Intelligence Community.
Stephanie Zick
Assistant Professor
Tropical meteorology, tropical cyclones, precipitation, numerical weather prediction, model forecast verification.
Maria Elisa Christie
Director, Women and Gender in International Development, Office of International Research, Education, and Development (OIRED)
Gender, Agriculture, and Development, Cultural and Political Ecology, Geography of Food, Cuisine, and Kitchenspace, Qualitative Research Methods, Participatory Mapping.
Randel L. Dymond
Professor
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Sustainable Land Development, Urban Stormwater Quality & Quantity, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Spatial Decision Support Systems, Watershed Management, Civil Infrastructure Systems, Land Use Change Impacts, and Visualization of Geospatial data.
Lawrence S. Grossman
Emeritus Professor
Caribbean, development, political ecology, colonial environmental history.
Joseph L. Scarpaci
Emeritus Professor
Latin American Studies, International Development, Place Promotion, Heritage, International & social marketing.
| Karen Bland | kbland@vt.edu | Administrative assistant. |
| Katherine Pritchard | kpritcha@vt.edu |
Instructional technical assistant for John Boyer. |
| Julie Burger | jcburger@vt.edu | Student Services Coordinator and Undergraduate Adviser. |
Kayleigh Addington -M.S.
kda99@vt.edu
Advisor: Stephanie Zick
Preevious: Virginia Tech
Interests: Tropical meteorology, coastal geography and hazards, risk management
Meghan Albritton - M.S.
mjalbritton@vt.edu
Advisor: Korine Kolivras
Previous: Berry College
Interests: Environmental health, medical geography, water, climate change, disease
Brandy Ayesu-danso - M.S.
brandyad@vt.edu
Advisor: Eranga Galappaththi
Previous: University of Ghana (Ghana)
Interests: Climate change adaptation, resilience, vulnerability, coastal indigenous peoples
Gunjan Barua - M.S.
gunjanb@vt.edu
Advisor: Thomas Pingel
Previous: Khulna University of Engineering & Technology
Interests: Urban analytics, environmental management, data science
Cole Bristow - M.S.
colebristow@vt.edu
Advisor: Lisa Kennedy
Previous: Virginia Tech
Interests: Climate change, habitat studies, animal biogeography, conservation
Devon Burton - M.S.
devonburton@vt.edu
Advisor: Lisa Kennedy
Previous: Radford University
Inerests: Landscape ecology, fire research, invasive species propogation, risk and resilience
Jarek Campbell - M.S.
jarek@vt.edu
Advisor: Anamaria Bukvic
Previous: Virginia Tech
Interests: Coastal geography, human-environment interaction, GIS, climate change, cartography
Ozzy Campos - Ph.D.
aocampos@vt.edu
Advisor: Yang Shao
Previous: US Air Force Academy
Interests: Remote sensing of conflict zones
Sam Carani - M.S.
scarani@vt.edu
Advisor: Thomas Pingel
Previous: Northern Illinois University
Interests: Hazards, remote sensing, GEOINT, GIScience
Margaret Crawford - M.S.
mcrawford@vt.edu
Advisor: Anamaria Bukvic
Previous: Indiana University Bloomington and University of North Carolina-Greensboro
Inerests: Coastal geography, flooding, GIS
Indunil Dharmasiri - M.S.
indunil@vt.edu
Advisor: Eranga Galappaththi
Previous: University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka)
Interests: Climate change adaptation, vulnerability, entrepreneurship
Daniel Donahoe - M.S.
donahoed@vt.edu
Advisor: Lisa Kennedy
Previous: Virginia Tech
Inerests: Riparian vegetation, remote sensing, stream ecology, geomorphology, hydrology
Ian Gammarino - M.S.
gammarino@vt.edu
Advisor: Lisa Kennedy
Previous: Radford University
Interests: Remote sensing, conservation, coastal geography, hydrology
Tyler Gingrich - M.S.
gingritm@vt.edu
Advisor: Craig Ramseyer
Previous: James Madison University
Interests: Hydrology, meteorology, climatology, renewable energy, programming
Ryley Harris - Ph.D.
rcharris@vt.edu
Advisor: Lisa Kennedy
Previous: Radford University and Virginia Tech
Interests: Landscape dynamics, plant ecology, remote sensing, sUAS
Parker Henry - M.S.
pwh49116@vt.edu
Advisor: Craig Ramseyer
Previous: University of Georgia
Interests: Improving weather forecasting and communication, severe weather, wildfire
Nazmul Huda - M.S.
huda@vt.edu
Advisor: Thomas Crawford
Previous: Khulna University of Engineering & Technology
Interests: Remote sensing, environmental change detection, river erosion, changes in livelihood
Shashank Karki - M.S.
shashankkarki@vt.edu
Advisor: Thomas Pingel
Previous: Kathmandu University (Nepal)
Interests: Geovisualization, GIS, geospatial programming
Scott Klopfer - Ph.D.
sklopfer@vt.edu
Advisor: Lynn Resler
Previous: Virginia Tech
Interests: Landscape ecology, wildlife habitat, natural resources management
Colleen Lewis - M.S.
lewiscp19@vt.edu
Advisor: Thomas Pingel
Previous: James Madison University
Interests: Archaeology, least cost path analysis, Inca civilization, Amazon Basin
Mohammad Maruf Billah - PhD.
mohammadmaruf@vt.edu
Advisor: Lynn M. Resler
Previous: University of Lisbon & University of Tuscia
Interests: Biogeography, Human-Environment Interactions, GIS and Remote Sensing
Alexander Miele - M.S.
amiele@vt.edu
Advisor: Yang Shao
Previous: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Interests: Mountain hydrology, stream ecology, microclimates, freshwater conservation, giant salamanders
Geoffrey Otieno - M.S.
geoffreyoo@vt,edu
Advisor: Timothy Baird
Previous: Kenyatta University (Kenya)
Interests: Water, sanitation, disease, human/environment interactions
Md Sariful Islam - Ph.D.
shariful@vt.edu
Advisor: Tom Crawford
Previous: Kent State University
Interests: Coastal hazards, remote sensing, food security, machine learning
Ami Schulte - M.S.
schultan@vt.edu
Advisor: Lynn Resler
Previous: Miami University
Interests: Botany, geography, plant interactions
Ryan Shayer - M.S.
ryanshayer@vt.edu
Advisor: Bob Oliver
Previous: Virginia Tech
Interests: Urban geography, development, sustainability, community
Shakira Stackhouse - M.S.
shakirads@vt.edu
Advisor: Stephanie Zick
Previous: Western Kentucky University
Interests: Precipitation climatology, flooding
Tyler Stanfield - M.S.
tylerstanfield@vt.edu
Advisor: Craig Ramseyer
Previous: University of Oklahoma
Interests: Tropical meteorology, climate teleconnections
Kyler Stanley - M.S.
stanleyk@vt.edu
Advisor: Lynn Resler
Previous: Michigan State University
Interests: Physical geography, Geodiversity, Geomorphology, Geovisualization
Samrin Sumaiya Sauda - M.S.
sssauda@vt.edu
Advisor: Stephanie Zick
Previous: University of Dhaka
Interests: Hydroclimatology, climate hazards, remote sensing, GIS
Troy Swift - Ph. D.
swift66@vt.edu
Advisor: Lisa Kennedy
Previous: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen, Germany
Interests: Environmental history of central Appalachia, charcoal and pollen analyses
Emily Wilcox - M.S.
erwilcox@vt.edu
Advisor: Luke Juran
Previous: University of New Hampshire
Interests: Water, climate hazards, human/environment interactions
| Year | Student | Degree | Advisor(s) | Title of Thesis or Dissertation |
| 2021 | Peter Forister | M.S. | Resler | Spatial Patterns and Variations of Tornado Damage as Related to Southeastern Appalachain Forests and Terrain from the Franklin County, Virginia EF-3 Tornado |
| 2021 | Jen Kern | M.S. | Juran and Resler | Modelling Hydrologic System Change in a Paraglacial Catchment in the Northern Rocky Mountains |
| 2021 | Allison Mitchell | M.S. | Bukvic | Impacts of Coastal Flooding on Watersheds in Hampton Roads, VA |
| 2021 | Balaji Ramesh | M.S. | Kolivras | Estimating Health Risks Associated with Flooding following Hurricante Harvey using Earth Observations and the CDC Social Vulnerability Index |
| 2021 | Josh Starner | M.S. | Carstensen | Relative Convenience of Battery Electric Vehicles vs. Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles for Non-Commuting Trips in the Contiguous United States |
| 2021 | Holly Young | M.S. | Kolivras | Examining the Relationship Between Safe Drinking Water Violations and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Virginia |
| 2021 | Zachary Van Tol | M.S. | Ellis | Analysis of Urban Heat Island Intensity Through Air Mass Persistence |
| 2021 | James Young | M.S. | Pingel | An Evaluation of DEM Generation Methods Using a Pixel-Based Landslide Detection Algorithm |
| 2021 | Jack Gonzales | M.S. | Pingel | Comparing UAV and Pole Photogrammetry for Monitoring Beach Erosion |
| 2020 | Heng Wan | Ph.D. | Shao | Assessing Annual Urban Change and its Impacts on Evapotranspiration |
| 2020 | David Jensen | Ph.D. | Resler | Detecting and Modeling Landfast Ice in the Alaskan Bering Sea |
| 2020 | Michael L. Marston | Ph.D. | Ellis | Variation and Change in Daily Precipitation Extremes Across the United States Since the Mid-20th Century |
| 2020 | Lindsey Morrison | M.S. | Zick | Evaluating the Role of Atmospheric Stability in Generating Asymmetrical Precipitation During the Landfall of Hurricane Florence (2018) |
| 2020 | Hudson Chase | M.S. | Pingel | Immersive Virtual Reality Point Cloud Classification Correction |
| 2020 | Gretchen Goeke Dee | M.S. | Resler | Spatial Pattern Analysis of Tree Species Distribution in a Central Appalachian Upland Heath Barren |
| 2020 | Ryley Harris | M.S. | Kennedy | Spatial Patterns on Virginia's Second Highest Peak: Land Cover Dynamics and Tree Mortality in Two Rare Ecosystems |
| 2020 | Alexander Rosenman | M.S. | Shao | Multiscale Remote Sensing Analysis of Vegetation Patterns in an Alpine Environment, Glacier National Park, Montana |
| 2020 | Eric West | M.S. | Carstensen | The Digitization of American Viticultural Area Boundaries: An Efficient Method for Constructing GIS Polygons from Federal Government Data Sources |
| 2020 | Aaron Whittemore | M.S. | Ellis | Analysis of Human Influence on Drought Conditions in the Upper Colorado River Basin (Texas) |
| 2020 | Molly McKnight | M.S. | Kolivras | Examining the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem: Associations Between Surface Mining and Birth Outcomes in Central Appalachia at Multiple Spatial Scales |
| 2019 | Yong Huang | M.S. | Campbell | Virginia Urban Dynamics Study Using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Imagery |
| 2019 |
Elizabeth Weaver | Ph.D. | Kolivras | Investigating the Valley Fever – Environment Relationship in the Western U.S. |
| 2019 | Hoa Tri Tran | Ph.D. | Campbell | Integration of Geospatial Technologies in Monitoring Drought Events in a Coastal Area of Vietnam (Case Study: Binh Thuan Province) |
| 2019 | Iris Flynn | Ph.D. | Campbell | Geospatial Analysis of Forest Fragmentation & Connectivity in Virginia |
| 2019 | Damien Geffroy | M.S. | Oliver | A City of Projects: Grand Paris, The 2024 Summer Olympics, and the Jurisdictional Negotiation of Contemporary Paris |
| 2019 | Nathaniel Lawrence | M.S. | Resler and Saladyga | Fire History of an Acidic Barrens Complex: A Methods Assessment of Fire Return Intervals |
| 2019 | Veronica Scott | M.S. | Juran and Ling | Strontium in Drinking Water: Assessing Strontium as a Drinking Water Contaminant in Virginia Private Wells |
| 2019 | Megan Stevenson | M.S. | Kolivras | The Effects of Land Cover Change on the Spatial Distribution of Lyme Disease in Northern Virginia since 2005 |
| 2019 | Kelly Summers | M.S. | Baird | Mobile Phones, Social Relations, and the Gatekeepers to Women's Empowerment in Maasai Households |
| 2019 | Yanshen Sun | M.S. | Carstensen | Evaluating the Quality of Ground Surfaces Generated from Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) data |
| 2019 | Aaron Updike | M.S. | Zick | A Modeling Study of the Principal Rainband in Hurricane Matthew and the Influence of Remote Terrain on Hurricane Structure During its Intensification in the Southern Caribbean |
| 2019 | Helen White | M.S. | Resler | Biotic and Abiotic Factors of Picea rubens (Red Spruce) Seedling Regeneration in Disturbed Heathland Barrens of the Central Appalachians |
| 2018 | Sanam Aksha | Ph.D. | Juran and Resler | Assessing Vulnerability and Multi-Hazard Risk in the Nepal Himalaya |
| 2018 | Allison LeBlanc | Ph.D. | Kennedy | Lake Sediment-Based Reconstructions of Late-Holocene Lowland Environments on Dominican Republic and Barbuda, Northern Caribbean |
| 2018 | Shreejana Bhattaria | M.S. | Kolivras | Understanding the Relationship between Land Use/Land Cover and Malaria in Nepal |
| 2018 | Timothy Greene | M.S. | Ellis | The Impact of Synoptic Weather on the Ice Phenology of Maine Lakes, 1955-2005 |
| 2018 | Jessica Kirkland | M.S. | Zick | Regional Differences in the Spatial Patterns of Precipitation Bands in Hurricanes Through Landfall along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coasts of the United States |
| 2018 | Callie Lambert | M.S. | Resler and Shao | Spatio-Temporal Vegetation Change as Related to Terrain Factors at Two Glacier Forefronts, Glacier National Park, Montana |
| 2018 | Suzanna Lindeman | M.S. | Ellis | Assessment of Model Forecast Temperature Bias During Cold-Air Damming in the Central Appalachian Mountains |
| 2018 | Erik Olson | M.S. | Oliver | Rescinding a Bid: Stockholm's Uncertain Relationship with the Olympic Games. |
| 2018 | Breeanna Prince | M.S. | Juran | Access to Water: Advancement of Multidimensional, Multiscalar, and Participatory Methods of Measurement in the Global South |
| 2018 | Kaitlyn Spangler | M.S. | Christie | When He Comes Home, then He Can Decide: Male Out-Migration, the Feminization of Agriculture, and Integrated Pest Management in the Nepali Mid-Hills |
| 2018 | Logan Stevens | M.S. | Kolivras | Future Lyme Disease Risk in the Southeastern United States Based on Projected Land Cover |
| 2018 | Ruoyu Zhang | M.S. | Shao | An Evaluation of a Data-Driven Approach to Regional Scale Surface Runoff Modelling |
| 2017 | David Fox | M.S. | Baird | Settlement Patterns and their Potential Implications for Livelihoods among Maasai Pastoralists in Northern Tanzania |
| 2017 | Taylor Meade | M.S. | Campbell | Analyzing Spatial Locations of the Common Agricultural Policy’s Subsidy Areas in Romania with Landsat Imagery |
| 2017 | Julia Sherry | M.S. | Juran | Perceptions of Water Services and Innovations to Improve Water Services in Tanzania |
| 2017 | Andy Skeen | M.S. | Shao | Estimating Impervious Surface Cover in Flathead County, Montana |
| 2017 | Jessica Suggs | M.S. | Ellis | Long-Term Changes in Synoptic-Scale Air Mass Persistence across the United States |
| 2016 | Tammy E. Parece | Ph.D. | Campbell | Geospatial Analysis to Site Urban Agricultur |
| 2016 | Jie Ren | Ph.D. | Campbell | Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing of Changing Agricultural Land Uses with the Midwestern Corn Belt, 2001-2015 |
| 2016 | J.T. Bandzuh | M.S. | Juran and Kolivras | Perceptions of Measures to Control Aedes Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases in Costa Rica |
| 2016 | Austin Cooner | M.S. | Shao | Detection of Urban Damage Using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning Algorithms: Revisiting the 2010 Haiti Earthquake |
| 2016 | Mario Garza | M.S. | Resler | Biophysical and Climate Analysis of the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) Infestations in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, 1962-2014 |
| 2016 | Michael Marston | M.S. | Ellis | Analysis of Extreme Reversals in Seasonal and Annual Precipitation Anomalies across the United States, 1895-2014 |
| 2016 | Camille Martineau | M.S. | Oliver | Still Last on the List: Examining Patterns of Economic Distress in Appalachia |
| 2016 | Amanda Michaels | M.S. | Resler | Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem |
| 2016 | Trevor White | M.S. | Carstensen | Dual-Doppler Derived Vorticity as a Predictor of Hail Size in Severe Thunderstorms |
| 2015 | Ashley Athey | M.S. | Ellis | Verification of Satellite-Derived Precipitation Estimates over Complex Terrain: A Ground Truth Analysis for Nepal |
| 2015 | Leyang Feng | M.S. | Shao | Sensitivity Analysis of Hot/Cold Pixel Selection in SEBAL Model for ET Estimation |
| 2015 | Lauren Freelander | M.S. | Kolivras and Hill | Socio-Demographic and Environmental Influences on the Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in North Carolina |
| 2015 | Leslie Harwood | M.S. | Carstensen | Identifying Environments in which Vehicle-to-Vehicle Safety Application Alerts were Affected by the Surrounding Topography |
| 2015 | Bailey Kyle | M.S. | Oliver | The Road to Rio: Infrastructure, Image, New Media, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup |
| 2015 | Ashley Lewis | M.S. | Baird | Human-Wildlife Conflict and Mobile Phone Use among Maasai Pastoralists near Tarangire National Park, Northern Tanzania |
| 2015 | Rachael Lubitz | M.S. | Kennedy | A Late Holocene Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of a Coastal Lake in Northeastern Dominican Republic |
| 2015 | Daniel Moore | M.S. | Carstensen | Zone-Based Multiple Regression Models to Visualize GPS Locations in a Network Camera Image |
| 2015 | Brandon Wheeler | M.S. | Shao | Evaluating Time-Series Smoothing Algorithms for Multi-Temporal Land Cover Classification |
| 2015 | Suwen Zhao | M.S. | Shao and Campbell | Simulating Urban Growth for Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area by Coupling SLEUTH Model and Population Projection |
| 2014 | David Kramar | Ph.D. | Carstensen | Evaluation, Assessment, and Determination of Risk to High Trophic Level Piscivores in the Mid-Atlantic: A Spatial and Comparative Case Study of Mercury in Virginia and New England Bald Eagle Populations |
| 2014 | Ayanda Masilela | M.S. | Kolivras | Discerning Neighborhood Characteristics as Contributing Factors to Infant Mortality in Rural Northern Plains Communities |
| 2014 | Paul Miller | M.S. | Ellis | The Utility of Total Lightning in Diagnosing Single-Cell Thunderstorm Severity in the Central Appalachian Mountains Region |
| 2014 | Jayashree Surendrababu | M.S. | Kolivras | Modeling the Impact of Projected Land Cover on Lyme Disease Emergence |
| 2014 | Haitao Wang | M.S. | Kennedy and Shao | Monitoring Vegetation Dynamics in Zhongwei, an Arid City of Northwest China |