Newsletter – June 2019
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Postcard from Mesoamerica
By Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach
“As Geography research begins in the field and ends in the field, so does my Presidential Column. I had the good fortune to be able to compose most of my first column (July 2018) during my fieldwork in Belize and Guatemala in Central America. Now I am filing my final column as your AAG President from field camp in northwestern Belize, working with an international team of colleagues, students, and volunteers to study the resilience of ancient Maya society… I thank you, my readers and fellow AAG members, for the Opportunity to freely explore challenging and timely issues and to share thoughts and opinions on current events and research over the last year.”
ANNUAL MEETING
#aagDENVER Hotel Room Rates Announced
The 2020 AAG Annual Meeting will be headquartered in downtown Denver, Colorado at the Hyatt Regency – Convention Center. While many of the special events and sessions will be taking place at the Hyatt Regency – Convention Center, the neighboring Sheraton – Denver Downtown will also house some of the meeting. A block of rooms is now available for AAG Meeting attendees to reserve at a discounted rate.
Denver, Colorado to host 2020 AAG Annual Meeting
Mark your calendar for the AAG Annual Meeting in the Mile High City April 6-10, 2020. Registration and the call for papers for #aagDENVER will be announced this summer. We look forward to seeing you in the Rocky Mountains!
PUBLICATIONS
NEW GeoHumanities Issue Alert:
Articles with topics ranging from soundscapes and television, alpine exploration to travel writing
The most recent issue of GeoHumanities has been published online (Volume 5, Issue 1, June 2019) with 18 new research articles and creative pieces on subjects within geography. Topics in this issue include climate change, sustainable economies, trauma, literary geography, soundscapes, mountaineering, ghost stories, social media data, and nationality. Articles also explore mediums such as museum exhibitions, television shows, public art, travelogues, and photography. Authors are from a variety of research institutions including Coventry University, UNSW Canberra, York St. John University, and Swansea University.
All AAG members have full online access to all issues of GeoHumanities through the Members Only page. In every issue, the editors choose one article to make freely available for two months. In this issue you can read #OurChangingClimate: Building Networks of Community Resilience Through Social Media and Design, by Sheryl-Ann Simpson, N. Claire Napawan & Brett Snyder for free.
Questions about GeoHumanities? Contact geohumanities [at] aag [dot] org.
In addition to the most recently published journal, read the latest issue of the other AAG journals online:
• Annals of the American Association of Geographers
• The Professional Geographer
• GeoHumanities
• The AAG Review of Books
ASSOCIATION NEWS
AAG seeks two editors for the Annals of the American Association of Geographers
The flagship journal of the AAG, the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, has two upcoming editor vacancies to start January 2020. The open positions are in the subject areas of Human Geography and Nature & Society. Applications for the four year term will be accepted until September 6, 2019, with appointments being made in the fall of 2019.
More information about the editorial positions.
Final Call for Submissions to the Guide to Geography Programs
The AAG will continue to accept late submissions to the 2019 Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas through Wednesday, June 12, 2019.
Updated each academic year, the Guide lists undergraduate and graduate programs in all areas of geography and includes an interactive map that students can use to explore and discover geography programs, with easy-to-use search tools to find programs by degree type, region, and program specialization. It has long been an invaluable reference for faculty, prospective students, government agencies, and private firms in the United States, Canada, and throughout the world.
For more information and to list your program, please contact Mark Revell at guide [at] aag [dot] org.
Call for AAG Honors and Nominating Committees
The AAG Council seeks nominations for candidates to serve on the AAG Honors Committee and the AAG Nominating Committee. The Council will prepare the final slate of candidates for both committees from the nominations received, and committee members will be elected by a vote of the AAG membership. The Honors Committee submits nominations for awards and fellows to the Council every fall. The Nominating Committee recommends to the Council the slate of candidates for the AAG Vice President, President, and National Councilor elections.
If you wish to nominate yourself or other qualified individuals for service on these committees, please send your recommendations by email to AAG Secretary Cathleen McAnneny by June 30, 2019.
MEMBER NEWS
Profiles of Professional Geographers
You can make a difference with geography and GIS at any stage in your career. Just ask Carlos Saavedra who is spending his retirement doing volunteer work at Puerto Rico Rises, Dallas GiveCamp and the Boy Scouts of America. Carlos stresses the importance of GIS in today’s economy, saying that “the most fulfilling thing is that I can share how GIS works and educate non-profit organizations on how this tool can change the way they do business.”
Learn more about Geography Careers.
June Member Updates
The latest news about AAG Members.
A new research paper entitled “Extracting human emotions at different places based on facial expressions and spatial clustering analysis” was published in Transactions in GIS, led by the research team of Yuhao Kang with his advisor Dr. Song Gao at the Geospatial Data Science Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison along with their collaborators from Wuhan University, Peking University, and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Related to this work, graduate student Yuhao Kang won first place in the 2019 AAG Robert Raskin best student paper competition from the AAG Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group. Learn more.
Thirty-three students and early career scholars will participate in the summer school on Reproducible Problem Solving with CyberGIS and Geospatial Data Science. The week long program will be co-led by the CyberGIS Center for Advanced Digital and Spatial Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the American Association of Geographers, and the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. Learn more.
RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
New Geography & Indigenous Studies Programs Interactive Map
In consultation with the Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group, the AAG has developed a new resource to assist Indigenous students in finding safe places to pursue geography education. This interactive map highlights geography and Indigenous Studies programs throughout the US and Canada as well as those colleges and universities that offer support systems for Indigenous students. The resulting database of 185 schools is now available online and will be a part of the 2019-2020 Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas.
Learn more about the creation of this resource.
Fellowships Available for Antarctic Research
The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research has fellowships to help early career researchers join a project team from another country that is working in the Antarctic. For 2019, 5 to 6 fellowships of up to $15,000 will be awarded for the purpose of creating lasting partnerships over the course of several research seasons in the Antarctic. The deadline for fellowship applications is July 17, 2019.
Find out more about the SCAR fellowships.
2020 IGU Congress to be held in Istanbul, Turkey
The International Geographical Union has announced its next Congress to be held August 17-21, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. The submission deadline for session proposals is July 31, 2019. Other key dates are: August 1, 2019 – Early registration starts; January 13, 2020 – Deadline for submitting abstracts for papers and posters; February 24, 2020 – Notification of results of abstract reviews; and March 9, 2020 – Deadline for early registration fee payment.
See the 2020 IGU Congress website.
GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS
- Doctoral student Laura Smith finishes decades old tree-ring research abandoned due to sexism
- Scott Warren, geography instructor and volunteer for No More Deaths, facing felony charges for humanitarian efforts
EVENTS CALENDAR
“The AAG charged a task force in Spring 2018 to gather information and recommend programmatic changes in order to envision a safer and more inclusive national meeting… the goal of this proposed program is to work towards a Harassment-Free AAG so that all of our members can benefit equally from attending the national meeting. This approach places the AAG as an institutional leader in addressing diverging and intersectional forms of potential harassment at a national meeting.”
Tired of carrying a large printed program around the AAG Annual Meeting? Want to easily organize your AAG session schedule in a digital calendar format? Make the most of your AAG annual meeting experience by downloading the AAG mobile app. Don’t wait until you’re standing in the registration line. Get the app now and start planning your schedule.
During the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting, the AAG Jobs and Careers Center will feature over 75 sessions, panels, and workshops focused on professional development. Sessions will cover a broad range of topics including working as a geographer in the public, private, nonprofit, or academic sector; networking strategies; diversity in academia; becoming a certified GIS Professional (GISP); women in leadership roles in geography and more. Career mentoring sessions for geographers from high school to mid-career as well as job postings will also be available.
The annual round robin tournament features teams of students from each of the AAG Regional Divisions competing for both a team championship title and individually for an MVP Award. The 2019 World Geography Bowl will be held on Thursday, April 4 in the Maryland and Virginia Rooms in the Marriott. The first round starts at 7 PM! Stop by on your way to the international reception (across the hall) or join in to watch the championship round after the reception concludes! Prizes donated from generous sponsors are awarded to winning teams and individuals.
Students make up approximately 40% of annual meeting attendees so there are plenty of opportunities for students to get involved in the 2019 Annual Meeting. From career mentoring to undergraduate research sessions to specialty group competitions and business meetings, there are events that give students the chance to meet one another and expand their network. Be sure to attend the Student Networking Social on April 3 from 4:30-6:10 PM before the Opening Reception for a chance to win a FREE registration for the 2020 AAG meeting in Denver!
The 2019 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, marks the 10-year anniversary of the AAG’s Diversity Ambassadors Program which began at the 2009 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. To celebrate this anniversary, AAG staff and Diversity Ambassadors have planned a line-up of diversity-themed sessions culminating in a special forum, “Celebrating Diversity in Geography.” The final line-up of diversity-related sessions is available to view and will also be published in the 2019 Annual Meeting Program and Annual Meeting app.
In addition to the most recently published journal, read the latest issue of the other AAG journals online:
Read the latest works in geography and related disciplines as found on the February New Books in Geography list! February’s list features titles with subjects including migration, borders, Brexit, wine, ArcGIS Pro, and more.
The AAG is pleased to announce the recipients of the three 2018 AAG Book Awards: the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize, the AAG Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography, and the AAG Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography. The AAG Book Awards mark distinguished and outstanding works published by geography authors during the previous year, 2018. Formal recognition of the awardees will occur during the 
The AAG Council will make appointments to several of the AAG Standing Committees at its spring 2019 meeting. These appointments will replace members whose terms will expire on June 30, 2019. If you wish to nominate yourself or other qualified individuals for one or more of these vacancies, please notify AAG Secretary 
Each year for the AAG Annual Meeting, The National Center for Research in Geography Education (NCRGE) organizes and compiles a track of papers, posters, and panels focusing on geography education research. NCRGE is sponsoring this track to raise the visibility of research in geography education, grow the NCRGE research coordination network, and provide productive spaces for discussion about geography education research and what makes research in the field potentially transformative. The track features a full-day symposium on Thursday, April 4.
“It is encouraging to be receiving AAG Members’ thoughtful geography abstracts for the AAG Annual Meeting major themes: Geospatial Health Research; Geography and Human Rights; and Physical Geography in Environmental Science. Thank you. There is still time to participate… While you are in Washington, visit your legislators, share your science, speak up and be a part of the change: make a difference with Geography. And on Tuesday 6 November, make a difference with your citizenship: VOTE.”
The AAG Council and Executive Director have announced a third theme for the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting: Physical Geography in Environmental Science. This theme joins two others, Geography, GIScience, and Health: Building an International Geospatial Health Research Network (IGHRN) and Geographies of Human Rights: The Right to Benefit from Scientific Progress, as a way to focus the meeting.
Amidst the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, Maryland lies the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. The Center celebrates the legacy of Harriet Tubman, who spent her childhood enslaved in the area before assisting over 100 African American slaves to freedom in the mid 1800s. 
The AAG is pleased to welcome Dwayne Parks to fill the role of Accounting Specialist. Dwayne brings more than 17 years of experience working with organizational data to the association headquarters in D.C. Previously, he has worked in a variety of fields including science, legal, and healthcare.
The UK Academy of Social Sciences conferred the award of Fellow on Mei-Po Kwan in their 2018 class of social scientists. Kwan, the only US geographer to receive the award this year, was chosen for her “significant contributions to theory, methods and practice in urban, GIScience, mobility and health research.” 
December 31st marks the deadline for multiple awards to honor and support geographers in all stages of their careers. Members may nominate their colleagues for the 
The AAG is saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Marilyn Sue O’Hara, also known as Marilyn Ruiz on September 30, 2018. O’Hara was a Clinical Professor of Pathobiology at the University of Illinois. She obtained a PhD in geography in 1995 from the University of Florida. Her work largely centered around the spatial diffusion of disease and epidemiology.
There are numerous tales of how urbanization takes its toll on waterways that stretch through areas growing in population. 
The final two editors we will be featuring in our Meet the Editors section for this year are James McCarthy and Ling Bian. Both work as editors for the Annals of the American Association of Geographers – McCarthy as the Nature and Society editor and Bian as the Geographic Methods editor. Each brings extensive research and editorial experience to the journal.
The AAG is pleased to welcome Michelle Kinzer to fill the role of Government Relations Manager. She will serve as AAG’s primary advocate on public policy in Washington and will continue to grow relationships with government decision makers as well as outside organizations and stakeholders. She will track and analyze relevant issues facing the AAG and work to promote the rapidly growing geography community as a whole.
Three new interns have started working at the AAG for the fall 2018 semester. Meet Daliha Jimenez from the University of Maryland, College Park, Mike Kelly from the George Washington University, and Siri Knudsen from the George Washington University. All three interns will be helping with AAG programs and projects such as education, outreach, research, website, publications, or the Annual Meeting.
The AAG is pleased to announce that the Geospatial Data Act (GDA) has been passed today, absent damaging exclusionary procurement provisions that were previously in the bill. AAG has been monitoring and providing expertise regarding the GDA for several years at the request of Congressional members.
The Library of Congress is offering a short cartography course taught by John Hessler, Specialist in Modern Cartography and Geographic Information Science and Curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Archaeology of the Early Americas at the Library of Congress. The course will be offered from December 2-7, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Jeremy Tasch has had a varied geographical career. Now a professor of geography at Towson University, Tasch began his career right out of his undergraduate geography program in the Geography Field Division of the US Census Bureau. After working across the globe, Jeremy asserts that “if a geographer is curious and analytical in applying their knowledge to real-world problem solving effectively, then career opportunities are excellent.”
Ronald Wall, economic geographer and professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, has been serving as the lead researcher and author of the UN Report ‘State of African Cities 2018: the geography of African investment’. The report is now available for download. 
Terrence W. Haverluk passed away on September 18, 2018. A Professor in the Geospatial Science Program at the United States Air Force Academy, Terry received his MA and PhD in geography from the University of Minnesota. Trained as a cultural geographer, most recently his research looked at geopolitics, publishing the textbook Geopolitics From the Ground Up.
The AAG morns the loss of Joe Schwartzberg who passed away on September 19, 2018. A world citizen of White Bear Lake, Schwartzberg spent the majority of his career working with the World Federalist movement and studying India. In his own words, Joe reflects on his life.
This Labor Day weekend marks the return to University instruction for many geography faculty and students, and as an educator, I welcome you all back to our academic community and wish you a successful new academic year. Many of us are returning from field and lab research, writing, and conferences, wondering where the summer went and why we are considered nine-month-employees! … For our non-academic professional Geography community, I pause to thank you for your research partnerships, your innovation and entrepreneurship, and for the internship opportunities and inspiration you offer to our students.
The AAG will be awarding Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress, the Atlas Award during the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting, on Friday, April 5, 2019. Hayden will deliver a keynote address after presentation of the Atlas Award, the association’s highest honor.
This month, get to know the editorial team of AAG’s newest journal, GeoHumanities. Two editors, Tim Cresswell and Deborah Dixon, and one assistant editor, Philip J. Nicholson, work on the journal, which includes scholarly articles at the intersection of geography and the humanities, shorter creative pieces, and an accompanying 
This month, learn about the career path of Caitlin Kontgis who works as an Applied Scientist Lead (Solutions) at Descartes Labs in New Mexico. Kontgis discusses her passion for geography, how it has led to her giving back to her local community, and the undergraduate courses that inspired her eventual professional goals.
Robert Stoddard passed away on May 21, 2018 at the age of 89. Stoddard, one of the first geographers to focus on pilgrimage, was also an Asia specialist who combined his interests throughout his distinguished teaching career in the U.S. at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and abroad in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.