News

July 2020: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins the GEOINT's United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) Doctoral Scholarship.

July 2020: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins the Best Student Paper from the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Eurasian Specialty Group's Student Paper Competition for her paper, "Conditions for Ethnic Conflict in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Applying Multi-Criteria Evaluation to Ethnic Conflict in Kyrgyzstan."

May 2020. Brittany Krzyzanowski won a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship for her project "Sharing Fine Resolution Protected Health Information: Using Regionalization to create HIPAA Compliant Aggregations."

November 2019: Brittany Krzyzanowski was awarded a Graduate Student Research Development Grant through the Minnesota Population Center for her dissertation "Sharing Fine Resolution Protected Health Information: Using Regionalization to create HIPAA Compliant Aggregations."

April 2019: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins a Poster Award for her poster "Which Region of Kyrgyzstan is Most Vulnerable to Ethnic Conflict? Evidence from Fieldwork" at the Population Association of America's (PAA) annual meeting in the poster session on Population, Development, and the Environment.

April 2019: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois was awarded Best Student Paper from the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Eurasian Specialty Group's Student Paper Competition for her paper, Mapping Azerbaijan's Vulnerability: Analysis of toxic hotspots and migration. She also won second place in the Cartography Specialty Group's Illustrated Paper Competition for her presentation on Mapping Azerbaijan's Regional Vulnerability: Analysis of pollutant and demographic data.  

April 2019: Brittany Krzyzanowski is first author on a paper "Use of a Geographic Information System to create treatment groups for group-randomized community trials: The Minnesota Heart Health Program" in Trials.

March 2019: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois was awarded the FLAS fellowship to study Intermediate Persian (2019-2020) and won a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) for Advanced Azerbaijani language study and to conduct dissertation research in the field during Summer 2019.

March 2019: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois invited to the Colorado Boulder's Population Center's Migration, Climate, Health mini-conference to present her research on Azerbaijan's environmental vulnerability.

March 2019: HEGIS alum Chris Crawford appointed Research Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey with a duty location at EROS in South Dakota.

February 2019: HEGIS member Brittany Krzyzanowski wins an Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship for the 2019-20 Academic Year.

September 2018: Steven Manson and colleagues win $4 million from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health to advance the big data of human-environment research via the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS).

March 2018: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins COGS Conference Travel Grant to present a collaborative paper,  "Permafrost Degradation and Coastal Erosion in the US and Russia: Opportunities for Collaboration in Addressing Shared Climate Change Impacts" with the Stanford-US Russian Forum (SURF) Climate and Environmental Working Group at Stanford University. 

January 2018: Maryia Bakhtsiyarava wins the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship (2018-2019) and will work with the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility to improve our understanding of the interplay between climate variability and nutritional outcomes. 

October 2017: Maryia Bakhtsiyarava wins a COGS Conference Travel Grant to present a paper on agricultural specialization, climate, and child nutrition at the International Population Conference organized by the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population in Cape Town, South Africa. 

October 2017: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins COGS Conference Travel Grant to present a collaborative paper on climate and environmental migration in Russia and Alaska at the Stanford U.S.- Russia (SURF) in Moscow, Russia. 

September 2017. Steven Manson and colleagues win a research grant for $1,452,537 from the National Science Foundation Sociology and Data Infrastructure Programs for the project "IPUMS-Terra: Global Population and Agricultural Data." Dr. Manson is joined by U of M researchers Lara Cleveland, Jack DeWaard, Steven Ruggles, and Leah Samberg. IPUMS Terra integrates, preserves, and disseminates data describing characteristics of the human population and the environment. This project incorporate data from over 1,000 population and agricultural censuses into IPUMS Terra.

September 2017. HEGIS alumni Shipeng Sun is appointed Assistant Professor in GeoInformatics in the Department of Geography, Hunter College, The City University of New York (CUNY).

August 2017: HEGIS alumni Jerry Shannon in the news for his viral maps of the eclispe.

May 2017: Maria Bakhtsiyarava wins the Best Student Publication (2016-17) in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society for her article in Applied Geography. 

April 2017: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins the David L. Boren Fellowship to conduct preliminary fieldwork and advance her language skills in Azerbaijan (2017- 2018). 

April 2017: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins first place in the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Cartography Specialty Group's Illustrated Paper Competition for her presentation on Soya Production within Uzbek-Kyrgyz Communities: Identifying the Inputs of Ethnic Conflict in the Field

April 2017: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois is awarded Honorable Mention from the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Eurasian Specialty Group's Student Paper Competition for her paper With Love, From Russia: The Art of 'Gifting'

March 2017: Brittany Krzyzanowski is awarded the Consortium Student Scholarship by the University's Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences for her project, "Bridging the Gap Between Health Geography and Evidence-Based Public Health Policy by Facilitating Knowledge of Spatial methods with Dynamic Geovisualization.”

March 2017: Bryan Runck wins a National Science Foundation grant to attend the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science Summer School in cyberGIS at the University of Illinois and to attend the UCGIS Symposium in Washington, D.C. 

February 2017: Chelsea Cervantes De Blois wins a Title VIII Fellowship for the study of 5th-Year Russian in the Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia.

November 2016: Maryia Bakhtsiyarava and Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois both wins a COGS Travel Grant. Maryia attended the Summer School on Spatial Statistics (GEOSTAT 2016) at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Chelsea competed in the annual North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) conference's Student Map & Research Competition.

September 2016: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois and Bryan Runck win fellowships to participate in the NSF-funded research project "From 0 to 2" to develop an online platform for crowdsourcing innovation and foster the search for solutions to societal problems under societal, engineering, and scientific constraints.

August 2016: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois wins the Dr. Nancy “Rusty” Barceló Scholarship. Her achievments are recognized at the Celebrating University Women Awards program on Thursday, October 20, 2016.

June 2016: Maryia Bakhtsiyarava and Kathryn Grace win a MPC Research Collaboration Award for the project Comparative analysis of the relationship between climate variability, agricultural specialization and children's health: evidence from Kenya and Mali.

May 2016: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois win a NACIS Travel Grant for the NACIS conference in Colorado Springs, in October 2016.

April 2016: Steven Manson is named Scholar of the College for the U of M's College of Liberal Arts. 

March 2016: Chelsea L. Cervantes De Blois was awarded a full FLAS fellowship to study Russian, won a MPC Diversity Fellowship for this summer, and picked up a COSP Travel Grant to travel to the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) conference.

February 2016: Dudley Bonsal appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at James Madison University.

October 2015: Joseph Krenzelok (BS) won the Minnesota GIS/LIS Student Scholar Award for his project, "Detecting Terminus Advance and Velocity of Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, Using Image Correlation Techniques."

September 2015: Jenny Immich is a GIS lecturer in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

April 2015: Brittany Krzyzanowski wins a COGS travel grant to attend the Esri User Conference.

April 2015: Adam Berland appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Ball State University.

March 2015: Chris Crawford starts a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Maryland's Earth Systems Science Interdisciplinary Center.

February 2015: Jerry Shannon becomes Assistant Professor in Geography at University of Georgia.

September 2014: HEGIS welcomes new graduate students (see people).

September 2014: Shipeng Sun appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at University of Illinois Springfield.

September 2014: Jennifer Immich appointed GIS Teaching Fellow at Middlebury College.

May 2013: Chris Crawford receives a 2013-2014 NASA Post-Doctoral Fellowship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

January 2013: Jerry Shannon takes a three year position as temporary assistant professor in Geography at University of Georgia.

October 2012: Sami Eria becomes a Support Analyst with the ArcObjects SDK Unit with Esri in Redlands, California.

May 2012: Alex Amodovar served as a MATCH ambassador for International Student and Scholar Services, which involved a $350 grant and certificate of service to the University of Minnesota.

April 2012: Jerry Shannon receives an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant.

September 2011: Jerry Shannon receives a U of M Graduate School Fellowship.

August 2011: Adam Berland appointed Visiting Instructor, Miami University (OH), Institute for the Environment and Sustainability and Geography.

May 2011: Heather Sander takes a job in the Department of Geography, University of Iowa.

April 2011: Steven Manson receives and Outstanding Reviewer Award, Environmental Modelling and Software.

April 2011: Debs Ghosh takes a job in the Department of Geography, University of Connecticut.

April 2011: Chris Crawford elected to the Cryosphere Specialty Group Board of Directors of the Association of American Geographers.

April 2011: Jerry Shannon awarded a Graduate Research Partnership Program Fellowship and the Ralph Hall Brown Prize for best graduate student publication

September 2010: Dudley Bonsal receives a U of M Graduate School Fellowship.

June 2010: Chris Crawford receives a 2011 NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship.

January 2010: Adam Berland receives a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant.

November 2009: Adam Berland receives a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from the U of M Graduate School

June 2009: Steven Manson named Resident Fellow, Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota.

February 2009: Steven Manson receives Sustainability Science Award, Ecological Society of America. The award recognizes “an outstanding contribution to sustainability science.” The award was given to each of the 26 authors in a Special Feature on Land Change Science, published in 2007 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In a synthesis paper and five original research papers, the special feature explores central factors that contribute to global change, including deforestation, land fragmentation, ecological regime shifts and the loss of ecosystem services. Special recognition was accorded to B.L. Turner II of Arizona State University as author of the synthesis paper

January 2009: Sami Eria receives ICGC-Compton International Fellowship from the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change, University of Minnesota, USA.

December 2008: Adam Berland   wins both a Thesis Research Grant from the U of M Graduate School and a grant from the Graduate Research Partnership Program from the College of Liberal Arts

October 2008: Len Kne took first place in the graduate paper competitions at the Mn GIS/LIS Conference in Rochester. Len Kne won a $1000 award with his paper and presentation, Measuring the usability of web mapping applications: The use of eye tracking systems to evaluate GIS on the web.

June 2008: Len Kne is the 2008 UMN Minnesota GIS/LIS Scholarship Award winners for graduate students.  Len will represent the University of Minnesota when he competes in the Student Paper sessions at the Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium Annual Meeting. Recipients of this award are recognized for the high quality of their GIS-based research and for their involvement in the GIS profession.

May 2008: MGIS student, Len Kne has received a Google Summer of Code grant to work on Mapbender, a project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo).  The Google Summer of Code links students with mentors to work on a variety of Free and Open Source projects.  This year 1,125 students were selected to work with 175 projects.  Len will be developing new administration modules for Mapbender, a customizable web mapping application.  Mapbender is a primary technology of Minnesota Interactive Internet Mapping, a web-based application that introduces K-12 and post-secondary students to principles of geography and GIS. See maps.umn.edu for more information.

April 2008: Heather Sander wins a Resources for the Future Joseph L. Fisher Doctoral Dissertation Award for the project "What’s it worth? Improving land use planning through the modeling and economic valuation of ecosystem services."

April 2008: Debs Ghosh wins several AAG awards, including 2nd Place Student Paper Award in the Graduate Student Affinity Group, an Association of American Geographers Travel Award and separate Graduate Research Award via the International Geographic Information Fund, and finally, an Association of American Geographers Dissertation Research Grant.

February 2008: Len Kne, MGIS student, won "Research Project of the Year" from the University of Minnesota Graduate and Professional Student Assembly. Len presented his cutting-edge work building the Minnesota Interactive Internet Mapping (MIIM) Project, which focuses on the development of an internet mapping application that supports a range of educational activities. While MIIM is similar to Google Maps or MapQuest in providing maps, it offers many advantages over other services, including a far broader range of data, interactivity, security, ease of use, customization, analytical capabilities, low resource demands, and sustainability.

Spring 2008: HEGIS hosts several classes from EcoEducation and helps out with CLA's College Day. Much of this work centers on the Minnesota Interactive Mapping Project; MIIM is an internet mapping application that supports courses across the K-12 curriculum.

December 2007: Debs Ghosh wins an Association of American Geographers Travel Award from the International Geographic Information Fund. She also wins 3rd Place Best Poster Award at the 130th Annual Applied Geography Conference, Indianapolis, IN, and 3rd Place Student Paper Award in the Urban And Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) paper competition.

August 2007: HEGIS hosts a Professional Development Institute for thirty Twin Cities teachers in collaboration with EcoEducation.  Lab members presented on the Minnesota Interactive Mapping Project; MIIM is an internet mapping application that supports courses across the K-12 curriculum.

August 2007: HEGIS receives grant from the National Science Foundation. BE/CNH: Understanding the Importance of Weak-Tie Networks in Complex Human-Environment Systems: Ecosocial Feedback in Multifunctional Agriculture. In collaboration with N. Jordan and K. Nelson.

June 2007: HEGIS receives grant from the Office for Public Engagement, University of Minnesota. Strengthening Public Engagement Through a Web-Based Curriculum on Spatial Thinking in Environmental Education.  In collaboration with A. M. McDowell, CLA Outreach Coordinator.

June 2007: Debs Ghosh receives award in the URISA Student Paper Competition

May 2007: HEGIS receives grant from Information Technology Fees Committee, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota. Minnesota Interactive Mapping Project. 

April 2006: Adam Berland receives a Geography Summer Fellowship.

May 2007. HEGIS receives grant from the Minnesota Population Center. Development and Application of a Twin Cities Geographic Dataset for Population Research. In collaboration with M. Oakes and M. Orfield.

October 2006: Justin Becknell receives UMN Undergraduate MN GIS/LIS Scholarship Award

September 2006: Steven Manson receives NASA New Investigator in Earth-Sun System Science Award

May 2006: Debs Ghosh receives a 2006 Graduate Research Partnership Program award

May 2006: April Rog receives UROP and McNair Awards

April 2006: Debs Ghosh receives the Best Student Paper Award. Regional Development and Planning Specialty Group, Association of American Geographers.

January 2006: Steven Manson receives McKnight Land-Grant Professorship.

January 2006: HEGIS receives grant from Grant-In-Aid Of Research, Artistry and Scholarship, Office of the Dean of the Graduate School, University of Minnesota. Does Sprawl Beget Sprawl? Urbanization in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, 1990-2005. 

April 2005: Debs Ghosh receives the Best Student Paper Award. Asian Geography Specialty Group,
Association of American Geographers

April 2005: Steven Manson receives UCGIS 2005 Young Scholar Award

October 2004: Mike Engels receives UMN Graduate MN GIS/LIS Scholarship Award

October 2003: Sanjay Rane receives UMN Graduate MN GIS/LIS Scholarship Award