tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33980718667394262162024-03-19T00:01:32.590-05:00NIU GeographyNIU Geographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00688962838697805110noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-16626376795961790732013-03-22T11:27:00.000-05:002013-03-22T11:27:27.777-05:00Happy World Water Day!Did you save water today? The UN has declared March 22nd as World Water Day since 1993.<br />
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For more information and fun stuff, please visit: <a href="http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/home/en/" target="_blank">UN World Water Day</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.unwater.org/fileadmin/user_upload/watercooperation2013/doc/YWC2013_Brochure_web.pdf" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzAHtriks1c5wsvSeDK4yBt6CZb1vOukN67gIb8y-FtoLh27q6wLI47Lritdewez4tqTlZpZLKy1O608EdyzNw72WlRZkAU-ITvFKAoaBTlWrXcTWef95ojJYWc2pFwK0xuz1S3dVUfI/s400/WaterDay2013_Brochure.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.unwater.org/fileadmin/user_upload/watercooperation2013/doc/YWC2013_Brochure_web.pdf" target="_blank">World Water Day Brochure</a></td></tr>
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<br />NIU Geographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00688962838697805110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-27470918843129244932012-10-24T20:01:00.001-05:002012-10-24T20:01:40.649-05:00As many as 280 geographers have just one destination on their minds this week: NIU<div>
The NIU Department of Geography is hosting the annual meeting of the West Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers.</div>
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This year’s meeting will be held jointly with the East Lakes Division. The meeting begins with an evening reception on Thursday, Oct. 25, and concludes with afternoon field trips on Saturday, Oct. 27.</div>
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“Based upon pre-registration totals to date, we expect 230 to 280 geography faculty, professionals and students here in DeKalb,” said Andrew Krmenec, geography chair.</div>
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For more information, click <a href="http://www.niutoday.info/2012/10/24/as-many-as-280-geographers-have-just-one-destination-on-their-minds-this-week-niu/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
NIU Geographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00688962838697805110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-34074649911622540472012-10-01T13:39:00.002-05:002012-10-01T13:43:51.673-05:00Noted Palentologist to speak at Augustana College on Oct. 4th<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Augustana College will be hosting a free public lecture by noted paleoanthropologist Dr. Louise Leakey from the Koobi Fora Research Project in Kenya, Africa. Louise is the granddaughter of famous paleoanthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey and the daughter of paleoanthropoloigsts Richard and Meave Leakey. She will be giving a lecture titled "A Human Journey: What Fossils Tell Us." The lecture will be held on Thursday, October 4th from 7:30-8:30pm. For more information, please follow the links:</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.roycecarlton.com/speaker/profile/Louise-Leakey.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.roycecarlton.com/speaker/profile/Louise-Leakey.html</span></a></span><br />
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<img alt="" class="rht_pic01" height="200" src="http://www.roycecarlton.com/admin/speakers/photos/large/Louise_Leakey_lg.jpg" width="152" />NIU Geographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00688962838697805110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-1920065129901281572012-04-09T19:46:00.013-05:002012-04-09T20:11:23.342-05:00River/Lake Walk by NIU Student Subunit of Illinois Lakes Management AssociationOn Saturday, April 7th, the NIU Student Subunit of Illinois Lakes Management Association organized a River/Lake Walk to clean up the East Lagoon and the Kishwaukee River. Turnout for this event was excellent! About 15 students, faculty/staff members, and their friends showed up, eager to help our environment and conserve water resources. We met at Montgomery Hall at 9:00 a.m. and after enjoying some donuts, we worked our way around the lagoon and along Kishwaukee River in small groups, picking up trash and recyclables along the way. In total, the individual groups removed approximately <strong>150 pounds of garbage</strong> from the water and surrounding shorelines. Keeping trash and other debris out of the waters and shores of the East Lagoon and Kishwaukee River is imperative to preserving our beautiful campus for future generations of NIU students and the DeKalb community.<br /><br />The NIU Student Subunit meets <strong>every Monday at 4:30 In Davis Hall room 103</strong>. We will be doing monthly clean-ups of the Lagoon as well as water quality testing, screening environmental films, presentations by guest speakers in water quality related fields, and many other activities each week. Next Monday, <strong>April 16th</strong>, we will be having a guest speaker come in to give a talk about <strong>Rain Gardens</strong>, so please make sure to attend!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUPdTr9K4kCnfA08PDFRqWEzvtlkK6p5rARbzIEHuZHigUFbAqenLEQI9hwwA3CsmYannWw8r6pP-5Jk3OlJfwVHGvtjaprLFASK28OyCgifDVfjHlAng_PLOdnx1t2r5R5Sozk0qOkc/s1600/IMG_3694.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729570336551567746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUPdTr9K4kCnfA08PDFRqWEzvtlkK6p5rARbzIEHuZHigUFbAqenLEQI9hwwA3CsmYannWw8r6pP-5Jk3OlJfwVHGvtjaprLFASK28OyCgifDVfjHlAng_PLOdnx1t2r5R5Sozk0qOkc/s320/IMG_3694.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztj-vFcriYbbe53NGhfPvnwNwMVkEnNk8IW6AQaxlpcZbTozF8hC_uRdN1NfPSQsUFx8uRF_gE-7DV6_0DtZmksh3qScInusnuMgONLK1i4_5toFj9WUvyIDTz43qxie7t0j_b3tz-kA/s1600/IMG_3706.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729570492292602562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztj-vFcriYbbe53NGhfPvnwNwMVkEnNk8IW6AQaxlpcZbTozF8hC_uRdN1NfPSQsUFx8uRF_gE-7DV6_0DtZmksh3qScInusnuMgONLK1i4_5toFj9WUvyIDTz43qxie7t0j_b3tz-kA/s320/IMG_3706.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdE2LT64vpTzZZpF62jquz6-8iBJkahOmPjDPL1d1ln_mgNnVYE61QkfRFrW44DQ1YdZjPbuOVBZSAuGSaDccyINpIYIo_y4j6CASTjfyD8bVv87BMjDZgl4yvWFQGANXCtAFvUfwP2k/s1600/IMG_3711.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729570561191050850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdE2LT64vpTzZZpF62jquz6-8iBJkahOmPjDPL1d1ln_mgNnVYE61QkfRFrW44DQ1YdZjPbuOVBZSAuGSaDccyINpIYIo_y4j6CASTjfyD8bVv87BMjDZgl4yvWFQGANXCtAFvUfwP2k/s320/IMG_3711.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZcZ6J9iT2cds3Hh1RXv21-A_Dy6oAsjLPT-M7Cx3r-UQEFbJkyv_BvJbiu6pu_ZM_uisrLVmL2Rgfk3VP3YX0g9yu_23Y0nUFuAg5kynPE6m_8NIGLukNVoyIfRfhOZmx2D0eN4Yr4g/s1600/IMG_3717.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729570717230232274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZcZ6J9iT2cds3Hh1RXv21-A_Dy6oAsjLPT-M7Cx3r-UQEFbJkyv_BvJbiu6pu_ZM_uisrLVmL2Rgfk3VP3YX0g9yu_23Y0nUFuAg5kynPE6m_8NIGLukNVoyIfRfhOZmx2D0eN4Yr4g/s320/IMG_3717.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>(post submitted by Evan Bing; pictures by Wei Luo and Melissa Burlingame)</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-65758045258328351862012-02-19T21:14:00.004-06:002012-02-19T21:52:46.037-06:00NIU Student Subunit of the Illinois Lakes Management AssociationThe <strong>NIU Student Subunit of the Illinois Lakes Management Association (ILMA)</strong> is a student organization seeking to enhance students' knowledge of preserving our valuable national water resources, such as lakes, ponds, rivers, and watersheds. The Illinois Lakes Management Association (<a href="http://www.ilma-lakes.org/">http://www.ilma-lakes.org/</a>) established the <strong>NIU Student Subunit</strong> with the intent of reaching students currently persuing an education in environmental sciences.<br /><br />We have fun and interesting activities planned throughout the semester such as water quality sampling of the Lagoon and Kishwaukee river using radiosondes, volunteer-based lake clean-ups, and the <strong>ILMA annual conference March 1-3 at the Holmes Student Center</strong> that will provide a great opportunity for those seeking to network with professionals in water quality-related fields. We aim to not only help maintain the Lagoon and Kishwaukee River, but also to involve the Dekalb community so we may work as a team to restore and preserve their quality for future generations.<br /><br />There are currently no fees to join our organization! Those interested may contact <strong>Evan Bing</strong> (President) via email: <a href="mailto:evanbing@gmail.com"><strong>evanbing@gmail.com</strong></a> or by phone: (847) 274-4910. "Like" our Facebook page for more information: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/NIUILMA">http://www.facebook.com/NIUILMA</a><br /><br />Geography students and faculty (Dr. Greene and Luo) will be actively invovled in the <strong>ILMA annual conference</strong>. <strong>NIU students can attend sessions for free. </strong>Details can be found at <a href="http://www.ilma-lakes.org/ilma-27th-annual-conference">http://www.ilma-lakes.org/ilma-27th-annual-conference</a>.<strong> </strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-28900574548461661302012-02-19T21:09:00.002-06:002012-02-19T21:14:30.937-06:00NIU Geography Club ActivitiesThe goal the the <strong>NIU Geography Club</strong> is to expand on the interest of the subject outside the classroom. We are a relatively small and new club, but we are looking to expand and become recognized by the university. Anyone with any interest in geography is encouraged to join the Geography Club. A meeting will take place <strong>Tuesday, February 21st at 6pm in Davis Hall</strong>. We will be discussing club events for the end of the spring semester. <strong>Derek Bus</strong> can be contacted at <strong>Derek.N.Bus@Gmail.com</strong> for questions concerning upcoming club meetings and events.<br />(post submitted by Derek Bus)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-63958527442438731242012-02-03T13:41:00.004-06:002012-02-03T13:55:30.075-06:00Dr. Rich Greene on BBC News about the World's Largest Cities<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxIMvcaIcPWMrqiMAE57PAOMs7MGnIN9ODoBvLnJESoDY9q0l-HWjqPghf8YOLDFgnancRISawzVo_pY7XXFOE1X3-x-5iiTyW4GIJV9Wpf7nghhRToiujYlhqAFHQmAD_Pz_BlNv1dY/s1600/Greene.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 60px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 90px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705000415761773138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxIMvcaIcPWMrqiMAE57PAOMs7MGnIN9ODoBvLnJESoDY9q0l-HWjqPghf8YOLDFgnancRISawzVo_pY7XXFOE1X3-x-5iiTyW4GIJV9Wpf7nghhRToiujYlhqAFHQmAD_Pz_BlNv1dY/s320/Greene.gif" /></a><br /><br /><div>Dr. Rich Greene was recently featured on BBC News about the World's Largest Cities. More at the follwoing links:<br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16761784">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16761784</a><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00n1j58#synopsis">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00n1j58#synopsis</a><br /><br />Congratulations to Rich!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-2847645386148327942011-12-14T19:30:00.006-06:002011-12-14T19:37:41.511-06:00Mike Ribant was awarded People’s Choice AwardPhD student Mike Ribant was awarded People’s Choice Award (student division ) for his poster “<em>Persistent County Clusters of High Unemployment Across Recessions: November 2001-June 2009</em>” at the fall 2011, Illinois Geographic Information Systems Association meeting.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeA1P2njFPd06zQG5e0I9BNRGmorZmNVATJmDo2quCoYUre8XvEfViiZOE5sHSaU2YBMypyRSkAJXa7HO94L5mRNUBZTMO3se8QnIHsGGcNL9AsFuHszZdVhnmKuEB6pfW4b0vT1Pr1_o/s1600/Ribant_Poster.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686162116289358482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeA1P2njFPd06zQG5e0I9BNRGmorZmNVATJmDo2quCoYUre8XvEfViiZOE5sHSaU2YBMypyRSkAJXa7HO94L5mRNUBZTMO3se8QnIHsGGcNL9AsFuHszZdVhnmKuEB6pfW4b0vT1Pr1_o/s320/Ribant_Poster.jpg" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-69705031389156244942011-11-06T13:55:00.010-06:002011-11-21T10:16:32.751-06:00GIS NightNIU’s Department of Geography - Advanced Geospatial Laboratory held its fourth annual GIS Night on Wednesday, November 16. GIS Night coincides with Geography Awareness Week which is sponsored by the National Geographic Society and other geographic organizations around the world.<br /><br />Demonstrations included traditional 2D GIS mapping, touch screen technology, digital signage, holographic maps, 3D animations and several activities geared towards children grades k – 12. The lab was open for several hours and was attended by a cross section of students, faculty and the public. Several graduate students that worked in the lab were present to help answer guest questions. Prizes were given out that included a world globe and T-Shirt.<br />(post submitted by Phil Young)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsDlP-oBvP7HlcUzyAHDz1I5jjDqxfzI71-2ueUGW3JVZ9DdNlI5EatfKWmp_jwpsWCHd3N_ioDYxS42SaLhPip61ActwVMtVeb01mRgoeegq9Wye3_zJxU3HhM2AOAYQ9ZdCAUt9POI/s1600/100_0953.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677482530460301586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsDlP-oBvP7HlcUzyAHDz1I5jjDqxfzI71-2ueUGW3JVZ9DdNlI5EatfKWmp_jwpsWCHd3N_ioDYxS42SaLhPip61ActwVMtVeb01mRgoeegq9Wye3_zJxU3HhM2AOAYQ9ZdCAUt9POI/s320/100_0953.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCFJn3Bzxv3T-YTQ29-ShlH_KRmDiNhNlbbQZqRGxW2IGjmH0a20TOc5goRdPhJim2Sl317RVwk2-MJCVuX1kr0_vUlIEbox7SjRohkoX3IwCkeL0HPxiAbiQZi9_LBqqLrol0NrTQkc/s1600/100_0950.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677482156065259938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCFJn3Bzxv3T-YTQ29-ShlH_KRmDiNhNlbbQZqRGxW2IGjmH0a20TOc5goRdPhJim2Sl317RVwk2-MJCVuX1kr0_vUlIEbox7SjRohkoX3IwCkeL0HPxiAbiQZi9_LBqqLrol0NrTQkc/s320/100_0950.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkqkfEuNvQ3Ai3WgvzNCW0i4zRYc74pwmtui_i1v3559Nme5I6ITzzSjpu_XBxXH1N-0PV-U0LkVil9s2WttBkocZojvvvl7oFejaTtZ7gifJrlZlO_vmZeQd308xlF4jRcCPBB6rS8I/s1600/100_0949.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677482055735810594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkqkfEuNvQ3Ai3WgvzNCW0i4zRYc74pwmtui_i1v3559Nme5I6ITzzSjpu_XBxXH1N-0PV-U0LkVil9s2WttBkocZojvvvl7oFejaTtZ7gifJrlZlO_vmZeQd308xlF4jRcCPBB6rS8I/s320/100_0949.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-42766563044112137752011-06-30T20:15:00.003-05:002011-06-30T20:21:07.579-05:00Dr. Lesley Rigg selected as Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Affairs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXWBQEy8nmDENxR8PvTqMoVKOIYbCJk-yt5R-R7bJvqPeZb-5xfQ9XweN65MNPbgUsgFSVAxN6jUYQclfZUANZ2RSmx0DVWQru5QNOUJ5QZzFKzfswLSCCR8tPnSoZ00CY8NKptSaxiA/s1600/04-Lesley+Rigg_Hall.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624187309759490802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXWBQEy8nmDENxR8PvTqMoVKOIYbCJk-yt5R-R7bJvqPeZb-5xfQ9XweN65MNPbgUsgFSVAxN6jUYQclfZUANZ2RSmx0DVWQru5QNOUJ5QZzFKzfswLSCCR8tPnSoZ00CY8NKptSaxiA/s320/04-Lesley+Rigg_Hall.jpg" /></a>Congratulations to Dr. Lesley Rigg from the Department of Geography! She has been selected as the Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Affairs. Dr. Rigg brings to the position a strong background as an active researcher, with funding from the National Science Foundation. She also brings experience as part of the leadership team of our NSF ADVANCE Catalyst Grant, as a former Director of Undergraduate Studies in Geography and as a member of numerous department, college and university committees and task forces. Her duties will begin on July 1.<br /><br />(Post submitted by Jodi Heitkamp)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-90392426910751837842011-05-29T16:39:00.003-05:002011-05-29T16:45:38.563-05:00Dr. Richard Greene featured on NIU TodayDr. Richard Greene's recent analysis of census data of suburban Chicago is featured on NIU Today.<br />See more details at <a href="http://www.niutoday.info/2011/05/24/shifting-suburban-hierarchy/">http://www.niutoday.info/2011/05/24/shifting-suburban-hierarchy/</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvp_AkfBGtMCy9VEaR7w6scgtCbS1fx2vcSwSASyq2ECUwYgnhCzNAYai13Tax5DIQKl7MwqpC1sStqjx0tRHL3eufORYnFrRaON3ZRGWzSILDHjWCQvKIxCNol1JcVbQ3hIkXA9fd6QM/s1600/greene-rich-map.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612257224697479906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvp_AkfBGtMCy9VEaR7w6scgtCbS1fx2vcSwSASyq2ECUwYgnhCzNAYai13Tax5DIQKl7MwqpC1sStqjx0tRHL3eufORYnFrRaON3ZRGWzSILDHjWCQvKIxCNol1JcVbQ3hIkXA9fd6QM/s320/greene-rich-map.jpg" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-89614585995588574752011-05-02T23:24:00.006-05:002011-05-02T23:36:37.413-05:00Geography Club Had a Productive and Fun YearDuring its second year of revitalization, NIU’s Geography Club had continued flourish. In early fall, many geography students and facility participated in the NIU Homecoming 5k race. A graduate student and Geography Club member managed to win the race and even set a course record. Once again, the Geography Department’s Career Day was the primary focus of fall activities. Member’s spent countless hours designing welcome banners and personalizing geography themed water bottles. 2010’s Career Day also marked the first annual creation of Geography Club calendars. Calendar ware created consisting of photos that members had taken themselves. Photos ranged from the DeKalb region to Montana’s National Glacial Park even European castles. All photos included specific longitude and latitude coordinates of the shown location. Calendars were available for sale as a means to raise funds for future Geography Club events. During the winter months Geography Club consistently held “movie nights.” Documentaries often covering geographic topics were shown in Davis Hall. After the film, a discussion was held to give students the opportunity to reflect and present their point of view. Once the weather warmed up geocaching trips to Afton Forest Preserve were organized as well as maple syruping seminars at DeKalb Nature Center. With another productive and fun year behind us, Geography Club is eager to embark on more adventures starting in August.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLVeNbFHW2uYs8SbU2pN0Bh0qniRB5ioiO3OYIw710JW5Y__4tlAKjuinSff__kweBXnoQsqy9jhuAwUAl1hS7pDG2z0BfPfCfqxyh9-OkYTTeXRxrPyLYVs7HbBsGEKmXNO5nBKP5uU/s1600/GeogCareerDay.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602343031014839570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLVeNbFHW2uYs8SbU2pN0Bh0qniRB5ioiO3OYIw710JW5Y__4tlAKjuinSff__kweBXnoQsqy9jhuAwUAl1hS7pDG2z0BfPfCfqxyh9-OkYTTeXRxrPyLYVs7HbBsGEKmXNO5nBKP5uU/s320/GeogCareerDay.jpg" /></a><br />Career Day<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQ1VaJSqA-Ba2kB6v7ss5jlgZqn-NKgUJX3UCUzfIFAwhIiX3o8H9zs4ZpYvshFGvCJDyHShFu92m0skDAud97QXT6KVsKs_YtqxJusxYRunXda05r3v1E8iouTmWrihTUKn9oU2bjfc/s1600/Geocaching.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 179px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602342826273206482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQ1VaJSqA-Ba2kB6v7ss5jlgZqn-NKgUJX3UCUzfIFAwhIiX3o8H9zs4ZpYvshFGvCJDyHShFu92m0skDAud97QXT6KVsKs_YtqxJusxYRunXda05r3v1E8iouTmWrihTUKn9oU2bjfc/s320/Geocaching.jpg" /></a><br />Geocaching<br /><br />(post contributed by Joe Sepulveda)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-35489840594945707392011-04-27T15:10:00.014-05:002011-04-27T15:40:59.118-05:00Strong Geography/Meterology Presence at the Undergraduate Research & Artistry DayThe following Geography and Meterology undergradatutes presented their research at the 2nd Annual Undergraduate Research & Artistry Day last week (4/20/2011).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyHgkAL0Ro3At3fe7HEh3BvBUbHKCbv2n0jfVoSiNMj-La85lNSg9npAOdFoBaemBwLObaaUcObdV2ZC0slNATJxHr9tS0wUyJ1rKD-QRarmRKvquWhTtGx1RPrjMGWYBDe8bJWrvzcc/s1600/100_0658.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600361414102241314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyHgkAL0Ro3At3fe7HEh3BvBUbHKCbv2n0jfVoSiNMj-La85lNSg9npAOdFoBaemBwLObaaUcObdV2ZC0slNATJxHr9tS0wUyJ1rKD-QRarmRKvquWhTtGx1RPrjMGWYBDe8bJWrvzcc/s320/100_0658.JPG" /></a><br />Congratulations to Shana Harris, Kristina Rohrbach, Thomas Polvika, Phillip Jagielo, and Dr. David Changnon for placing second in the Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Category.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm32_qeop-HZEvno__-DB2HBWSQ0iZjthX-tTl_MnvfYg36pHLs14svP3Zb7dTD1ZcfXEcw5CnuXs345NbTDyqSZPHtjYTpKuHdYVf02md7Lm_zl6tV3GK4__Ld9zvDBLZKURSJN-hImo/s1600/100_0651.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600361443344227026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm32_qeop-HZEvno__-DB2HBWSQ0iZjthX-tTl_MnvfYg36pHLs14svP3Zb7dTD1ZcfXEcw5CnuXs345NbTDyqSZPHtjYTpKuHdYVf02md7Lm_zl6tV3GK4__Ld9zvDBLZKURSJN-hImo/s320/100_0651.JPG" /></a><br />Trevor Edmonson<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPQNKsczBJ6q2bMpXsx49i0dXuP2kfKE_1iRnlWzUbUdW83U7cOIh4Vn4iMDzE5qiTQv9cQvrXNL4xFe3zQgSau2lk2qhnXL-2uzyt41bh4ex7QQuxWRbCHd-rvFK0mvFDrIMYMabnvU/s1600/100_0653.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600361437798543922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPQNKsczBJ6q2bMpXsx49i0dXuP2kfKE_1iRnlWzUbUdW83U7cOIh4Vn4iMDzE5qiTQv9cQvrXNL4xFe3zQgSau2lk2qhnXL-2uzyt41bh4ex7QQuxWRbCHd-rvFK0mvFDrIMYMabnvU/s320/100_0653.JPG" /></a><br />Josh Page<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14My10bN-CjxGzw8VAa4Ec_DlkRXxF9TtKanKygSwEx_A4y6MzhQpNsUjyhfKR4uuyN3djEpYfRIGY89dF7RBllNTx0S9TbF30IMsbT_f_wewviKarouyMNNO4gWQg6QsNtL9Tin0Xuk/s1600/100_0654.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600361432144269922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14My10bN-CjxGzw8VAa4Ec_DlkRXxF9TtKanKygSwEx_A4y6MzhQpNsUjyhfKR4uuyN3djEpYfRIGY89dF7RBllNTx0S9TbF30IMsbT_f_wewviKarouyMNNO4gWQg6QsNtL9Tin0Xuk/s320/100_0654.JPG" /></a><br />Sara Schultz<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqtNF1rIYIYV7ySyuRJZiqQQMH2-lFc3KbyYJYXQcGs3-ZvsbwFpWHyiyT9r9rpyNuzFSpFPYIj05OvF1XYwccm8N4He1PdLxpMdbgYeO9qcjRwDjTxXnVaQvI5Fq2jaAVUxHlnjK_UA/s1600/100_0656.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600361417603095010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqtNF1rIYIYV7ySyuRJZiqQQMH2-lFc3KbyYJYXQcGs3-ZvsbwFpWHyiyT9r9rpyNuzFSpFPYIj05OvF1XYwccm8N4He1PdLxpMdbgYeO9qcjRwDjTxXnVaQvI5Fq2jaAVUxHlnjK_UA/s320/100_0656.JPG" /></a><br />Rose Sengenberger, Alecia OsborneUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-83073452770267654192011-04-18T13:57:00.015-05:002011-04-20T18:28:33.342-05:00Geography faculty and students honoredThe following Geography faculty and students were honored recently for their excellence:<br /><br /><p>1. Dr. Michael Konen received 2011 NIU Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. For more information, see <a href="http://today.niu.edu/2011/04/19/soil-tells-a-story/">http://today.niu.edu/2011/04/19/soil-tells-a-story/</a>.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJj4b5UzY1HSSIOa_YsylPZSd72Q0bG0_Ma7dp88aFuS2gqVqQYizht_rTunVr7PJy-0A8xaSiVxigJhLHFPCQxLcmzV-0EQp9bjgwfRDo_3OKAuYo6IU1o_NSl2tXafPjDtOhOxL7_A/s1600/Mike-Konen.gif"><img style="WIDTH: 112px; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597003337747431970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJj4b5UzY1HSSIOa_YsylPZSd72Q0bG0_Ma7dp88aFuS2gqVqQYizht_rTunVr7PJy-0A8xaSiVxigJhLHFPCQxLcmzV-0EQp9bjgwfRDo_3OKAuYo6IU1o_NSl2tXafPjDtOhOxL7_A/s320/Mike-Konen.gif" /></a> </p>2. Clint Bailey was recognized by the The Soil Science Society of America as an outstanding graduating senior studying soils from universities across the country.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKchOI_0q1HKJSx4Neb04t1t4iAXWjdqzyi8TtS9wAuwu_TUjSXi-e1Kq2SX_DoJCvZLD1zr8YtYAD6hGrfPK2wecvX4eUSSi9JpB3BwM1gQt7wPaSqNM0BUDUvKxo7UwCB3z3Iz8KmI/s1600/Clint_Bailey.gif"><img style="WIDTH: 112px; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597005333381949890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKchOI_0q1HKJSx4Neb04t1t4iAXWjdqzyi8TtS9wAuwu_TUjSXi-e1Kq2SX_DoJCvZLD1zr8YtYAD6hGrfPK2wecvX4eUSSi9JpB3BwM1gQt7wPaSqNM0BUDUvKxo7UwCB3z3Iz8KmI/s320/Clint_Bailey.gif" /></a> </p>3. Tara Whipple was recognized as an Outstanding Graduate Student by the Graduate School of NIU.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14zAb6n7BBh-Q4ZtlVFqMHYEqNfaOyZEAyUZKj0eMp1jE9jQsmBofBHk9lOnlQquEqrRfb37O0oqIebtV3gzS2IXXTKM47e-EY6UbkqU5e885vu1_EPEFjWln3LRNRUOiqpgIKrHAOXE/s1600/Whippo_Tara.gif"><img style="WIDTH: 112px; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597003846515037602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14zAb6n7BBh-Q4ZtlVFqMHYEqNfaOyZEAyUZKj0eMp1jE9jQsmBofBHk9lOnlQquEqrRfb37O0oqIebtV3gzS2IXXTKM47e-EY6UbkqU5e885vu1_EPEFjWln3LRNRUOiqpgIKrHAOXE/s320/Whippo_Tara.gif" /></a> </p><br /><br /><p>Congratulations to all of them!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-24365001908436148032010-12-07T21:49:00.002-06:002010-12-07T21:53:47.986-06:002010 GTU inductees<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-: boldfont-family:Tahoma;" >The Department of Geography would like to welcome the 2010 inductees into Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), Iota Chapter. GTU is an international honor society in geography founded in 1928. Members of GTU have met academic requirements and share a background and interest in geography. GTU chapter activities support geography knowledge and awareness. Standing from left – Sarah Blue (Faculty), Ryan Coomer, Shannon McCarragher, Jacob Kruse, Alicia Lisowski, Steve Hamilton, Ata Shakir, Christine Carrier, Andrew Krmenec (Faculty Advisor), and Michaela Freidrichova. Sitting from left – Siqin Wang, Tara Whippo, Trevor Edmonson (President), and Michael Williams (Membership Chair). Not pictured – Benjamin Peterson, Daniel Weldon II, and Michael Schuch.</span><br /><h1 style="MARGIN: auto 0in"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-: boldfont-family:Tahoma;font-size:11;" ><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></h1><br /><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkqkMY5ECOckHh1cwDX4SHhQRT2vK3hSScogwO-M62XplQe9j2puHGEqwg0Y94GQE8QsQbWoATZCAP1U2ZjPNCh04hBqy47buBcFJdWiH66fe3QIpqjpC75oAZBXl7fqqNZZdz4Fxv4Tg/s1600/GTU+2010+Class-700717.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548153720918386818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkqkMY5ECOckHh1cwDX4SHhQRT2vK3hSScogwO-M62XplQe9j2puHGEqwg0Y94GQE8QsQbWoATZCAP1U2ZjPNCh04hBqy47buBcFJdWiH66fe3QIpqjpC75oAZBXl7fqqNZZdz4Fxv4Tg/s320/GTU+2010+Class-700717.jpg" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo">(Post contributed by Lenny Walther) </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-55385298392539192202010-11-02T08:10:00.007-05:002010-11-02T08:30:33.129-05:00Christine Carrier won 1st place in student paper competition at AAG West Lakes meetingNIU <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6cNxokx_8dyMExPANKik6slhc1xYzVKB46w9vXuWZCcJMmLFux4ZOjbtuzJSUsybT6LAro6idCin53D_qMI-c2vLtbpNg5ZUpgZiXYBVmwJq7qaXuc16popAUurUSlHMx4_-g4KNTXs/s1600/Carrier.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 168px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 216px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534943325743978786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6cNxokx_8dyMExPANKik6slhc1xYzVKB46w9vXuWZCcJMmLFux4ZOjbtuzJSUsybT6LAro6idCin53D_qMI-c2vLtbpNg5ZUpgZiXYBVmwJq7qaXuc16popAUurUSlHMx4_-g4KNTXs/s320/Carrier.jpg" /></a>Geography graduate student Christine Carrier won 1st place finish in the student paper competition at AAG West Lakes meeting held in in Macomb, IL, Oct. 21-23, 2010. She did an excellent job in writing the paper and presenting it at the conference. She received the highest point total among all entries. This award carries a check of $150, which will be sent directly from AAG central office in Washington, DC. Congratulations, Christine!<br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-60492686527630903442010-10-27T17:51:00.010-05:002010-10-27T19:08:49.748-05:00NIU hosted the 54th annual American Society of Agronomy Region 3 Soil Judging Contest<p class="mobile-photo">Northern Illinois University hosted the 54th annual American Society of Agronomy Region 3 Soil Judging Contest on October 8 and 9. The contest took place in DeKalb and Kane Counties. Sixty-five individuals from six teams (Northern Illinois University, Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) participated in the contest. </p><p class="mobile-photo">The contest was organized by Dr. Mike Konen (NIU). Soil pits were dug by Ron Collman (USDA-NRCS) and Zach Weber (USDA-NRCS). Mark Bramstadt (USDA-NRCS), Bill Kreznor (Kreznor and Associates), Bruce Putman (Putman Soil Testing), and Jennifer Wollenweber (USDA-NRCS) served as the official judges for the contest. John Begun, Dean Johnson, Eldon Gould, NIU, Dunteman Turf Farms, and Garfield Farm Museum were gracious hosts that allowed soil pits to be located on their property. Plaques were provided by the Illinois Soil Classifiers Association. Approximately 15 members and friends of the Department of Geography assisted with grading scorecards during the contest. Leonard Walther put the final touches on the design of the plaques and t-shirts. </p><p class="mobile-photo"><em>NIU Geography soil judging team took home 3rd place in both the Group and Team events. Clint Bailey won 3rd place finish in the individual event.</em> NIU team members included: Clint Bailey, Trevor Edmonson, Jacob Kruse, Jennifer LeVine, Wesley Poggenpohl, Ellyn Raimondi, Ryan Strelcheck, Ashley Warren, Norman Yackle. Alicia Lisowski and Steve Hamilton (both NIU graduate students) coached the team. </p><p class="mobile-photo">The highest scoring individual from an Illinois university and winner of the Burton W. Ray Scholarship Award this year is Clint Bailey from Northern Illinois University.</p><p class="mobile-photo">The top three teams are eligible to participate in the national contest that will be hosted in the spring of 2011 by Oregon State University near Bend, Oregon. This is the third consecutive year the NIU team has qualified for the national contest.</p><p class="mobile-photo">Congratulations to all of them! Thanks to the judges, coaches, and volunteers! </p><p class="mobile-photo">Dr. Konen has the following to say: "I think I can speak for everyone involved in thanking the volunteers and landowners for all their hard work and hospitality and as usual everyone learned a great deal about soils, landscapes, hydrology, vegetation, and land-use and had fun while participating in the contest. I think back to my undergraduate days at Iowa State University and know that if it was not for the opportunity to participate in Soil Judging I would most likely not have ended up becoming a Pedologist and having the privilege in continuing to participate in this important educational field experience.<br /></p><br /><p class="mobile-photo">Thanks to all of you that have supported and continue to support Soil Judging!"</p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgcTN2RUR2Eno5njMmXfx_sloX9nVDDekOLv8t9d2K13mHrv2YjPtIrbWysBbvHk5q6N_6vCvB_QkUTb3fit6F-WepowtqJ2EEcnBQhJ2hBh-kTnH4ql1lEyb6_dl14lqPOULuEr7ruA/s1600/judges-799510.BMP"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532862338723719922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgcTN2RUR2Eno5njMmXfx_sloX9nVDDekOLv8t9d2K13mHrv2YjPtIrbWysBbvHk5q6N_6vCvB_QkUTb3fit6F-WepowtqJ2EEcnBQhJ2hBh-kTnH4ql1lEyb6_dl14lqPOULuEr7ruA/s320/judges-799510.BMP" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><span style="font-size:78%;">Official judges Jennifer Wollenweber (NIU graduate), Mark Bramstadt, Bruce Putman, and Bill Kreznor.</span></p><p class="mobile-photo"></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-JrYbGaVIPNOcpRbCk_VHQvXL-hbaWXVXG9-uko49_CrEtEJgtGGCm0a4RLRa98dWFjgLYXEh36u1pYZ0-6zKgYmfD3-dhha5Ecyqn3D2lF1pzjdNtgDH5mNppW3elUB-vRtxV-RtC4/s1600/niuteam2.bmp"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 241px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532877366491317554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-JrYbGaVIPNOcpRbCk_VHQvXL-hbaWXVXG9-uko49_CrEtEJgtGGCm0a4RLRa98dWFjgLYXEh36u1pYZ0-6zKgYmfD3-dhha5Ecyqn3D2lF1pzjdNtgDH5mNppW3elUB-vRtxV-RtC4/s320/niuteam2.bmp" /></a><br /><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc-i5Y5Q8ZIx1X6AZhRzR2esPyE0ZMut5Hgl1pfTcYIUpNd6KEwp6QzajANdyGaw5Vcnkd2rXNRiQTGaJnObOEFArUW_RkYVjaNGcvPSR-pbdnqTgqeMrra5E1i_rAzXVxGJogz9TZ5g/s1600/2010+Soils+Pit7-700443.JPG"></a></p><span style="font-size:78%;">Northern Illinois University Soil Judging Team participating in group judging.<br /><br /></span><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rBGQkHR4YpHTGgMKuMBYUk8SuWjAOHMA_mXInJUAz_T90GhfdeM1O9yRAsvtNodbXBifD1LESlwrA74plqWrrDnlk1m_auNE_U38oS5FattYvo9mkwMvajqMYf5UGtFS2yqiBhbDiLM/s1600/grading-702203.BMP"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532862352187057778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rBGQkHR4YpHTGgMKuMBYUk8SuWjAOHMA_mXInJUAz_T90GhfdeM1O9yRAsvtNodbXBifD1LESlwrA74plqWrrDnlk1m_auNE_U38oS5FattYvo9mkwMvajqMYf5UGtFS2yqiBhbDiLM/s320/grading-702203.BMP" /></a></p><span style="font-size:78%;">Volunteers and coaches grading scorecards during the contest.</span><br /><br /><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlpEIJtTuUhdUlYcm9VONVLfAbXwdnzNWhp1wjuz3ySRXwTqevA5TZoRvsVe-FzHd_Ize0TMrt3st8TyhohGowDUS-Ap11aIlqAd-fvdqoWqkvagJx_tMuTJsX8lHp8iEl0Vod2XItuk/s1600/niuteam-703080.BMP"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532862355682963410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlpEIJtTuUhdUlYcm9VONVLfAbXwdnzNWhp1wjuz3ySRXwTqevA5TZoRvsVe-FzHd_Ize0TMrt3st8TyhohGowDUS-Ap11aIlqAd-fvdqoWqkvagJx_tMuTJsX8lHp8iEl0Vod2XItuk/s320/niuteam-703080.BMP" /></a></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Northern Illinois University Soil Judging Team.</span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZ79kEVA_xcKR5lNC2MThtX-ToplG7Zizxx2k_waEKLlz9ytnSAu4xazkno8fxdPrzREWKEytFQQn9qx1NpNv8W5vO2Lktp8Rb5T32wTON0QbXRMrj6TrqLUREVa4MscN1kNT5Fjjg_E/s1600/bailey.bmp"><img style="WIDTH: 209px; HEIGHT: 308px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532878817581671378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZ79kEVA_xcKR5lNC2MThtX-ToplG7Zizxx2k_waEKLlz9ytnSAu4xazkno8fxdPrzREWKEytFQQn9qx1NpNv8W5vO2Lktp8Rb5T32wTON0QbXRMrj6TrqLUREVa4MscN1kNT5Fjjg_E/s320/bailey.bmp" /></a> </p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Clint Bailey, Northern Illinois University. Winner of the Burton W. Ray Scholarship Award. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">(post contributed by Dr. Mike Konen)<br /></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-17057045562998094542010-10-18T14:25:00.009-05:002010-10-18T14:37:24.886-05:00Geography Well Represented at the First NIU Run to Victory 5k/1 Mile Walk<span style="color:#000000;">On a beautiful homecoming morning, when the Huskies would defeat Buffalo 45-14, Recreation Services held what was the first (of what hopefully will become an annual event) Run to Victory 5k/1 Mile Walk. The 5k course started at Anne’s Woods, with the first third of the course going through the neighborhood just east of campus and the last two thirds taking runners through campus near the Chick Evans Field House, past DuSable, Psych/Math, around the East Lagoon, north by the Art and Music buildings and ending near Anderson. Awards were given to overall winners, and top finisher in the following categories: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate student, faculty/staff and alumni. The Department of Geography was well represented at the race and in the winner’s circle with Michael Saxton placing 1st overall. Other winners were Josh Rynders (1st male senior), Meghan Fish (1st female senior), Dan Hansen (1st male grad) and Dawn Sibley (1st female staff). Geographers that also participated but not pictured were Jennifer LaVine, Colleen Mitchell and Alex Stalzer. Congratulations to all!<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QOQYOjFlcdK5bGgC4md9p2fY9DxGTbx68TeYAz-6H5rfVIowUVqA-uJd03G7xiHRh3O-XyVzM7jCwxEq8iSL6RKy_CrnVeh7aALARhECrGEjcp5tMqO835pjlhMmmBE7-R6KhUQMyME/s1600/Run+to+Victory+before.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529471081294375298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QOQYOjFlcdK5bGgC4md9p2fY9DxGTbx68TeYAz-6H5rfVIowUVqA-uJd03G7xiHRh3O-XyVzM7jCwxEq8iSL6RKy_CrnVeh7aALARhECrGEjcp5tMqO835pjlhMmmBE7-R6KhUQMyME/s320/Run+to+Victory+before.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UDhkmtUa9oYFEkwt3PtXttOqeXq1KAreCByDKedALAK98V_1f8LsnekuCnzMp1_i5SUA-_VW1VEwF4n2sVHx0bypefeNgAiza1m9IihpD7YN8QASgnaD_ntHCkQgwpWTO6GmIJpgU_s/s1600/Run+to+Victory+after.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529470710549138930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UDhkmtUa9oYFEkwt3PtXttOqeXq1KAreCByDKedALAK98V_1f8LsnekuCnzMp1_i5SUA-_VW1VEwF4n2sVHx0bypefeNgAiza1m9IihpD7YN8QASgnaD_ntHCkQgwpWTO6GmIJpgU_s/s320/Run+to+Victory+after.jpg" /></a> </div><div><br /><span style="color:#000000;">(Post contributed by Lenny Walther)</span> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-11136069515494360752010-10-04T20:50:00.017-05:002010-10-04T21:47:45.872-05:00<span style="font-size:180%;">Geography/Geology Softball 2010</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">On September 18th the Geography Club co-hosted a softball game against the Geology Club (SGE). The game was a success as we had professors and students play together on both sides and we hope to make this an annual event between the departments. The softball game was played on the field behind the Engineering building and Geology won 11-10. After the game both teams went to Edwardos for dinner to celebrate. </span><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">If you would like further information on Geography Club, please check the facebook group by searching "NIU Geography Club" for information on upcoming events.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPzWefIHhKQgC57nvb9uuTl8WC2yj6Pqeb59rSSu9Kp6kvP1TcgFSWQhGcgN-5QD1ytwZNQIUYGgQZcF7ZxLPkAtjxZIqIIiTsMXJ-z91bBtXGKJInc-UTjVk_QXtPPCZt-BfyTOWDSA/s1600/59465_1510215369762_1665714913_1210358_1617509_n.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 377px; HEIGHT: 283px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524379499464979618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPzWefIHhKQgC57nvb9uuTl8WC2yj6Pqeb59rSSu9Kp6kvP1TcgFSWQhGcgN-5QD1ytwZNQIUYGgQZcF7ZxLPkAtjxZIqIIiTsMXJ-z91bBtXGKJInc-UTjVk_QXtPPCZt-BfyTOWDSA/s320/59465_1510215369762_1665714913_1210358_1617509_n.jpg" /></a></span><br />(Post contributed by Trevor Edmonson)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_E6htX9M50B03cSayaizVtfKt4ogEbL3tvrFU4N246yTaeT6FGeJuda1LWbzi4MDpm9JUtHx3NtCTs_xucSLxorVeNgSkPPq3xslmio5MbE4KzHv71w7RJ64j2T5e4cWq2GfELzIIC8/s1600/59465_1510215369762_1665714913_1210358_1617509_n.jpg"></a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><span style="font-size:130%;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-26160159526129779362010-01-18T07:00:00.002-06:002010-01-28T12:16:02.321-06:00Spring 2010 NIU Geography Colloquium Schedule<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikv0Y7185GAMGk92tJINXQ2wuehUHtn1_oMZO-Zu7yS0hQUp27jRMu4HtRQSsvxxS8OLRsNTen9-fmuRZliqPubdnegYA48lVn9p18l9g3zpm_ESwFaQaCf0AUGcLaV6cP4PDGp1bA2VY/s1600-h/StateLarge2.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 116px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikv0Y7185GAMGk92tJINXQ2wuehUHtn1_oMZO-Zu7yS0hQUp27jRMu4HtRQSsvxxS8OLRsNTen9-fmuRZliqPubdnegYA48lVn9p18l9g3zpm_ESwFaQaCf0AUGcLaV6cP4PDGp1bA2VY/s400/StateLarge2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265229849413645202" border="0" /></a>Most Fridays between 3 and 4 pm, the Department of Geography hosts a colloquium in Davis Hall, Room 121. The colloquia provide a comfortable setting for innovative researchers both internal and external to NIU to share their work with NIU faculty, graduate students and the broader public. Critical and constructive discussion is encouraged in these settings. Listed below is the colloquium schedule for Spring 2010.<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 22</span>: Dr. Michael Konen and Dr. Brandon Curry (Northern Illinois University)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 29</span>: "Finding Food in Metropolitan Chicago: Food Access, Food Justice, and Community Development" by Dr. Daniel Block (Chicago State University) </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">February 19</span>: "Recording Insect Outbreaks with Tree Rings: Lessons from Cicadas and Pandora Moth" by Dr. James Speer (Indiana State University)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">February 26</span>: "Is there a choice to stay? The Global Ethics of Health Worker Migration." by Dr. Robert Huish (Dalhousie University)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">March 5</span>: "Climate Change Impact Assessments: Moving from the Local to the Global" by Dr. Julie Winkler (Michigan State University)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">March 26</span>: "Metabolism, Mortality, and Geography" by Dr. James Wilson (Northern Illinois University)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">April 9, April 23 and April 28: </span>Graduate Student Presentations (To be announced)</li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-2179218162727565322010-01-13T10:54:00.015-06:002010-01-14T07:30:55.562-06:00Research by NIU Geography Professor Supports Martian Ocean HypothesisA recent study by NIU Geographer <a href="http://www.geog.niu.edu/directory/Wei_Luo.shtml" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(34, 85, 136);">Wei Luo</span></a> and Tomasz Stepinski (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX) uses an innovative computer program to produce a more detailed global map of the valley networks on Mars based on topographic data. The findings, <a href="http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2009JE003357.shtml">published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets</a> (Luo and Stepinski, 2009), suggest that Martian networks are more than twice as extensive (2.3 times longer in total length) as had been previously depicted.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCPhbsuEpHhCUsTw4tMrxJLIGIVr5EcwLsJIyTy0Jff85ab1PHAkHNH1uQaDZyNicbFjN85t2XdZW1hSd6jh7a49_sjQ0h3fGIVxPA5AXH3pkqg_10cwp_jcDG6IYMrXp-eT5uPV5K6k/s1600-h/MARS+VALLEY+NETWORK.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCPhbsuEpHhCUsTw4tMrxJLIGIVr5EcwLsJIyTy0Jff85ab1PHAkHNH1uQaDZyNicbFjN85t2XdZW1hSd6jh7a49_sjQ0h3fGIVxPA5AXH3pkqg_10cwp_jcDG6IYMrXp-eT5uPV5K6k/s400/MARS+VALLEY+NETWORK.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426302080152414434" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">Mars valley network</span></span><br /></div><br />Further, regions that are most densely dissected by the valley networks roughly form a belt around the planet between the equator and mid-southern latitudes, consistent with a past climate scenario that included precipitation and the presence of an ocean covering a large portion of Mars’ northern hemisphere. Scientists have previously hypothesized that a single ocean existed on ancient Mars, but the issue has been hotly debated. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"></span> Luo states, “all the evidence gathered by analyzing the valley network on the new map points to a particular climate scenario on early Mars that would have included rainfall and the existence of an ocean covering most of the northern hemisphere, or about one-third of the planet’s surface.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oKIaIb9akQun8tBjBvvZsl7ZIoYlhsDPqj__3Jpl-UYPq13PBcMv-0N6M-HD2i65qPvhoNI6wB3xncbQHbL87_NCrKt24t1FHq7wTLuhLO61RzoFrFgzwsgCiagNV9z61G_-kPiBhWA/s1600-h/Mars+ocean.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oKIaIb9akQun8tBjBvvZsl7ZIoYlhsDPqj__3Jpl-UYPq13PBcMv-0N6M-HD2i65qPvhoNI6wB3xncbQHbL87_NCrKt24t1FHq7wTLuhLO61RzoFrFgzwsgCiagNV9z61G_-kPiBhWA/s400/Mars+ocean.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426301998052205874" border="0" /></a><p><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">Mars ocean</span></p><p>The research was funded in part by NASA's Mars Data Analysis Program. Together with Stepinski, Luo developed a global GIS database of drainage patterns on Mars. The database takes advantage of significant advances in machine cartography and consists of high resolution maps of Martian topography. The GIS database is a significant update to the only available global map of valley networks that was constructed in 1990s using Viking-era images. The Martian maps and a conversation with Dr. Luo is available via NIU's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/NorthernIllUniv#p/u/3/3xAGIDco6yE">YouTube</a> page.<br /></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/NorthernIllUniv#p/u/3/3xAGIDco6yE"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0P-NB-KxHjWKRyz-YuK2qhfFhOasdbUv6iLi1rM_K5LFdkPxzxVs7qKZklLrs4xuBMcIYEzxrZ1Dh2RvzEH4IAh6ixkHIqPTsBvV34gdZkIOeRDIuxqcfF2XpwxmRB3gKcLPsMyo0ec/s400/WeiLuo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426280008483462050" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-16125758212931804702009-11-11T19:51:00.007-06:002009-11-11T20:10:02.799-06:00Department Gears Up For Nat'l Geography Awareness Week '09The week of November 15-21 is National Geography Awareness week. The Geography Department will host several events to celebrate the event. Career-related events for students include a panel discussion with geography faculty about how to apply for graduate school on November 18th from 12-1pm in 103 Davis Hall. We will be hosting a GIS Night event from 6-8:30pm on November 18th in 114 Davis Hall (See last year's blog entry concerning <a href="http://niugeography.blogspot.com/2008/11/niu-department-of-geography-hosts-gis.html">GIS Night '08</a>). Our celebrations of Geography Awareness Week culminate on November 20th with an annual Career Day event for students, alumni, and friends of Geography and Meteorology, that begins at 1pm in 121 Davis Hall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw12U8kPiv0Oxkc8VKNTHBaK3SaMPJjvdtSvYTvEmd9KUmfgm7bnC-51MaRy4tccH_swBRMUgnu7OFQleyhOWM82YJD7jE_BsNuN4NZiRSEPyyyD2Xq_s9w_KBh9JgDK_W5fxkDzsglm8/s1600-h/NIUGeography.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw12U8kPiv0Oxkc8VKNTHBaK3SaMPJjvdtSvYTvEmd9KUmfgm7bnC-51MaRy4tccH_swBRMUgnu7OFQleyhOWM82YJD7jE_BsNuN4NZiRSEPyyyD2Xq_s9w_KBh9JgDK_W5fxkDzsglm8/s400/NIUGeography.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403032568832157314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Career Day is a long-running tradition in the Geography Department, when our alumni return to talk about the importance of geographic knowledge in the real world, share information about their work experiences, advise faculty and students on the status of geographic and meteorological careers, keep us abreast of educational requirements in these fields, and recruit students for internships and other career related experiences. This year, we are also celebrating the <a href="http://www.niu.edu/clas50/">50th anniversary of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</a> and the commencement of our <a href="http://catalog.niu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=13&poid=2577&bc=1">Ph.D. program</a> in January 2010.<br /><br />The National Geographic Society also sponsors activities related to this years theme of "Get lost in mapping: Find your place in the world!" From November 15-21, go to <a href="http://www.geographyawarenessweek.org/">GeographyAwarenessWeek.org</a> for games, activities, and lessons about mapping that you can do at home or at school, brought to you by National Geographic and partner organizations. Explore maps big and small, high-tech and low-tech!<br /><br />At <a href="http://www.geographyawarenessweek.org/">GeographyAwarenessWeek.org</a>, you can piece together a poster-size map for your bedroom wall or a giant map for your school gymnasium. Take a virtual world tour with Google Earth and watch a video that explains how today's geospatial revolution is changing everything from shipping to warfare. Test your skills with the Expedition 2 game and a Mystery Location quiz. You can even join 100,000 "map activists" by participating in a blog-a-thon, hosting a Geography Awareness Week event, or signing up for the new GeoMentor program.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Post contributed by Dr. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Sarah Blue </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-65479194774096493662009-11-03T08:46:00.013-06:002009-11-03T10:32:58.447-06:00Students and Faculty Form NIU Geography Club and Revitalize GTU Honor Society ChapterIn an effort to better connect students and faculty both inside and outside the classroom, geography students have urged the formation of an NIU Geography Club. The club has already met several times this fall semester and has planned off-campus events and outreach activities to engage students and bolster membership. Current officers of the NIU Geography Club are: Joe Sepulveda (President), Andrew Bogda (Vice President), Rachael Poll (Secretary), Adam Rasmussen (Treasurer) and Trevor Edmonson (Public Relations Officer).<br /><br />In addition to forming the NIU Geography Club, the department is revitalizing its Iota Gamma Chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU) which was established in 1965 but has been relatively dormant since the mid-1980s. GTU is an international academic honor society in geography that was founded in 1928. GTU's mission is to bring together university students who share a background and interest in geography and, more generally, support geographic knowledge and awareness.<br /><br />We invite you to become active participants in these groups. Membership information is below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs07VDCRIU9qjkx_pE0eEjqnciesxU51bmI2ZjuPIJ34-OkR8fLzSHMxov-fKrD_WfI5rTVoRyqS2YmrWsjiA30yI34ACTcMGj32vsqReqribz9Ykg4a4Gsyjjgfhmy8AzrGCHGq5iEe0/s1600-h/NIUGeography.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs07VDCRIU9qjkx_pE0eEjqnciesxU51bmI2ZjuPIJ34-OkR8fLzSHMxov-fKrD_WfI5rTVoRyqS2YmrWsjiA30yI34ACTcMGj32vsqReqribz9Ykg4a4Gsyjjgfhmy8AzrGCHGq5iEe0/s400/NIUGeography.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399889844803201266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Membership in the NIU Geography Club</span><br />Everyone is welcome to join who is a student at NIU. There is no cost for membership at this time. Anyone who is interested should join the club's facebook group (NIU Geography Club) or contact <a href="mailto:dgoldblum@niu.edu">Dr. David Goldblum</a> for additional information.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Membership in Gamma Theta Upsilon</span><br />Membership in GTU is a distinction that could, and should, be noted on a resume. Membership also qualifies you to apply for a variety of scholarships and offers the opportunity to hone your leadership skills through NIU's Iota Gamma Chapter activities and activities of the Geography Club. For more information about GTU, please see their website <a href="http://www.gammathetaupsilon.org/">http://www.gammathetaupsilon.org</a>. Membership in Gamma Theta Upsilon is based on academic performance and course work in geography. Your are eligible for membership if you have:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">1) taken at least three geography courses (e.g., GEOG 105/106, 460 and 370);<br />2) achieved a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 in all course work; and<br />3) achieved a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 in all geography courses.<br /></div><br />If you believe that you are eligible and would like to join NIU's GTU chapter, please email <a href="mailto:akrmenec@niu.edu">Dr. Andrew Krmenec</a> your request. There is a mandatory initiation fee of $40. You would be responsible for $20; the other half of initiation fees to GTU will be paid through a one-time gift from a friend of the Department of Geography.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Post contributed by Trevor Edmonson, </span></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Andrew Krmenec and C. Scott Smith </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-86822135411152456602009-10-30T18:12:00.015-05:002009-11-01T16:32:25.668-06:00NIU Geography Students Present Research, Win Award at ILGISA ConferenceNIU Geography seniors, Michaela Friedrichova and John Trishcan presented their research at the Illinois GIS Association (ILGISA) fall conference held at NIU's Naperville campus on October 6.<br /><br />The title of Michaela's presentation was <span style="font-style: italic;">Creating a Customized Google Map: A Case Study of Tai Toponyms in Southern China and Thailand</span>. She used ArcMap2GMap to convert shapefiles of Tai toponyms to a Google Map format with built-in JavaScript, which can be fully customized to show multiple visible layers in Tai and Chinese fonts. The custom Google Map--available at <a href="http://www.niu.edu/landform/taiplacenames.html">http://www.niu.edu/landform/taiplacenames.html</a>--can be used to visualize and explore the spatial distribution of Tai toponyms and their relationship with the physical environment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-AcmsWQnF63kjXF1Q8L0b1KrKau42_ChYQ3Kf13JnsZ2ydZ7-_qMskV5qIeCUQxKRBtEjbOd_KMORw4cJ5xitPcLo3WRf3TGa6LnNW2KTRY-nosvMLDulaA-r4cDci_QPxUTSskBFaE/s1600-h/Toponyms.png"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-AcmsWQnF63kjXF1Q8L0b1KrKau42_ChYQ3Kf13JnsZ2ydZ7-_qMskV5qIeCUQxKRBtEjbOd_KMORw4cJ5xitPcLo3WRf3TGa6LnNW2KTRY-nosvMLDulaA-r4cDci_QPxUTSskBFaE/s400/Toponyms.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398545886663043122" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">Google Map created by Michaela Friedrichova and Dr. Wei Luo, Northern Illinois University, 2009</span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcgqfuIQ45lx6blB3L2LKnz4-qTklEifXYrdTt5HpIG6X7My00ziukIvhX-NN0vTw_bjHuYbpzoh9YhOCrWQbTIKx0pwyyvO0s9MOoiDHmeIvdT8Llhyphenhyphen8YWPvrg-h1yAEsnkVxaBfBxs/s1600-h/Mars.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 111px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcgqfuIQ45lx6blB3L2LKnz4-qTklEifXYrdTt5HpIG6X7My00ziukIvhX-NN0vTw_bjHuYbpzoh9YhOCrWQbTIKx0pwyyvO0s9MOoiDHmeIvdT8Llhyphenhyphen8YWPvrg-h1yAEsnkVxaBfBxs/s400/Mars.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398547325443455266" border="0" /></a>John's presentation concerned <span style="font-style: italic;">Estimating the Volume of Excavation of Martian Valley Networks</span>. He used Black Top Hat transformation, an image processing technique, to extract valley depth from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data and estimated the volume of selected valley networks on Mars. Valley networks are river-like features on Mars that may contain important information about past climate and water on Mars. Estimating their volume can help determine the amount water needed to form them and the rate of erosion.<br /><br />This was the first professional presentation for both Michaela and John and they learned a lot from this experience. They both have been working with Dr. Wei Luo since this summer.<br /><br />Melissa Burlingame, an NIU Geography graduate student, won ILGISA's People's Choice Award for her the poster she presented, entitled, <span style="font-style: italic;">Evaluating Land Cover Changes Over Time</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJ9nbDhBWQjRl8AnZ8TXcZElKMlWZWpZZeeT8uY9uytuIteWUafX5Jffn2l6ZYocxiLTHt5hRHhuT0_G8MjCpadRuivXg9aEiIr_A01FXQnHbfYbqTPBMt8cOcrALYF-QvCQFGlXs68Q/s1600-h/MellisaPoster.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJ9nbDhBWQjRl8AnZ8TXcZElKMlWZWpZZeeT8uY9uytuIteWUafX5Jffn2l6ZYocxiLTHt5hRHhuT0_G8MjCpadRuivXg9aEiIr_A01FXQnHbfYbqTPBMt8cOcrALYF-QvCQFGlXs68Q/s400/MellisaPoster.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398547212936184162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:78%;" >Map created by Melissa Burlingame</span><br /></div><br />Melissa's research examines how county-wide assessment of natural resource management policies may be improved with access to readily-available data and easily-interpretable measures. Kane County, Illinois was chosen as the study area due, in part, to its rapid urban development over the past decade. Publicly available land cover data from the US Department of Agriculture (National Agriculture Statistics Service –NASS) were used together with FRAGSTATS, a landscape ecology freeware package, to examine land cover changes and evaluate the degree to which these analyses may inform conservation policy decisions. Melissa's preliminary findings suggest that Kane County has made progress toward conserving forest, wetland, and pasture land over the study period.<br /><br />Congratulations NIU Geography students on your impressive work!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Post contributed by <a href="http://globe.geog.niu.edu/directory/Wei_Luo.shtml">Dr. Wei Luo</a> and <a href="http://globe.geog.niu.edu/directory/Scott_Smith.shtml">C. Scott Smith </a></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398071866739426216.post-29993307687964820042009-10-25T17:46:00.015-05:002009-10-26T09:29:38.352-05:00NIU Geography Soil Judging Team Advances to National CompetitionObservation is often the first step toward understanding in science. For student members of NIU's Soil Judging Team, observation is also the key to determining the nature of a soil, how it formed, what types of vegetation it can support, how well it drains, and its ability to safely bear homes, buildings, and roads.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5cJ_eSC6lrTmsDe-BnYcRtMESyUmoiAyMOd876-0-wGpWmCBPGG2IAnOUXdDmKNa-fCZ5ynzKccmyTTvGevKc8KSgZxjPQskr5aF0k4IOVN7Hqj97Envl_BHRQBRTgOATcrj4ToIO8A/s1600-h/IndividualJudging_blog.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5cJ_eSC6lrTmsDe-BnYcRtMESyUmoiAyMOd876-0-wGpWmCBPGG2IAnOUXdDmKNa-fCZ5ynzKccmyTTvGevKc8KSgZxjPQskr5aF0k4IOVN7Hqj97Envl_BHRQBRTgOATcrj4ToIO8A/s400/IndividualJudging_blog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396691155441064450" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4atQFhGun7jvSJobnjGDGaax-SQXcjqljGccExdiHE6SuR7Yw4vd_TifzFvOIyy-fOLkX-9mxGnRYenuOoKTP6d1ofHXwFaDqz-w7t7Wz5Nd23YRoaFh-2-QXFJNgqBp-wx736JPw1k/s1600-h/TeamJudging_blog.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4atQFhGun7jvSJobnjGDGaax-SQXcjqljGccExdiHE6SuR7Yw4vd_TifzFvOIyy-fOLkX-9mxGnRYenuOoKTP6d1ofHXwFaDqz-w7t7Wz5Nd23YRoaFh-2-QXFJNgqBp-wx736JPw1k/s400/TeamJudging_blog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396691356979467378" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Individual Soil Judging (left) and Team Soil Judging (right)</span></span><br /><br />For the third year in a row, a team of students from Northern Illinois University competed in soil judging against teams from universities in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan and, for the second year in a row, NIU's soil judging team demonstrated their outstanding skills in observation and interpretation. NIU's team of TJ Abell, Clint Bailey, Aaron Browning, Paul Gruca, Amber Singer, and Norman Yackle placed second overall in the Region 3 Soil Judging contest held in early October near West Lafayette, Indiana. Two of the team's members <span style="font-style: italic;">medaled</span> in the individual competition, with Aaron Browning placing second and Clint Bailey placing fifth. This year's Region 3 Collegiate Soils Contest was hosted by Purdue University and the Indiana Association of Professional Soil Classifiers. By virtue of its second place score, NIU's Soil Judging Team is eligible to compete in the 50th Anniversary National Collegiate Soils Competition to be held in Lubbock, Texas in March 2010. Congratulations!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHedtSGm6zhiexk1zdujlWn5lmSDenKOHAYN8VKU98wE-kMFa6Qdiz2U73deE9atZLPhFma2bJPFzKzwBfGkc4gLbu0oDkJI0C_sFu4EMmtxA7SsXsWnji_V9Atogk1ZYsiaWq9r69lMA/s1600-h/NIUSoilJudgingTeam_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 429px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHedtSGm6zhiexk1zdujlWn5lmSDenKOHAYN8VKU98wE-kMFa6Qdiz2U73deE9atZLPhFma2bJPFzKzwBfGkc4gLbu0oDkJI0C_sFu4EMmtxA7SsXsWnji_V9Atogk1ZYsiaWq9r69lMA/s400/NIUSoilJudgingTeam_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396692912490543090" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />NIU's Soil Judging Team: TJ Abell, Clint Bailey, Aaron Browning, Paul Gruca, Amber Singer, Norman Yackle and Alicia Lisowski</span></span><br /><br />The NIU Soil Judging Team is coached by Dr. Mike Konen, Associate Professor of Geography, and Alicia Lisowski, MS-candidate in Geography.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Post contributed by <a href="http://globe.geog.niu.edu/directory/Andrew_Krmenec.shtml">Dr. Andrew Krmenec</a></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com