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2006 – The Departmental of Geography Year in Review

New Faculty Members. In August, the Department welcomed three new assistant professors – two tenure track and one visiting.

• Susan Romano. A 2006 graduate of Southern Illinois University, Susan has a joint appointment with Geography and the Department of Biological Sciences. She has a full-time appointment at the Quad Cities campus and teaches GIS courses for the Department there.

IES Director Departs.

• Bill Doe, Professor of Geography and Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies left the position in July to assume a position at Colorado State University.

Department-Sponsored Presentations. The Department sponsored three excellent Presentations during the fall semester, including two during Geography Awareness Week.

• Dr. Thomas Graff presented the 2005-2006 Gabler Lecture in Geography "Unequal Competition Among Chains of Supercenters: Kmart, Target, and Wal-Mart" February 17.
  
  
• During Geography Awareness Week in November, Dr. John Fraser Hart presented the 2006-2007 Gabler Lecture in Geography: "The Changing Geography of American Agriculture " The author of over 250 refereed articles, book reviews, and other publications, and more than a dozen books, including the award-winning, The Land That Feeds Us (1992), Dr. Hart is a professor in the Department Geography at the University of Minnesota.


• During Geography Awareness Week in November, Dr. Donald Luman presented "Illinois From Above and the Gournd Level: Images of the Great Depression and New Deal Era ." An alumnus of the Western Illinois University Department of Geography, Dr. Luman works in the 3D Geologic Mapping Programs of the Illinois State Geologic Survey.

Faculty Member Activities. Members of the Department of Geography continue to be active in all facets of teaching, scholarship and service. Here are some of the highlights of the last half-year.

Publications

• Jongnam Choi
  • Choi, Jongnam. "Natural Environment of GyeongGi Province," GyongGi Geography Suwon, Korea, Government Publication ID: 71-6410000-000266-01, p. 7-29.
  • Choi, Jongnam. "City and Air Pollution," in Urban Geography and Urbanology, Inn Kim and Soojin Park, eds. Seoul, Korea, p. 427-443.
    
  • Park, Siyoung, Su-Yeul Chung, and Jongnam Choi. "Asians in Chicago," In Green, Richard P., Mark J. Bouman, and Dennis Gammenos, eds. Chicago's Geographies: Metropolis for the 21st Century. Washington: Association of American Geographers.
    
    
• Su-Yeul Chung
  • Brown, Lawrence A., and Su-Yeul Chung. "Spatial Segregation, Segregation Indices, and the Geographic Perspective," Population, Space, and Place, v. 12, 125-43.
  • Park, Siyoung, Su-Yeul Chung, and Jongnam Choi. "Asians in Chicago," In Green, Richard P., Mark J. Bouman, and Dennis Gammenos, eds. Chicago's Geographies: Metropolis for the 21st Century. Washington: Association of American Geographers.
    
    
• Yongxin Deng
  • Deng Y.X. and Wilson J.P. The role of attribute selection in GIS representations of the biophysical environment. Annals of Association of American Geographers 96: 47-63
  • Deng, Y.X. The sensitivity of fuzzy landform classification to variable attribute weights, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 32, p. 1452-62.
    
    
• Charles Ehlschlaeger
  • "Ward Resdistricting Plan." City of Macomb.
    
    
    
• Siyoung Park
  • Park, Siyoung, Su-Yeul Chung, and Jongnam Choi. "Asians in Chicago," In Green, Richard P., Mark J. Bouman, and Dennis Gammenos, eds. Chicago's Geographies: Metropolis for the 21st Century. Washington: Association of American Geographers.
    
    
• Richard Rieck
  • "Inscriptions, Rocks, Weathering, and Time," in Historic Inscriptions on Western Emigrant Trails, Oregon-California Trails Association: Independence, Missouri, Appendix C, p. 413-417.
    


• Christopher Sutton
  • Instructor's Manual to accompany Contemporary World Regional Geography: Global Connections, Local Voices, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill.
  • PowerPoint Lecture Slides to accompany Contemporary World Regional Geography: Global Connections, Local Voices, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 208 slides.
    

Presentations

• Jongnam Choi
  • "Public Knowledge and Perceptions of Wetlands and Wetlands Mitigation Policy: A Study of Four Illinois Counties," co-presenter, Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, April 29.
  • "Heat Wave, Human Mortality and Mitigation Policy," Institute for Environmental Studies, Western Illinois University, March 21.
  • "Documenting Wind Energy Potential for Illinois," Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March.
  • "Spatial and Temporal Patterns of the Heat Index across the Contiguous United States, 1961-2005," co-presenter, West Lakes/Great Plains meeting, Association of American Geographers, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 6.
    
    
• Su-Yeul Chung
  • "Intra-urban Segregation Changes: An Evaluation of Three Segregation Frameworks with a Case Study of Columbus Ohio MSA, 1990 and 2000. "Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March.
  • "Public Knowledge and Perceptions of Wetlands and Wetlands Mitigation Policy: A Study of Four Illinois Counties," co-presenter, Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, April 29.
  • "School Districts and Residential Choices of Korean Americans in Chicago,"co-presenter, Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellen, Illinois, April 29.


• Yongxin Deng
  • "Continent-Wide Landform Reference System for Environmental Modeling," Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, April 29.
  • "From Raindrops to Streamflow: The Movement of Water Across Landscapes," co-presenter, keynote presentation, First International Symposium on Terrain Analysis and Digital Terrain Modeling, Nanjing, China, November 23.
  • "Linking topography to vegetation moisture indices derived from Landsat ETM data." Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois
    
    
• Bill Doe
  • "Fort Carson's Ecoregional Footprint: Envisioning a Sustainable Military Installation-Community in the Semidesert." Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March.
    

• Charles Ehlschlaeger
  • "Data Quality Issues When Monitoring Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat," Institute for Environmental Issues, Western Illinois University, February 14.
  • "Using GIS to Relocate Macomb City Ward Boundaries: A Case Study," Illinois Geographic Information Systems Conference, unknown location, April 21.
    
    
• Raymond Greene
  • "Spatial Stories of Cab Drivers in Montgomery." Alabama. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March.
    
    
• Redina Herman
  • Implications of North American Boreal Fires on Air Quality and Composition in Nearby Remote Regions," co-author, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, December, 2005.
    
    
• Christopher Merrett
  • "Promoting democracy and community development in rural Chiapas, Mexico," co-author, presentation to faculty and administrators, Universidad Technologica d la Selva, Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico, November 2.
  • "Women mean business redux: A profile of female entrepreneurs in downstate Illinois," co-author, Illinois State Microenterprise Initiative, Springfield, October 18.
  • "Microenterprise as social enterprise in rural economic development," co-author Illinois State Microenterprise Initiative, Springfield, October 18.
  • "Social capital, Title IS, and Female Athletics," senior author, National Council on Geographic Education Annual Meeting, Lake Tahoe, NV, October 6.
  
  
• Siyoung Park
  • "Al-Musharaka: Discussion about the Stereotyping of Arabic Speaking People in the Film: True Lies," WIU, November 6.
  • "Catch the Korean Wave, Dialogues on Global Challenges and Personal Responsibility: Cultural Diversity," WIU, December 6.
  • "School Districts and Residential Choices: How educational opportunities determine residential patterns of Korean Americans in Chicago." Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March.
  • "School Districts and Residential Choices of Korean Americans in Chicago," co-author , Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellen, Illinois, April 29.
  • "Geography of Rice," WIU Center for International Studies and Food & Culture Club, February 28.
    
    
• Richard Rieck
  • "Locating and Preparing Transcripts of Manuscript Diaries and Journals," Census of Overland Emigrant Diaries Workshop, Oregon-California Trails Assoc., St. Joseph, MO, August 10.
    
    
• Chad Sperry
  • "GIS to the Desktop: A Multi-User Approach to Sharing Geospatial Data and Applications Remotely," Illinois GIS Association, Springfield, April 22.
    
    
• Christopher Sutton
  • “Mapping Community Vision.” Sustainability Brown Baggers – Conversations for the Natural and Social Sciences and the Arts and Humanities, Macomb, Illinois. November, 2006.
  • “Constructing a 3D Map of Western Illinois University.” Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. April.
  • “Constructing a 3D Model of the Western Illinois University Campus.” Illinois Geographic Information Systems Conference, Springfield, Illinois. April, 2006. Co-presenter.
  • “From Reeds on Burros to Chairs on Trucks: Craft Production Changes in the Purépecha Region of Michoacán, Mexico, 1940-2000.” Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March. Co-presenter.
    
    
• Samuel Thompson
  • "Making Cities Vibrant and Energetic Through Planning: Reflections from the Midwest." Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March.
    
    
• Tom Williams
  • "Tornadic development in the Great Plains– a storm chaser's perspective," Macomb Kiwanis Club, May 2.
  • "Flash flooding in Illinois in 2002," Severe Weather Club, Dept. of Geography, Western Illinois University, May 4.
  • "Impacts of Hurricanes Dennis and Rita on rainfall in Illinois in the record-setting year 2005." Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. March.
  • "Spatial and Temporal Patterns of the Heat Index across the Contiguous United States, 1961-2005," co-presenter, West Lakes/Great Plains meeting, Association of American Geographers, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 6.

Grants

• Yongxin Deng
  • 2007 Faculty Summer Stipend for Research, $3,000, WIU Foundation.
    
    
• Chris Merrett
  • MAPPING the Future of Your Community, Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Activity (DCEO), Principal Investigator, $156,8000.
  • Research and Faculty Exchange Grant. Agriculture and Community Economic Capacity Building in Southern Mexico, Co-Principal Investigator, $298,000, U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID).


• Siyoung Park
• "From "True Lies" to T for Terrorists": Overcoming Arabic Speaking Stereotypes, co-receiver, Collaborative Training Grant program, U.S. Department of State, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, $5,000.
  

Awards

• Christopher Merrett
  • Dr. Merrett was named Western Illinois University's 2006 Distiguished Faculty Lecturer.
    
    
• Siyoung Park
  • Dr. Park received the 2006 Outstanding Faculty Award for Internationalizing the Campus from the Western Illinois University College of Arts and Sciences.
  • Dr. Park received the 2006-2007 Provost's Award for Academic Excellence: Excellence in Internationalizing the Campus.

Consulting

• Richard Rieck
  • RiverStone Group, Inc., Moline, IL, November. "Geomorphic Examination Of The Floodplain And Natural Levee In The NE¼, Section 26, T. 9 N., R. 1 W, Along Cedar Creek, Warren County, Illinois," 17 p., unpublished report.

Panels and Discussions

• Christopher Merrett
  • "A Critical Geography of Canada and the United States: John Hudson's Across this Land," Panelist, Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Denver, CO.
    
    
• Redina Herman
  • "Hurricane Katrina: Environment, Poverty and Race Politics in 21st Century America," African American Studies Department Forum, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL.
    
    
• Siyoung Park
  • Korea Workshop: The Koreas in a Transforming East Asia, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies. University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
    
  • Fulbright Group Projects Abroad, WIU Office of Sponsored Projects.
    

Other Professional Activities

• Yongxin Deng
  • Dr. Deng participate in the Faculty Grant Writing Workshop, University Research Council, Western Illinois University, $1,000 stipend.
  • Dr. Deng reviewed manuscript for the International Journal of Geographical Information Science.
    
    
• Charles Ehlschlaeger
  • Dr. Ehlschlaeger became a Research Fellow for the Institute for Environmental Studies, Western Illinois University, February 14.
    

• Raymond Greene
  • Dr. Greene sponsored student poster presentation, University Undergraduate Research Day, Western Illinois University, April 17.
    
    
• Redina Herman
  • Dr. Herman was a n invited particpant for the workshop on Impacts of Aviation on Climate Change, Federal Aviation Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Boston, June 7-9.
  • Event captain for Meteorology Event, Science Olympiad Tournament, February 11.
    
    
• Christopher Merrett
  • Dr. Merrett reviewed a manuscript for ACME: An International E-Jounral for Critical Geography.
  • Dr. Merrett reviewed a manuscript for Agricutlure and Human Values.
  • Dr. Merrett reviewed a manuscript for the Professional Geographer.
  • Dr. Merrett reviewed a manuscript for Tidschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geographie.
    
    
• Christopher Sutton
  • Dr. Sutton was elected Vice President of the Illinois Geographical Society.
  • Dr. Sutton reviewed a manuscript for Professional Geographer.
  • Dr. Sutton reviewed a proposal for the National Science Foundation.


• Siyoung Park
  • Dr. Park was a facilitator/discussant for the " Stereotyping of Arab Speaking People in the American Film Media" series, October 30.
  • Dr. Park was a program coordinator wor the Korean Dance and Music presentation at WIU, October 7.
    
    
• Richard Rieck.
  • Dr. Rieck reviewed a book manuscript fo the University of Chicago Press.
  • As part of continuing research, Dr. Rieck transcribed the following material.
    • To the Bancroft Library, University of California–Berkeley
      • Bonner, John Heath, 1861, Diary, 71 p., 5,000 words
      • Bowen, James Edgar, 1851, Diary, 69 p., 5,100 words
      • Browder, William, 1853, Diary, 91 p., 9,900 words.
      • Evans, Burrell Whalen, 1849, Diary, 41 p., 4,600 words.
      • Mitchell, Lyman, 1849, Journal, 63 p., 7,100 words.
      • Young, Albert Johnson, 1862, Diary, 60 p., 5,900 words.
    • To the National Park Service, National Trails System Office, Salt Lake City
      • Minto, Martha Ann Morrison, Journal, 1844, 26 p., 5,100 words
      • Rush, John N., 1864, Journal, 76 p., 6,100 words.                          
        
        
• Samuel Thompson
  • Dr. Thompson organized a paper session and led two field trips at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting in Denver, CO.
  • Dr. Thompson led a field trip to Nauvoo as part of Geography Awareness Week activities.


• Tom Williams
  • Dr. Williams reviewed a manuscript for Professional Geographer.
  • Dr. Williams reviewed a manuscript for Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science.
  • Dr. Williams created weather forecasts for WIU-FM radio.
  • Dr. Williams gave two presentations on weather prediction to the Palmyra Elementary School, Palmyra, Illinois. November 21.

Student Activities and Achievements

Papers Presented

• ILGISA Meeting, Springfield, IL. April 21.
  • Brock Terry
    • “Constructing a 3D Model of the Western Illinois University Campus.” Illinois Geographic Information Systems Conference, Springfield, Illinois. April, 2006. Co-presenter.
  • Keisuke Nozaki
    • "Deer-Vehicle Accidents in Illinois," Illinois GIS Association Conference, Springfield, April 22.
• Illinois Geographical Society Conference, Glen Ellyn, IL. April 29.
  • Paras Acharya
    • "Rural Development Problems in Nepal," Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. April 29.
  • Muhama Bourai and Stephane Leblond
    • "African Migration in Western Illinois," Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. April 29.
  • Ahmed Elsheikh
    • "Hispanic Communities in the Rural Midwest," Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. April 29.
  • Jared Reed
    • "Effects of Prisons on Rural Development in Western Illinois Communities,"Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. April 29.
  • Brock Terry
    • “Constructing a 3D Map of Western Illinois University.” Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. April. Junior author.
• Joint Meeting of Great Plains-Rocky Mountain and West Lake divisions of the Association of American Geographers, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 7.
  • Dallas Diehl
    • The Conservation Reserve Program's Impact on the Population of the Northern Great Plains, Joint Meeting of Great Plains-Rocky Mountain and West Lake divisions of the Association of American Geographers, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 7.
  • Keisuke Nozaki
    • "Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Deer-Vehicle Accidents in Illinois," Joint Meeting of the Great Plains-Rocky Mountain and West Lake divisions of the Association of American Geographers, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 6
• Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day, April 17.
  • Scott Robidoux
    • "The 2003 Tax Reform Referendum in Alabama: Further Examination of the Voting Results," poster, University Undergraduate Research Day, Western Illinois University, April 17.

Other Student Activities

• Student Weather Forecasting–WKAI-FM and WIUM Public Radio
  • Pam Molitor
  • Alaina Olive
  • Daya Snapp
  • Jason Szubrych
  • Amanda Wertz
  • Lowery, Priscilla
  • Struebig, Stephen
• Student Weather Forecasting– WWIR-TV
  • Megan Lorang
  • Priscilla Lowery
  • Pam Molitor
  • Jennifer Christopherson
  • Jeff Hess
  • Chris Simmons
• Taught weather lessons for Educational Outreach to Lincoln School, Macomb, November 17
  • Dana Brown
  • Rob Garst
  • Matt Huinker
  • Andy Humphrey
  • Natalie Jackson
  • Chase Pelletier
  • Amanda Perry
  • Jared Reed
  • Daya Snapp

• Mike Allison received a Student Award from the Illinois GIS Association. Springfield, IL. April 21.
• Keisuke Nozaki received the Rob Fryzek Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Department of Geography, Western Illinois University.
• Chase Pelletier received the Outstanding Senior in Geography Award, Illinois Geographical Society, Glen Ellen, Illinois, April 29.
• Chase Pelletier was named the Spring 2006 Department Scholar in Geography, Geography Department, Western Illinois University, May 13.
• Christopher Simmons was named the Spring 2006 Department Scholar in Meteorology, Geography Department, Western Illinois University, May 13.

 

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