This year our Annual Geography Awards Colloquium took place on June 7th, and highlighted and celebrated extraordinary Graduate students and Undergraduate students. There were 9 awards given to students this year.
Photo Courtesy: Katie O’Brien
Graduate Awards:
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The Jack and Laura Dangermond Graduate Fellowship is awarded to an outstanding graduate student in Geography studying within the area of Geographic Information Science. The recipient will hold the title “Jack and Laura Dangermond Fellow” in residence for 2017-2018 and will receive a stipend of $5,000, allowing its holder to devote more time to imaginative and creative research. Jack and Laura Dangermond are the co-founders, and President and Executive Vice President, respectively, of Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). ESRI is a major industrial supplier of software in the field of GIS. This year, the Jack and Laura Dangermond Graduate Fellowship is awarded to Bo Yan.
Amount: $5,000
Photo Courtesy: Katie O’Brien
The Leal Anne Kerry Mertes Scholarship Award was established to award a scholar in natural or social sciences for conducting outstanding field research. The Scholarship supports undergraduate or graduate students at UCSB who are planning or are engaged in scientific field research. The Scholarship is awarded to talented and deserving students enrolled in any UCSB department where fieldwork is an integral component of research training. For the purpose of this scholarship, “field work” is defined as studying, sampling, observing, and/or measuring natural or human phenomena in the environments in which they normally exist. The funds support both the scholarly activities and expenses associated with the fieldwork (for example: stipends, travel expenses, research supplies, and research preparation costs). This year, the Leal Anne Kerry Mertes Scholarship, in the amount of $2,401, goes to Kate Culhane from the The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB).
Amount: $2,401
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The Department of Geography Excellence in Teaching award is given to a graduate students who has an outstanding teaching and TAing track record, in terms of both quality and quantity. This award is given annually to a graduate student who has a record of receiving outstanding course evaluations, outstanding written comments from students, outstanding evaluations of their TA work by the course instructor, and/or outstanding design of course, section, or lab syllabi or activities. This year’s award, including a $250 prize, goes to David Miller.
Amount: $250
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The Department of Geography Excellence in Research award goes to a graduate student who has an outstanding research track record, in terms of both quality and quantity. The award is given annually to a graduate student who has a record of outstanding national and international conference presentations, publications, and/or lab or field studies. This year’s award, including a $250 prize, goes to Erin Wetherley.
The Jack Estes Memorial Award was established in memory of Jack Estes, Professor of Geography at UCSB from 1969 until 2001. Jack was Director of the Geography Remote Sensing Unit. His primary research interests involved the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems technology for analysis of earth resources. He conducted or supervised research for NASA on land-use change, crop identification, and advanced soil moisture conditions; for the U.S. Forest Service on fire fuels monitoring and modeling; and for the Environmental Protection Agency on pollution detection and modeling, and resources management. The award is given for outstanding research achievement working in the area of remote sensing. This year’s award, including a $1,000 prize, goes to Susan Meerdink.
Amount: $500
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The David S. Simonett Memorial Award was established in memory of David S. Simonett, Professor of Geography at UCSB from 1975 until 1990. A world-renowned authority in remote sensing, Simonett was a founding director of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA), and the UC Board of Regents renamed UCSB’s division of the NCGIA in honor of him. The award is given to a student with a long track record of service to the department and the discipline of Geography, and outstanding academic progress and accomplishment. The recipient for this award is someone who best exemplifies the values that David Simonett established for the graduate program at UCSB. This year two students were selected to receive the award. The students selected to receive this award, including a $500 prize for each of them, are Kevin Mwenda and Daniel Phillips.
Amount: $500 each.
Undergraduate Awards:
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The Nicholas Bourdakis Memorial Award – The Bourdakis Fund was established after the tragic death of Nicolas in February 2001, struck by a car while walking in Isla Vista. He had just declared Geography as his major. This fund helps keep Nick’s memory alive by supporting future generations of outstanding undergraduate Geography students at UCSB. This year’s award, including a $1,000 prize, goes to Yimeng Yan.
Amount: $1,000
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The Akella Family Scholarship– was established to support undergraduate students based on compelling family/personal circumstances and academic achievement. Highest consideration is given to students who have unique and challenging obligations, such as re-entry/non-traditional students, extended family responsibilities, etc. This year’s recipient of the Akella Family Scholarship, including a $1,000 prize, goes to Sheng Xiong.
Amount: $1,000
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The Jack and Laura Dangermond Undergraduate Fellowship – Jack and Laura Dangermond have also established a fellowship award for a promising undergraduate geography student enrolled in the Geography BA with an emphasis in Geographic Information Science. This year’s outstanding student in GISci and recipient of the Dangermond Fellowship, including a $2,000 stipend, goes to Thomas Crimmel.
Amount: $2,000
Congratulations to all the awardees!
Photo Courtesy: Katie O’Brien
Congratulations on your retirement, Dylan Parenti. Thank you for doing such a stellar job as our IT Director…we will really miss you! Best of luck to you!
