Western Illinois University: Macomb Campus

Department Chairperson

Samuel Thompson

Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Akron)

Office: Tillman 312
Phone: (309) 298-1648
Email: S-Thompson@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 110: World Regional Geography
GEOG 443: Population Geography
GEOG 446: World Regions-Africa
GEOG 548: Urban Planning
GEOG 557: Planning Implementation
GEOG 650: Graduate Seminar in Planning Theory and Methods

Research interests

Regional Planning, city and development, land use, population dynamism and regional geography.

John Blauvelt

Assistant Professor, M.A.
 (University of Colorado )


Office: Tillman 306B
Phone: (309) 298-2945
Email: JF-Blauvelt@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 100: Human Geography
GEOG 110: World Regional Geography
GEOG 121: Planet Earth:  Surface Processes and Interactions

Marcus Büker

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Wisconsin - Madison )

Office: Tillman 410C
Phone: (309) 298-3033
Email: ML-Buker@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 120: Introduction to Weather and Climate
GEOG 220: Severe and Hazardous Weather
GEOG 333: Meteorological Data Analysis
GEOG 422: Synoptic Meteorology II

Research interests

Mathematical analogies between electromagnetism and hydrodynamics

Vortex interaction and tornadogenesis

Numerical modeling
Atmospheric dynamics
Stratosphere-troposphere interactions

Jongnam Choi

Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Georgia)

Office: Tillman 308
Phone: (309) 298-2635
Email: J-Choi1@wiu.edu
Homepage: faculty.wiu.edu/J-Choi1/

Courses Taught

GEOG 120: Introduction to Weather and Climate
ENVR 201: Introduction to Environmental Studies
GEOG 121: Planet Earth: Surface Processes and Interactions
GEOG 300: Principles of Meteorological Instruments
GEOG 327: Environmental Climatology
GEOG 425: Radar/Satellite Meteorology

Research interests

Synoptic Meteorology, Applied Climatology, Environmental Sciences, Asian Studies

Yongxin Deng

Associate Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Southern California)

Office: Tillman 410B
Phone: (309) 298-2387
Email: Y-Deng2@wiu.edu

Homepage: faculty.wiu.edu/Y-Deng2/

Courses Taught

GEOG 110: World Regional Geography
GEOG 121: Planet Earth: Surface Processes and Interactions
GEOG 308: Introduction to GIS
GEOG 408: Environmental GIS
GEOG 409: Thematic GIS
GEOG 426: Natural Resources
GEOG 428: Soil Geography

Research interests

GIS, environmental modeling, terrain analysis, spatial analysis methods, scale, distribution of wind

Sunita George

Associate Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Georgia)

Office: Tillman 401A
Phone: (309) 298-2714
Email: S-George@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 100: Human Geography
GEOG 110: World Regional Geography
GEOG 443: Population Geography

Research interests

Population geography and public health, obesity and food deserts in the U.S. South. Recently identified areas in the city of Montgomery that qualified as food deserts based on the distance residents have to travel in order to get to the nearest supermarket or grocery store vis a vis the distance they had to travel to other (less healthy) food outlets such as fast food restaurants and convenience stores. This research identified food imbalance regions in Montgomery, and examined the socio-economic profile of these neighbourhoods.

Raymond Greene

Associate Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Georgia)

Office: Tillman 306A
Phone: (309) 298-3062
Email: R-Greene@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 110: World Regional Geography
GEOG 301: Intro Quantitative Methods in Geography
GEOG 308: Intro Geographic Information Systems
GEOG 466G: World Regions - Africa
GEOG 610: Research Methods I
GEOG 505: Research Methods II

Research interests

Spatial Analysis Methods (GWR), Air Transport (Accidents), Health (Obesity & Food Deserts), Teaching Quantitative Methods

Redina Herman

Associate Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Illinois)

Office: Tillman 413B
Phone: (309) 298-1764
Email: RL-Herman@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 120: Introduction to Weather and Climate
GEOG 220: Severe and Hazardous Weather
GEOG 300: Principles of Meteorological Instrumentation
GEOG 329: Dynamic Meteorology I
GEOG 405: Research Methods
GEOG 429: Dynamic Meteorology II
GEOG 432: Physical Meteorology

Research interests

Science Education using Technology
Science Education through Service Learning
Atmospheric Radiative Transfer
Atmospheric Dynamics

Ranbir Kang

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
(Oklahoma State University )

Office: Tillman 214A
Phone: (309) 298-1841
Email: RS-Kang@wiu.edu

Homepage: faculty.wiu.edu/RS-Kang/
 

Courses Taught

GEOG 121: Planet Earth: Surface Processes & Interactions
GEOG 108: Digital Earth
GEOG 466: South Asia
GEOG 308: Introduction to GIS
GEOG 301: Introduction to Quantitative Geography
GEOG 630: Seminar in Physical Geography

Research interests

Human Impact on Rivers
Riparian vegetation & stream banks
Urban hydrology
Effects of intensive agriculture in South Asia
Coupled human environment systems
Effects of check dams on landscape and society

Julie Williams Lawless

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Kansas)

Office: Tillman Hall 306C
Phone: (309) 298-2348
Email:j-lawless2@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 110: World Regional
GEOG 448: Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning

Fuyuan Liang

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Georgia)

Office: Tillman Hall 210
Phone: (309) 298-2205
Email: F-Liang@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 110: World Regional Geography
GEOG 121: Planet Earth: Surface Processes & Interactions
GEOG 403: Remote Sensing
GEOG 509: Fundamentals of GIS Analysis

Geography of China

Research interests

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction using stable isotopes and other proxies in speleothems

Surface karst landscapes mapping using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Susan Romano

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.,
(Southern Illinois University-Carbondale)

Office: 286 WIU Quad Cities
Phone: (309) 762-9481
Email: S-Romano2@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 510: Environmental Impact Analysis
GEOG/BIOL 426: Conservation and Management of Natural Resources
GEOG 508: GIS and Cartographic Design
GEOG 509: Fundamentals of GIS Analysis

Research interests

Habitat issues for endangered, threatened, or invasive species, and species of concern, using GIS as an ecological tool at various landscape levels. Habitat studies for the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), and River Otter (Lutra canadensis), and ecological studies for pin oak (Quercus palustris) and decurrent false aster (Boltonia decurrens).

Christopher Sutton

Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Denver)

Office: Tillman 412A
Phone: (309) 298-2628
Email: CJ-Sutton1@wiu.edu

Homepage: faculty.wiu.edu/cj-sutton1/

Courses Taught

GEOG 110: World Regional Geography
GEOG 208: Cartographic Design for GIS
GEOG 302: Introduction to Cartography
GEOG 405: Methods of Research
GEOG 445: Urban Geography
GEOG 505: Methods of Research
GEOG 508: GIS and Cartographic Design
GEOG 610: Graduate Seminar in Research Methods
GEOG 650: Graduate Seminars in Economic, Urban, and Transportation Geography

Research interests

Cartography/visualization, urban geography, transportation geography, and cultural geography

Thomas Williams

Associate Professor, Ph.D.
(University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee)


Office: Tillman 211A
Phone: (309) 298-1385
Email: TB-Williams@wiu.edu

Courses Taught

GEOG 120: Introduction to Weather and Climate
GEOG 220: Severe and Hazardous Weather
GEOG 422: Synoptic Meteorology I
GEOG 430: Natural Hazards

Research interests

Weather Analysis and Forecasting
Severe Weather (including storm chasing)
Flash Flooding