Geography alumna, Megan Click (M.A. 2015), now runs her own department at Mountwest Community & Technical College.
Megan (at left with Dr. James Leonard) is the program coordinator for the Geospatial Information Science program at Mountwest Community and Technical College, and she is credited with reviving the program. In fall 2017, they had a record of 10 students matriculate, whereas in previous years they never had more than 2. Dr. Leonard was in attendance for the press release to commemorate the newly signed 2+2 agreement between Mountwest and Marshall University. Graduates of the Geospatial Information Science program will be able transfer their credits and applied them towards a B.S. or B.A. degree in geography at Marshall University. The Geography Department is very proud of Professor Click and looks forward to receiving her students at her alma mater.
Academic Opportunities
1) The NSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center (STC) is looking for 4 – 6 undergraduate research assistants to serve as NSF REU Summer Fellows in 2018. 7 weeks from June to August 2018
Students will potentially work at George Mason University Site (Fairfax, VA), Harvard University site (Cambridge, MA), or University of California, Santa Barbara site (Santa Barbara, CA).
This opportunity is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) I/UCRC and Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Programs which enable undergraduate students to obtain research experience and consider a career path in spatiotemporal domains (e.g., GIS, CS, Geosciences, etc.). NSF REU Student interns will work in a team with graduate students, postdocs, and faculty at one of the three center sites and will conduct research related to spatiotemporal issues. NSF fellows also have the opportunity to attend a professional conference to present their research results. Students may participate in various projects.
To know more about the center, please visit http://www.stcenter.net. Please refer to the “Projects” tab on this website for the brief introduction of the undergoing projects.
Requirements:
Applicants must be undergraduate
U.S. citizen or permanent resident status is required
Applicants should be able to work as NSF fellows for 7 weeks. Starting date is flexible.
NSF REU fellows will receive stipend and reimbursement for travel to a conference.
Applications from underrepresented groups are encouraged.
A complete application includes:
A CV
One page double spaced statement of interest.
Contacts (email and phone #) of two references.
Application Deadline: Review of application will begin on March 20, 2018 and end until the position is filled up.
Submit your application at: stcenter.net/stc/REU2018
For more information about the NSF REU Fellow Opportunity contact Manzhu Yu (myu7@gmu.edu).
2) AAG Qualitative Research Specialty Group (QRSG) Student Paper Award
The Qualitative Research Specialty Group (QRSG) of the AAG invites submissions for a 2018 Graduate Student Paper Award. We will give out two awards – one for an MA student (at $250) and one for a PhD student (at $500). Students are encouraged to submit papers that include a significant engagement with qualitative research.
Papers might explore one or more of the following:
empirics: the significance of qualitative research findings,
methodology: the development of a particular qualitative methodology to fit research questions and purpose,
praxis: the relationship between qualitative methods and theory formation,
the politics of research practice and qualitative methods,
teaching and learning how to conduct qualitative research,
feminist, queer, and/or critical race interventions in qualitative research methodologies
Please submit papers of 5,000 words or less (excluding references) to Amy Piedalue (amy.piedalue@unimelb.edu.au) no later than Friday, March 23rd. Applications are restricted to student authors and otherwise unpublished work (papers written with faculty advisors will not be accepted). Papers written by multiple student authors may be submitted (understanding that the award would be split among all authors). Eligible papers should also be slated for presentation at AAG 2018 in New Orleans, or presented at another conference this year, such as a regional division of the AAG or Critical Geography conference.
3) Saarinen Student Paper Competition
The Environmental Perception and Behavioral Geography (EPBG) Specialty Group is pleased to announce the Saarinen Student Paper Competition and Travel Grants. Students who present their paper or poster at the 2018 meeting are highly encouraged to apply.
Travel grants: Students at both undergraduate and graduate levels are encouraged to apply for up to three travel grants of $100 each to support their travel to New Orleans. To apply, students should submit a copy of their accepted abstract for paper or poster presentation and complete the online application form. Preference will be given to students competing in the Saarinen paper competition and members of the EPBG specialty group. Students presenting relevant work to EPBG is also welcome to apply. The deadline to apply is March 4, 2018. Please note: Your attendance at the EPBG special group meeting is required to receive this travel grant.
Saarinen Student Paper Competition: One $250 prize for the best student paper, illustrated paper, or poster (graduate or undergraduate) that addresses topics related to environmental perception or behavioral geography at the 2018 AAG meeting. Entrants in paper competition must submit a written paper for review. Paper should not be over 25-page (double-spaced) and shorter papers are also encouraged. Papers must be based upon original research done as a graduate or undergraduate student and must be written entirely by the applicant. All submissions will be evaluated based on their levels of experience (expected degree), written clarity, methodological soundness, and contribution to the field of EPBG. The academic directors and selected members of the EPBG specialty group will review all entries. The deadline for the full paper for the Saarinen Student Paper Competition is also March 4, 2018.
4) Funded M.S.opportunity at the University of Washington-Tacoma
The Urban Studies Program at The University of Washington Tacoma invites applications for a GIS teaching assistantship to support a MS in Geospatial Technologies student during the 2017-2018 academic year.
Compensation includes monthly stipend and tuition support for three quarters of teaching. The TA will be expected to co-teach one section of Maps and GIS (our Introductory GIS course) during the Autumn quarter and to teach one section of the same course during each of the Winter and Spring quarters. The TA will not be responsible for curricular development as we have an established syllabus and set of lab assignments that are used in all of our introductory GIS courses.
This course is offered in the evening hours and does not conflict with graduate courses in the MS in Geospatial Technologies Program. Please be aware, however, that you will be either attending class or teaching three evenings per week while in residence as a graduate student at UW Tacoma.
To apply please contact:
Matthew Kelley, PhD
Associate Professor, Graduate Program Coordinator
Urban Studies and Geographic Information Systems
University of Washington Tacoma
MJK3LL3Y@uw.edu
253.692.4679
5) Ph.D. student position available at the University of South Florida
A PhD position is currently available starting in fall 2018 in the School of Geosciences at USF under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Collins. The position will support a Research Experience for Undergraduates program (REU). The REU will bring in 10 community college students to USF during the summer, where the undergraduate students will focus on weather, climate and society research on projects which consider both physical and social science. Interested applicants need to be available also during summers as there will be an additional summer appointment. Dr. Jennifer Collins (Geosciences) and Dr. Robin Ersing (Social Work) are the lead faculty on the REU.
You should consider applying if you are self-motivated, organized, proactive, and work well with others.
The student will support the REU in a number of ways including assisting with preparing and updating class materials for the REU; creating infrastructure to collect and organize all data for required NSF reports; creating and researching the contact information for a database of the alumni from the previous Hurricane REUs, and keeping it up to date with new REU students; assisting with preparing application materials for the REU; creating and/or updating all recruitment materials, application, selection screening tools; assisting with IRB applications for the student projects; serving as a mentor and contact point; coordinating social activities and fieldtrips; assisting with the development of a grad and alumni advisory board and serve on the board; communicating with the students before and after the program; assisting the students with paper writing and conference presentations; assisting with all conference information and any related registration and travel arrangements for REU students; assisting with internal university policies to carry out the REU program; assisting with correspondence between program and partners and students under supervision of PI/Co-PI. This link explains REU’s in general terms: www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu
All interested students should apply officially through USF – see hennarot.forest.usf.edu/main/depts/geosci/grad/students and email Dr. Collins collinsjm@usf.edu with their CV after you have applied.
When you apply, you should note that you are interested in the REU position with Dr. Collins but indicate that you would like to be considered for other TA opportunities as well in the department. You should contact the graduate director (Dr. Pu rpu@usf.edu) to let him know of your interest in the program as well as regular TA funding. There is an additional department form to be considered for TA funding.
In your cover letter you should detail the weather/climate research you are interested in pursuing as an advisee to Dr. Collins.
6) M.S. & Ph.D. funding at the University of Maryland-Baltimore
The University of Maryland Baltimore County is currently accepting applications for graduate students in the Geography and Environmental Systems Department, a department committed to examining urban inequality issues both in the United States and internationally, with a number of faculty members working in Baltimore and Latin America. https://ges.umbc.edu/
Possible topics of interests include, but are not limited to:
uneven development
housing and educational inequalities
discourse and poverty politics
migration and children’s rights,
care labor,
the relationship between poverty and environment and
geographies of motherhood.
Admitted PhD students receive funding in the form of TA-ships (and possible research assistant-ships) for four years. Both Masters and PhD students are also eligible for a new one year Environment and Society Fellowship (https://ges.umbc.edu/gradfellowship/).
Applications are due February 1st, so please contact me (Dena Aufseeser) at daufsee@umbc.edu as soon as possible with any questions.
Dena Aufseeser
Assistant Professor
Geography and Environmental Systems
University of Maryland Baltimore County
7) PhD Assistantship available in School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University
A Ph.D. graduate assistantship is available in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University (NAU), in Flagstaff AZ. The position will provide 4 years of support in the project “Regionally Scaled Adaptive Forest Management for Production of Climate-Resilient Ecosystem Services” pending final federal funding confirmation. Critical ecosystem services provided by forests in the western US are at risk of decline under future climate change and altered disturbance regimes. This project will use forest landscape simulation modeling to (1) project the potential impacts of climate change on forest vegetation and disturbance regimes and (2) design and test innovative management approaches aimed at maximizing production of forest ecosystem services. The project will involve computational modeling and collaboration with Forest Service and Tribal managers in the central Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. This research is a collaboration between Dr. William Flatley (Department of Geography, University of Central Arkansas) and Dr. Peter Fulé (School of Forestry, NAU). The student will be co-advised by Dr. Fulé and Dr. Flatley, while pursuing a Ph.D. in forestry at NAU. Funding will include a $26,000 stipend, tuition waiver, and health benefits. The successful candidate will gain expertise in the fields of forest and fire ecology, management, climate change, and ecosystem services. Candidates should also have an interest in developing skills in landscape modeling, geospatial analysis, and quantitative methods.
Minimum Qualifications: An M.S. in forestry, geography, environmental science or a related field and an interest in modeling ecosystem services, vegetation, fire, and climate change effects.
Preferred Qualifications:
Knowledge of ecosystem services, forest ecology, fire ecology and climate change effects
Experience with modeling of vegetation and/or fire
Experience with Geographical Information Systems and/or Remote Sensing
Experience using R, Python, C#, or other programming language
Experience publishing quantitative research
Availability to start by July 1, 2018
For more information, contact Dr. Flatley at wflatley@uca.edu or Dr. Fulé at Pete.Fule@nau.edu.
If you are interested, please send the following by February 16, 2018:
A one-page letter describing career goals, qualifications and experience
C.V.
Unofficial transcripts and unofficial GRE scores, as well as unofficial TOEFL score if relevant.
Names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of three references
If invited to apply, the application deadline for the graduate program in the School of Forestry at NAU is somewhat flexible but March 15, 2018 is preferred. For the application, official transcripts, GRE scores, and TOEFL score (if needed) will be required.
Job Opportunities
Jr Geospatial Analyst, ICES, Inc., Springfield, VA
GIS Technician, Rose International Inc., Richmond, VA
Geospatial Analyst, Leidos, Reston, VA
GIS Technician, Consolidated Electric Cooperative, Delaware, OH
GIS Technician II, UGI utilities, Reading, PA
GIS Specialist II, Astyra Corporation, Herndon, VA
GIS Technician III, Zolon Tech, Richmond, VA
GIS Technician, Data Concepts, Inc., Richmond, VA
GIS Technician, VIVA USA Inc., Richmond, VA
Should you have any questions about any of these opportunities, do not hesitate to get in contact.
Sincerely,
The Geography Department