A warm welcome to Dr. Bodo Bookhagen who has formally accepted the Department of Geography’s offer of a faculty position as an Assistant Professor. Bodo is a geologist and computer scientist with a particular interest in the application of remote sensing tools for characterizing and quantifying erosion processes. He has a BSc in computer science and geophysics, a MSc in geology (structural and geomorphic mapping in combination with climate modeling in the Andes), and a PhD (summa cum laude) in geology (late quaternary climate change and geomorphologic processes in the Himalaya), all from
. During his thesis work, Bodo spent several years at the UC Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. After completing his PhD in 2004, he spent one year as an assistant researcher at the UCSB Geology Department where he continued to apply remote-sensing tools to erosion-related research questions.
From January 2006 to the present, Bodo worked as a postdoc at Stanford University where his research focused on Quaternary climate change and on surface and tectonic processes – he was a member of the Active Tectonics and Geomorphology group and was responsible for establishing and managing the cosmogenic nuclide laboratory. According to his web site at Stanford, “I apply a variety of methods to constrain recent changes in atmospheric circulation including remote sensing techniques (utilizing mainly SSM/I, TRMM, and MODIS onboard NASA satellites) and atmospheric modeling of topographic effects on rainfall distribution. In order to constrain surface and shallow tectonic process rates, I rely on Al/Be/Ne cosmogenic nuclide dating. This also involves landscape-evolution modeling on various spatial and temporal scales. I try to constrain deep-seated tectonic processes and long-term landscape evolution by a combination of detrital records and structural, thermal, and surface-erosion modeling. Currently, my research focuses on the Himalaya, the Tien Shan, and coastal regions of south-central Chile.”
Bodo received the 2004 Bernd-Rendel Award from the German Science Foundation and the 2005 Publication Award of the Leibniz College at the University of Potsdam. He begins teaching Geography classes next quarter, and, when he is not teaching, in a lab, or developing new algorithms for processing remote-sensing data, Bodo enjoys biking with his little son Tayo.
