New England – St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society Fall 2024 Conference

Westfield State University, Westfield, MA

The Department of Geography, Planning & Sustainability (GPS) at Westfield State University is hosting the 2024 New England – St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society (NESTVAL) Fall Conference. The conference will take place on the 256-acre campus of Westfield State, which lies just west of Springfield in the beautiful Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. This year’s conference theme, Planning a Sustainable Future, will explore the critical role of geography and urban and regional planning in shaping a more sustainable future. Geographers, urban and regional planners, students, researchers, and practitioners are invited to submit abstracts for poster and paper presentations that address any aspect of building a sustainable future.

Registration

Faculty: $110

Students: $50

Presentations in the form of papers, panels, or posters that address themes related to planning a sustainable future are welcomed. All sessions are 120 minutes in length and will take place on Saturday, October 26. Paper sessions will consist of four presentations with each presentation allotted 20 minutes (including questions and discussion). The poster session will have a dedicated time slot with opportunities for discussion with authors.

Poster boards and tacks will be provided. Poster materials, both textual and visual, should be of professional quality and be legible from a distance of four feet. Poster dimensions should be no larger than 48 inches in width and height. Rooms for paper and panel sessions will be equipped with standard digital projectors/AV equipment and a podium PC laptop running the Windows operating system. Presenters also are welcome to bring their computers as well (please bring any special cords you might need). Presenters must be registered for the conference.

Please register for the conference first before you submit an abstract directly through the submission portal. Abstracts are due no later than October 21, 2024. The AAG-NESTVAL Annual Meeting committee will review all submitted abstracts and publish a program shortly thereafter.

Student Paper & Poster Awards

We encourage undergraduate and graduate students to participate and submit their papers and/or posters for the many awards that will be available:

• AAG Council Awards for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper at a Regional Meeting ($1000)
• AAG Council Awards for Outstanding Undergraduate Student Paper at a Regional Meeting ($1000)
• NESTVAL Graduate Student Research Paper Award ($350)
• NESTVAL Graduate Student Research Poster Award ($250)
• David Frost Undergraduate Student Research Presentation Award ($350)
• NESTVAL Undergraduate Student Research Poster Award ($250)

To be considered for an award, each student will need to register to attend and check the box indicating which competition they would like to be considered for during registration.

Schedule & Program

These times are tentative and may change.

Friday October 25

2:00 – 6:00 pm: Registration
2:30 – 3:00 pm: GeoBowl Pizza Party Kick Off
3:00 – 5:30 pm: GeoBowl
6:00 – 7:30 pm: Business Meeting Dinner
7:00 – 8:00 pm: Mappy Hour (Great Awakening Brewery, 77 Mill St Suite 150, Door F & H, Westfield, MA 01085)

Saturday, October 26

7:30 am – 12:00 pm: Registration
8:00 – 9:00 am:  Breakfast
8:30 – 9:00 am: Welcome Remarks
9:00 – 9:15 am: Break
9:00 – 11:30 am: Field Trip 1
9:15 – 10:35 am: Concurrent Paper Sessions
10:35 – 10:50 am: Break
10:50 am – 12:05 pm: Poster Session and Concurrent Paper Sessions
12:15 – 12:45 pm: Lunch
12:45 – 1:45 pm: Keynote (Same place as lunch)
1:45 – 2:00 pm: Break
1:45 – 3:45 pm: Field Trip 2
2:00 – 3:20 pm: Concurrent Paper Sessions

Keynote

Dr. Ray Bradley

Dr. Bradley is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences, and Director of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He received an M.A. and Ph.D. From the University of Colorado and a D.Sc. from Southampton University (U.K.).

He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by Lancaster University (U.K.), Queen’s University (Canada), the University of Bern (Switzerland), and the Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Arctic Institute of North America, and was elected a Foreign Member of the Academia Europaea and the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.

Bradley’s research focuses on climate variability across a wide range of time scales, and understanding the causes of climatic change. He has written or edited thirteen books on climatic change (including Paleoclimate, Global Change and the Future, The Hadley Circulation: Present, Past and Future, Global Warming and Political Intimidation, and the award-winning text, Paleoclimatology) and he has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed articles on the topic.

GeoBowl

The GeoBowl will occur on the afternoon of Friday, October 25. Teams of five students from colleges and universities across the region are welcome to compete.

To participate in or for more information on the Geography Bowl, please contact Dr. Brian Cacchiotti.

Field Trips

Dinosaurs & Lava Flows

This field trip showcases two of the geologic and geographic highlights of our area: the dinosaur footprints along the Connecticut River in Holyoke (MA) and the massive lava flows of the nearby Mount Tom Range. Please be prepared for two short hikes.

• Cost:  Free
• Max # of people: 10

Lodging

Hampton Inn

39 Southampton Road, Westfield MA 01085, 413-564-6900

The Hampton Inn is just off the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westfield. It is four miles from Westfield State University.

A block of 25 standard rooms is available at the rate of $99 plus tax for the conference. Studio rooms also are available for $109 plus tax. All rooms will be held in the block until Sept. 27.

Guests may book their reservations by entering the 3-letter code: NES in the “group code” section, under the “special rates” box on the website.

If one prefers to book over the phone, please call the main front desk at 413-564-6900 (select option 0), and mention the group name NESTVAL.

Directions

Westfield State University is located at 577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA 01086. The conference events will be in Parenzo (14) and Scanlon Hall (15).

Driving

From the North:

• Take Interstate 91 South.
• Get off I-91 at Exit 14, which is I-90/Mass. Pike.
• Take Mass. Pike West five miles to Exit 41 (Westfield)
• Turn right onto routes 10/202 South, travel for about two miles through town to the Westfield Public Library (on your right)
• Turn right onto Court Street/Western Avenue for 2.5 miles
• Westfield State University is on your right

From the South:

• Take Interstate 91 North
• Follow the directions from above

From the East:

• Travel to I-90/Mass. Pike until you reach Exit 41
• Follow the directions from above