Geography students, faculty, alumni recognized at American Association of Geographers annual meeting

Earlier this month, geographers from around the globe congregated online for the first-ever virtual American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting. The conference brought together thousands of scholars, researchers and students to celebrate and share the latest research and applications in geography, sustainability and geographic information systems.

Several faculty, students and alumni from the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning not only were in attendance at this year’s virtual meeting but also received special recognition.

John Odland Award — Spatial Analysis and Modeling Paper Competition

Ziqi Li, a geography PhD student, won this year's John Odland Award. The award recognizes outstanding research in quantitative spatial analysis. His paper “Measuring Bandwidth Uncertainty in Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression Using Akaike Weights,” was co-authored with Regents Professor Stewart Fotheringham and two recent School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning graduates, Taylor Oshan and Levi Wolf.

Coastal and Marine Specialty Group, Norb Psuty Student Paper Competition

Zach Hilgendorf, a geography PhD student, won this year’s Coastal and Marine Specialty Group, Norb Psuty Student Paper Competition. The award recognizes outstanding coastal research conducted by students at all levels. Hilgendorf’s paper is titled “Assessing geomorphic and sediment budget responses to foredune vegetation restoration using close-range remote sensing,” and was co-authored with School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning Professor Ian Walker, along with four other co-authors. 

2020 J. Warren Nystrom Award

Marynia Kolak, a geography PhD 2017 alumna who is now an assistant instructional professor at the University of Chicago, was named the recipient of the 2020 J. Warren Nystrom Award based on her recent dissertation in geography. At the meeting, she presented her paper, “Distilling the Effect of the Great Recession on Food Access in a Segregated City: A Spatial, Quasi-Experimental Approach."

Lifetime Achievement Research Award, Population Specialty Group

Pat Gober, research professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, received the Population Specialty Group Lifetime Achievement Research Award. She was recognized for her considerable and long-standing contributions to the fields of population geography and demography. 

AAG Fellow and Wilbanks Award for Transformational Research in Geography

B. L. Turner II, Regents Professor, was named a 2020 AAG Fellow and is the recipient of the Wilbanks Award for Transformational Research in Geography. He was recognized for his work investigating how changes in land use affect people and the environment, and for being a strong advocate for geography at the national level.