PhD Dissertations 2011-2020


Doctoral dissertations are posted in chronological order. The list includes the graduate’s name, quarter of graduation, dissertation title, committee chair, and committee members.

2011-2020 | 2001-2010 | 1991-2000 | 1982-1990      You can search by date (example: Fall 2016)

Add your UCSB Geography Master Thesis or PhD Dissertation information


Degree DateNameTitleChairCommittee
Fall 2020Suarez, MarcelaTweets as information for emergency response during weather-related disaster events: Methods, constraints and a geographical perspectiveClarkeCarvalho & Montello
Summer 2020Tuholske, CascadeLinking Food Security, Urbanization, and Climate Change in AfricaCaylorEvans, Funk & Sweeney
Summer 2020Bae, CrystalPaired social wayfinding: Dyadic interaction in real-world navigationMontelloHegarty & Raymond
Summer 2020Crook, SteveEcosystem Service Assessment and Mapping with Pacific Northwest National Forest StakeholdersLevine & Lopez-CarrAlagona & Swanson
Summer 2020Dai, JieThe Tale of Western Chitwan Community Forests: Historical Vegetation Dynamics and the Challenges with the Invasion of Mikania micranthaAnKyriakidis, Roberts & Stow
Summer 2020De Figueiredo Ribeiro, FernandaFine-Scale Analyses for Improving Conservation and Sustainability Efforts in Agricultural Landscapes of Neotropical SavannasRoberts & DavisCaylor & Hess
Summer 2020Lafia, SaraDesigning for Serendipity: Research Data Curation in Topic SpacesKuhnCaylor, Frew & Montello
Summer 2020Rubio Velazquez, JavierAssessing Water Demand for Agriculture in the Mexicali Valley Aquifer Delta of the Colorado River using Remote Sensing and GISLoaicigaClarke & Lopez-Carr
Summer 2020Tuholske, CascadeLinking Food Security, Urbanization, and Climate Change in AfricaCaylorEvans, Funk & Sweeney
Spring 2020Gamelin, BrandiOzone Variability and Deep Convection in the UTLS Over South AmericaCarvalhoDing & Jones
Spring 2020Regalia, BlakeComputational Time and Space Tradeoffs in Geo Knowledge GraphsJanowiczClarke & Kuhn
Spring 2020Shih, Hsiao-ChienThe Relative Timing of Human Migration and Land-Cover and Land- Use Change - An Evaluation of Northern Taiwan from 1990 to 2015StowGoulias, Roberts & Weeks
Winter 2019Shivers,Sarah,WellsUsing Imaging Spectrometry and Thermal Imagery to Study Agriculture During Severe Drought in California's Central ValleyRobertsMcFadden & Tague
Winter 2019Taniguchi,KristineStream Channel Erosion in a Rapidly Urbanizing Semi-Arid Region: Channel Dynamics of Los Laureles Canyon Watershed in Tijuana, MexicoBiggsStow, Dunne, Chadwick & Booth
Fall 2019Blakeley, SariPutting the Farmer in Farmer Risk Management: an Analysis of the Spatial Implications of Basis Risk in West AfricaSweeneyFunk, Husak, Osgood & Church
Fall 2019Quimby, BarbaraParticipation and Power in the Gataifale: A Comparative Study of Samoan Coastal Marine ComanagementLevineBosco, Hoelle & Lopez-Carr
Summer 2019Antunes Daldegan,GabrielThree Decades of Anthropogenic Fire Activity in a Neotropical Agricultural FrontierRobertsJones & Davis
Summer 2019Banks,Jacqueline,LeaWomen's Empowerment and Fertility in West AfricaSweeneyCassels, Grace & Meiring
Summer 2019Feng,XinHeterogeneity Impacts and Implications in Allocation and Location ProcessesMurrayClarke & Church
Summer 2019Konty,Kevin,JSpace, Place, and Public Health SurveillanceSweeneyCassels & Church
Summer 2019Ramos,Rafael,GuimarãƒesMethodological contributions to the spatial analysis of crime, with an application to residential burglaries in Belo Horizonte, BrazilClarkeMurray & Couclelis
Summer 2019Storey,Emanuel,ArnalUncoupling impacts of drought and short-interval fire on chaparral in southern California using time-sequential Landsat imageryStowO'Leary, Roberts & Davis
Spring 2019Bingham,Nina,LynnExploration of transient landscapes within the Western TransverseRange, CAChadwickBookhagen & Dunne
Spring 2019Davis,Adam,WilkinsonUsing Road Network Spatial Clustering to Assess the Timing and Duration of Dining, Shopping, and Entertainment Activities in CaliforniaGouliasCassels & Janowicz
Spring 2019Romero,Boleslo,EdwardIdentifying Geographical Features with Spatial Data: Multi-scale Approaches for Representing Local ExtremaClarkeKyriakidis & Goodchild
Spring 2019Voss,Katalyn,AnneContributions of Glacial Melt, Snowmelt, and Groundwater to Streamflow During Low-Flow Periods: A Paired Catchment Approach in the Arun Watershed, Eastern NepalChadwick & BookhagenTague
Spring 2019Yan,BoGeographic Knowledge Graph SummarizationJanowiczKuhn & Goulias
Spring 2019O'Neal,Blaire,MichaelNature, Technology, & the Pursuit of Justice: Urban Agriculture Networks in San Diego CountyMarcelliBosco, Clarke & Lopez-Carr
Fall 2018Meerdink,Susan,KRemote sensing of plant species using airborne hyperspectral visible-shortwave infrared and thermal infrared imageryRobertsCaylor, King & Gader
Fall 2018Pardo-Rodriguez,LumariCombining Qualitative and Quantitative tools for Enhancing SocialVulnerability Assessments: Peruvian Farmers' Case StudyMontelloHoelle & Janowicz
Fall 2018Wetherley,Erin,BlakeRemote Sensing of Urban Climate and Vegetation in Los AngelesMcFaddenTague, Roberts & Quattrochi
Summer 2018Kamal-Heikman,ShithiEstimating Snowmelt in an Alpine Environment Using Satellite ResourcesDunneFrew & Dozier
Summer 2018Marter Kenyon,Jessica,SusanRelocation as Adaptation? Population Resettlement in an Era of Global Environmental ChangeSweeney & AlagonaPulver
Summer 2018Mwenda,Kevin,MuriukiAssessment of Spatial Relationships between Stunting and Malaria Incidence in KenyaLopez-Carr & KyriakidisClarke
Summer 2018Oyewole,Michelle,Tokunbo OluwJust Growing: Investigating Racial Inequity and Liberatory Potential in Brooklyn School GardensSweeneyCassels & Pellow
Summer 2018Beland,Michael,CooperSalt Marsh Responses To Oil Contamination Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil SpillBiggsKing, Stow & Roberts
Summer 2018Salap-Ayca,SedaSpatially Explicit Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis Methods for Land-Use ModelsJankowskiNara, Clarke & Kyriakidis
Summer 2018Tsai,Yu HsinMonitoring Forest Cover and Land Use Change in Forest Reserves - Connecting Satellite Imagery to Anthropogenic ImpactsStowAn, Clarke & Lopez-Carr
Fall 2017Harris, Sarah, MayMechanisms and Characteristics of Landfalling Atmospheric Rivers Affecting Southern CaliforniaCarvalhoJones, Raphael & Bookhagen
Fall 2017Frazier, Heather, Nicole-BerryEcosystem productivity and water temperature in coastal California streamsLoaiciga & MelackCooper
Fall 2017Ervin, Daniel, CheneyMigration, Human, and Environmental HealthLopez-CarrJoassart-Marcelli, Weeks, Gurven, & Still
Fall 2017Currier, Katharine, ElisabethMapping Perspectives for Environmental PlanningClarkeCouclelis, Goodchild, & McClintock
Fall 2017Chen, JorgeAutomated Indoor Mapping With Point CloudsClarkeMurray & Novak
Summer 2017Zilli, Marcia, TerezinhaMechanisms and Attribution of Changes in Austral Summer Precipitation related to the South Atlantic Convergence ZoneCarvalhoDing, Clarke, & Liebmann
Summer 2017Heidinger Abadia, HalineRainfall Variability and Change in Central and Southern Peruvian AndesCarvalhoFunk, Jones & Quiroz
Spring 2017Yang, Jiue-AnSpatial-Temporal Analysis of Information Diffusion with User-generated Geo-Social Contents from Social Media Tsou, Ming-HsiangJankowski, Janowicz, & Clarke
Spring 2017Gao, SongExtracting Computational Representations of Place with Social SensingJanowiczCouclelis & Goodchild
Fall 2016Cannon, Forest, GlenInfluence of Large-Scale Circulation on the Dynamics of Extratropical Cyclones and Orographic Precipitation in High Mountain AsiaCarvalhoBookhagen, Jones, & Kiladis
Fall 2016Lee, Jae HyunTravel Behavior Dynamics in Space and TimeGouliasJanowicz & Kyriakidis
Fall 2016Niblett, Timothy, JohnOn the Development of a New Class of Covering-Path ModelsChurchSweeney, Goulias, & Rolland
Summer 2016Elwell, Tammy, LynnIncorporating Human Dimensions of Land and Seascapes into Spatial PlanningAlagona / Lopez-CarrGaines, Gelcich, & Walker
Summer 2016Han, Su, YeonDiscovering Spatial Relationships between Cyberspace and Real Space, and Re-examining Theories in Geography with Social Media and Big DataTsou - SDSUNara, Clarke, & Goulias
Spring 2016Fouad, Geoffrey, GeorgeFlow duration curve prediction for ungauged basins: A data-driven study of the contiguous United StatesHope - SDSUSkupin, Tague & Loaiciga
Spring 2016Hu, YingjieValuing Geographic Information: Extending Information Value Theory in the Context of Human Mobility JanowiczCouclelis & Goulias
Spring 2016Irmischer, Ian, JosephSpace, Time, and Energy in Dismounted NavigationClarkeHendricks, Trumble & Montello
Spring 2016Messina, Alex, ThomasTerrigenous sediment dynamics in a small, tropical, fringing- reef embaymentBiggsBookhagen, Hope, Washburn, & Storlazzi
Fall 2015Henderikx Freitas, FernandaSpace-time variability of bio-optical properties in the Southern California BightSiegelDickey & Washburn
Fall 2015Menzer, OlafTemporal and Spatial Modeling of Urban Carbon Dioxide Fluxes Using a Data Based ApproachMcFaddenKyriakidis & Meiring
Summer 2015Goode, Ryan, JamesRio de Janeiro's Emerging Sporting Mega-Event Geography: Unraveling the Carioca Pattern of Urban DevelopmentAikenSwanson, Roberts, & Sweeney
Summer 2015ALONZO, Michael, GerardUrban Forest Ecosystem Analysis Using Fused Airborne Hyperspectral and Lidar DataRobertsMcFadden, Bookhagen, Nowak (USDA Forest Service)
Summer 2015Uyeda, KellieSpatial and temporal variation in biomass accumulation in southern California chaparralStowHope, O'Leary, Tague, & Roberts
Spring 2015SADEGHI, K. MajidOptimization Programming for Stormwater Control Measures: Methods for Sizing and SelectionLoaicigaMcFadden, Keller, Tague, Kharaghani
Spring 2015THORPE, AndrewMapping and quantifying methane emissions from local sources using airborne imaging spectrometersRobertsMcFadden, Funk, Frankenberg
Winter 2015LIN, YangDirect and Indirect Contributions of Photodegradation to Litter Decomposition in a California GrasslandKingChadwick, D'Antonio
Winter 2015McKENZIE, GrantA Temporal Approach to Defining Place Types based on User-Contributed Geosocial ContentJanowicz/RaubalGoulias, Flangin (Communications)
Fall 2014BAGUSKAS, SaraInfluence of coastal fog on the physiology and distribution of Bishop pine on Santa Cruz Island, CaliforniaStill/KingD'Antonio, Allen
Fall 2014BARRON, RebeccaConstraining the variability of optical properties in the Santa Barbara Channel: A phytoplankton storySiegelCarlson (EEMB), Brzezinski (EEMB), Nelson (ERI)
Fall 2014CARTER, Norman (SDSU)The Struggle to Create a Residential Community in Downtown Los AngelesBoscoJoassart-Marcelli, Sweeney, Couclelis
Fall 2014GARCIA, ElizabethEcohydrologic Modeling in Three Western U.S. Mountain Watersheds: Implications of Climate, Soil, and Carbon Cycling Interactions for StreamflowTagueFrew, Still, Bond
Fall 2014HARRISON, LauraImpacts of Climate Variability on Surface Energy and Water Budgets in Sub-Saharan AfricaMichaelsenCarvalho, Kyriakidis, Funk, Still
Fall 2014MEDRANO, Fernando AntonioCorridor Location: Generating Competitive and Efficient Route AlternativesChurchClarke, Goodchild, Gilbert
Summer 2014DEV, Boris (SDSU)Assessing Inequality Using Geographic Income DistributionsReyGetis, Sweeney, Lopez-Carr
Summer 2014HARTMAN, BrettThe Influence of Social Factors on Land Restoration in Rural Development AreasChadwick, ClevelandD'Antonio, Montello
Summer 2014NIBLETT, MatthewThe Disruptive Anti-Covering Location Problem: New Modeling Perspectives and Solution ApproachesChurchClarke, Sweeney, Grubesic
Spring 2014BART, Ryan (SDSU)Regional Streamflow Response to Wildfire in California WatershedsHopeBiggs, Chadwick, Tague
Spring 2014BENZA, Magdalena (SDSU)Population Dynamics Throughout the Urban Context: A Case Study in Sub-Saharan Africa Utilizing Remotely Sensed Imagery and GISWeeksStow, Lopez-Carr, Clarke
Spring 2014SALIM, Zia (SDSU)Building Community? Analyzing Gated Housing Compounds in BahrainBoscoJoassart-Marcelli, Clarke, Couclelis
Winter 2014CHEN, CherylAssessing and Mapping Vulnerability in the California Commercial Sea Urchin FisheryLopez-CarrLenihan, Carvalho, Walker
Winter 2014ROTH, KeelyDiscriminating Among Plant Species and Functional Types Using Spectroscopy Data: Evaluating Capabilities Within and Across Ecosystems, Across Spatial Scales and Through SeasonsRobertsStill, D'Antonio, Mazer
Fall 2013McNALLY, AmyEstimating root zone soil moisture in the West African Sahel using remotely sensed vegetation and rainfallGautier, MichaelsenRoberts, Funk, James Verdun
Fall 2013RAVULAPARTHY, SrinathSpatial Perspectives in Business Establishment Behavioral Modeling: A Case-Study Analysis in Santa Barbara CountyGouliasChurch, Kyriakidis, Sweeney, Ram M. Pendyala
Fall 2013WANG, Ninghua (SDSU)Statistics for Time-Series Spatial Data: Applying Survival Analysis to Study Land-Use ChangeLi AnSkupin, Clarke, Couclelis
Fall 2013YUAN, YihongCharacterizing Human Mobility from Mobile Phone UsageRaubalGoulias, Couclelis, Kyriakidis
Summer 2013ARCHER, ReginaldMeasuring and Monitoring Long Term Disaster Recovery Using Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Post Katrina New OrleansClarkeBookhagen, Goodchild, Walid Afiffi (communications)
Summer 2013BOMBARDI, RodrigoThe South Atlantic Coupled Variability and the South Atlantic Convergence ZoneCarvalhoJones, Gautier, Michaelsen, Washburn
Summer 2013DALAL, PamelaStability and Change in Travel Behavior and the Built EnvironmentGouliasChurch, Lopez-Carr, Budhendra Bhaduri
Summer 2013DAVENPORT, FrankThree Essays on Time Varying Spatial Price Behavior and Correlation StructuresSweeney, Doug Steigerwald (Econ)Church, Funk
Summer 2013DEUTSCH-BURGNER, KathleenAn Investigation in Decision Making and Destination Choice Incorporating Place Meaning and Social Network InfluencesGouliasRaubal, Sweeney, Antonio Paez, Abolfazi Mohammadian
Summer 2013DEWES, CandidaUnderstanding climate impacts on Mexican rainfed maizeSweeney, GautierJones, Eakin
Summer 2013GOERISCH, Denise (SDSU)Smart Cookies: The Gendered Spaces of Labor, Citizenship, and Nationalism in the Girl Scout Cookie SaleSwansonAitken, Boris, Stonich
Summer 2013JANKOWSKA, Marta (SDSU)Integrating Space and Place into Children's Perceptions of Environmental Health Hazards in Accra, GhanaWeeksJoassart-Marcelli, Elder, Lopez-Carr, Montello
Summer 2013LIPPITT, Caitlin (SDSU)Remote Sensing Based Characterization of Herbaceous Vegetation in California ShrublandsStowO'Leary, Roberts, Still
Summer 2013SIMONS, Nicole (SDSU)Improving Decision Making During Wildland Fire EventsJankowskiTsou, Raubal, Roberts
Summer 2013WANDERSEE, Sarah (SDSU)Land-Cover and Land-Use Change in Human-Environment Systems: Understanding Complex Interactions among Policy and Management, Livelihoods, and ConservationLi An, Lopez-CarrFarley, Clarke
Summer 2013ZVOLEFF, Alex (SDSU)Understanding the Dynamics of Changing Land-use and Land-cover, Population, and Climate in the Chitwan Valley, NepalLi An, Lopez-CarrFarley, Bookhagen
Summer 2013XIAO, DanqingIndividual and Cultural Differences in the Interpretation and Generation of Natural Language Descriptions of Spatial LayoutMontelloHegarty, Raubal, Alex Klippel
Spring 2013BRADLEY, ElizaCharacterizing Methane Emissions at Local Scales with a 20 Year Total Hydrocarbon Time Series, Imaging Spectrometry, and Web Facilitated AnalysisRobertsMcFadden, Washburn, Leifer
Spring 2013CARTER, Norman Dale (SDSU)The Strugle to Create a Residential Community in Downtown Los AngelesBoscoCouclelis, Marcelli, Sweeney
Winter 2013GLENNON, Alan JohnAnalysis of Geographically Embedded NetworksGoodchildClarke, Church, Shaw
Fall 2012BRACHMAN, MicahModeling Evacuation VulnerabilityChurchSweeney, Montello, Shashi Shekhar (University of Minnesota)
Fall 2012CROTTY, Sean (SDSU)The Geographic Dimensions of Day Labor Conflict in the San Diego Metropolitan AreaBoscoJoassart-Marcelli; Sweeney, Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky (Sociology, UCSB)
Fall 2012REITH, ErnestA Multitemporal, Multisensor Approach to Mapping the Canadian Boreal ForestRobertsClarke, Dozier, William Stein (National Imagery and Mapping Agency)
Fall 2012SUTER, LaurelLand Succession and Intensification in the Agricultural Frontier: Sierra del Lacandón National Park, GuatemalaLopez-CarrStonich, Eakin; William Pan (Duke University)
Fall 2012SWOBODZINSKI, Martin (SDSU)Exploring Human Decision Making in the Context of Web-Based Public Participation in Transportation PlanningJankowskiJanowicz, Raubal, Skupin
Summer 2012BREMER, Leah (SDSU)Land-use Change, Ecosystem Services, and Local Livelihoods: Ecological and Socio-economic Outcomes of Payment for Ecosystem Services in Ecuadorian Paramo GrasslandsFarleyTrevor Biggs, Lopez-Carr, Chadwick
Summer 2012FREEMAN, Mary Pyott (SDSU)An Analysis of Tree Mortality Using High Resolution Remotely-Sensed Data for Mixed-Conifer Forests in San Diego CountyStowLi An; Still; Roberts
Summer 2012KIM, Ick Hoi (SDSU)Developing High Performance GIS Simulation Models on Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure: A Case Study of Population Change Models with Grid Computing and Cloud Computing TechnologiesMing-Hsiang TsouJohn Weeks; Couclelis; Clarke
Spring 2012QUICK, DaynaIncorporation of salt-rich dust from Owens Lake playa in soils along the Sierra Nevada piedmont: soil properties, and ionic and ionic and isotopic ratios as provenance tracersChadwickKing, Still, Brian Stewart
Winter 2012HURT, IndyA Spatially Distributed Agent-Based Model for Exploring Tuberculosis Risk Factors in KenyaGoodchildCouclelis, Clarke, Barbara Herr Harthorn
Winter 2012LIPPITT, Christopher (SDSU)Time-Sensitive Remote SensingStowTsou, Clarke, Goodchild, Roberts
Winter 2012ROYAL, NathanielDracunculiasis: The Endgame, Proximity, and RiskGoodchildSweeney, Clarke, Jared Aldstadt
Winter 2012STOLER, Justin (SDSU)Spatial Patterns of Water Insecurity in a Developing City: Lessons from Accra, GhanaWeeksLi An, Sweeney, Lopez-Carr
Fall 2011CAVANAUGH, KyleVariability of giant kelp forests in southern California: a remote assessment of kelp biomass and the drivers of kelp dynamicsSiegelWashburn,Kyriakidis, Bruce Kendall, Dan Reed
Fall 2011CHAUDHURI, GargiImpact of Policy on Interaction Between Land Use and Road Network and its Change Over TimeClarkeCouclelis, Goulias, Noronha
Fall 2011TOOMEY, MichaelRemote Sensing of Forest Dynamics and Land Use in AmazoniaRobertsMcFadden, Michael Goulden
Summer 2011DARA-ABRAMS, DrewThe World in the Head: Measuring People's Spatial Knowledge and Travel Patterns Using Mobile DevicesMontello, RaubalHegarty, Duckham
Summer 2011MURTINHO, FelipeAdaptation to Environmental Change among Water User Associations in the Columbian AndesLopez-Carr, EakinTague, Ostrom
Summer 2011PULTAR, EdwardThe Role of Geography in Social Networks: Couch Surfing as a Case StudyRaubalGoodchild, Goulias, Winter
Summer 2011REBICH HESPANHA, StacyThematic and Affective Content in Textual and Visual Communication About Climate Change: Historical Overview of Mass Media Sources and Empirical Investigation of Emotional ResponsesMontelloNabi, Skupin, Legrady
Spring 2011CAO, GuofengA Geostatistical Framework for Categorical Spatial Data ModelingGoodchild and KyriakidisClarke, Wendy Meiring
Spring 2011KUZERA, Kristopher (SDSU)Climate and Climate Change and Infectious Disease Risk in Thailand: A Spatial Study of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Using GIS and Remotely-Sensed ImageryGetisGoodchild, Kyriakidis, Stow
Spring 2011LERNER, AmyLandscapes and Livelihoods on the Urban Fringe: Implications for Maize Production in Central MexicoSweeneyHallie Eakin, Kirsten Appendini, Juan Vicente Palerm
Spring 2011LIU, ShishiThe Impacts of Soil Moisture on Grassland and Oak SavannaChadwickRoberts, Still, Anatoly A. Gitelson
Spring 2011PETERSON, SethFire Risk in CaliforniaRobertsKyriakidis, Clarke, Franklin
Winter 2011HENSON, Kriste M.D.Travel Determinants and Multi-scale Transferability of National Activity Patterns to Local PopulationsGouliasGoodchild, Raubal, Timmermans (external, Eindhoven Technical University)