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Updated AAG Schedule for the March for Science

Updated AAG Schedule for the March for Science

We invite and encourage AAG members to attend the March for Science in Washington, D.C. or in satellite events around the globe this Saturday, April 22. We have updated the schedule below to include the just-released list of speakers.

Saturday Schedule of Events

9:00 am – 6:30 pm: The AAG Meridian Place Office in Washington, D.C. (1710 16th Street NW) will be open as a gathering place and information center for geographers participating in the March. We will have coffee and refreshments available for marchers throughout the day.

The AAG has designed special “Geographers March for Science” hats that will be available at our office for only $7.00. We have also created large banners for groups of geographers participating in the March, which many AAG members signed during the annual meeting in Boston. You may also download and print a small version of this banner to carry with you.

8:00 am: The gates to the main-stage area for the March will open. The two gates are on Constitution Avenue NW at 15th and 17th Streets 

9:00 – 11:30 am: March for Science teach-ins near the main stage. 

view the map

10:00 am – 2:00 pm: The official main stage program of speeches and presentations. The main stage will be on Constitution Avenue at 16th Street (just north of the Washington Monument). The list of speakers can be found here: www.marchforscience.com/speakers/

1:30 – 2:00 pm: Geographers and friends are encouraged to gather together on the steps of the north side entrance of the National Museum of American History (the Constitution Avenue side of the Museum at approximately 13th Street – NOT the side facing the National Mall) so that we can all march as a large group. 

2:00 – 4:00 pm: Marching to the U.S. Capitol Building to conclude the March for Science. Full logistical details can be found here: https://www.marchforscience.com/event-details/

5:00 – 6:30 pm: Happy Hour Reception at the AAG office. Come join us for a celebratory drink and to gather in groups with your friends for dinner. There are hundreds of good restaurants within walking distance of our AAG office. AAG President Glen MacDonald will offer a toast.

Other logistical information

We would like to know if you will be coming to Washington for the March! Please fill out this form, so that that we can have an accurate count for the March and also for post-reception refreshments and snacks.

Other Related Events in Washington during the March for Science Weekend

  • Friday, 5:30 – 6:30 pm: Event featuring former presidential science advisor John Holdren at AAAS Headquarters. This event is sold out, but we have a few tickets that we will give to the first AAG members who contact John Wertman of the AAG staff at jwertman [at] aag [dot] org.

The AAG is a formal partner of the March, and we affirm the nonpartisan beliefs that the benefits of science are a human right, that science should be well funded, and that political leaders should enact evidence-based policies for the common good.

Please do not hesitate to contact the AAG at 202-234-1450 with any questions you may have about participating in the March for Science or about the event itself. We hope you will join us and our colleagues from all disciplines in supporting this historic event!

The AAG 2017 annual meeting brought some 9,300 registrants to Boston, many of whom signed special banners for the March for Science. These banners containing thousands of signatures will be carried at the March for Science in Washington, D.C., on April 22. The 2017 AAG Annual Meeting was held in Boston April 5-9 at the Hynes Convention Center.
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AAG to Recognize 50-Year Members: Class of 1967

The AAG congratulates and gives thanks to the Class of 1967 for their continuous membership, enduring support, and contributions to the Association. The Class of 1967 receives a memento in recognition of their loyalty to the Association. As a tangible token of appreciation, 50-year members also receive lifetime remission of annual dues and annual meeting registration fees from the AAG.

This year’s honorees are:

  • Charles Aiken
  • James Baldwin
  • Klaus Bayr
  • Joseph Bencloski
  • Ronald Briggs
  • Anne Buttimer
  • Stephen Chang
  • Michael Conzen
  • William Craig
  • Michael Cummins
  • Donald Dahmann
  • Harvey Flad
  • Colbert Held
  • Briavel Holcomb
  • Jerry Kaster
  • William Keinath, Jr
  • Victor Kelbaugh
  • Laurence Ma
  • Wayne McKim
  • John Moravek
  • Edward Muller
  • James Mulvihill
  • William Muraco
  • Paul Phillips
  • Arlene Rengert
  • George Rengert
  • Gwyn Rowley
  • Gary Shannon
  • Richard Smith
  • Noel Stirrat

The Class of 1967 will be recognized at the AAG Annual Meeting in Boston during the AAG Awards Luncheon on Sunday, April 9, 2017. Friends, family, and colleagues are invited to celebrate with the honorees. Admission, which includes a plated lunch, is only $55. Tables for parties of ten are also available. Buy tickets.

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AAG Announces Recipients of 2017 Awards

The American Association of Geographers (AAG) congratulates the individuals and groups named to receive an AAG Award. The awardees represent outstanding contributions to and accomplishments in the geographic field. The awardees will be recognized at the AAG Annual Meeting in Boston during the AAG Awards Luncheon on Sunday, April 9, 2017.

Friends, family, and colleagues are invited to celebrate with the honorees. Admission, which includes a plated lunch, is only $55. Tables for parties of ten are also available. Buy tickets.

* * *

Community College Travel Grants

  • April Shirey, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, MI

AAG Darrel Hess Community College Geography Scholarships

  • Amy Kennedy, transferring from Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio to the Ohio State University

Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award in Geographic Science

  • Coty Welch, University of North Alabama

AAG Dissertation Research Grants

  • Mia Bennett, University of California Los Angeles
  • Eric Nost, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Yoo-Min Park, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Brian Williams, University of Georgia
  • Sheridan Wright Kennedy, Rice University
  • Qunshan Zhao, Arizona State University

AAG Research Grants

  • Sarah Blue, Texas State University
  • Shouraseni Roy, University of Miami
  • Qiusheng Wu, State University of New York at Binghamton

J. Warren Nystrom Award

 Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

  • Dr. Sally Horn, University of Tennessee

*** AAG Book Awards *** 

Humboldt Book Award for Enduring Scholarship in Geography

  • Geoffrey Martin, American Geography and Geographers, Oxford University Press, 2015 

The John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize 

  • Lisa Benton-Short, The National Mall: No Ordinary Public Space, University of Toronto Press, 2016

The AAG Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography\

  • Niem Nguyen, A Curriculum of Fear, University of Minnesota Press, 2016

The AAG Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography

  • Eric Sheppard, Limits to Globalization: The Disruptive Geographies of Capitalist Development, Oxford University Press, 2016

* * *

Program Excellence Award

  • The Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas
  • Honorable Mention: The Geography Department, George Washington University

 Susan Hardwick Excellence in Mentoring Award

  • Beverly Mullings, Queen’s University

Glenda Laws Award

  • Sarah Hunt, University of British Columbia

The AAG Harold M. Rose Award for Anti-Racism Research and Practice

  • Melissa Wright, Pennsylvania State University

AAG Enhancing Diversity

  • Leela Viswanathan, Queen’s University

AAG Harm de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

  • Ronald Kalafsky,  University of Tennessee

 E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Award

  • Hui Lin, Chinese University of Hong Kong

 The AAG Stanley Brunn Award for Creativity in Geography

  • David Harvey, City University of New York 

 AAG Honorary Geographer

  • James Hansen, Columbia University 

Atlas Award

  • Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

 AAG Presidential Achievement Award

  • Roger Downs, Pennsylvania State University

*** AAG Honors ***

Distinguished Teaching Honors

  •  Michael Pretes, University of North Alabama

Ron F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors

  •  Julie Winkler, Michigan State University
  • Kent Mathewson

Distinguished Scholarship Honors

  • Patrick Bartlein, University of Oregon
  • Michael Storper, University of California, Los Angeles

Lifetime Achievement Honors

  • Ruth Fincher, University of Melbourne
  • David Robinson, Rutgers University
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Ideas for the Culture Enthusiast in Boston

Boston’s cultural scene is vibrant in all seasons. From museums and performing arts to interactive festivals and outdoor concerts, Boston is abuzz with activities for cultural enthusiasts.

If you love the classics, ensembles such as Handel & Haydn Society and the Boston Symphony Orchestra are reason enough to visit Boston. If you prefer a lighter, contemporary flair then the Boston Pops are your orchestra of choice.  Boston’s heralded conservatories, including Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music, also performance concerts every week throughout the year.

The performing arts in Boston reveal a rich array of theatre, dance and intimate concerts.  Award-winning theater companies across the city include Huntington Theatre Company, ArtsEmerson’s World on Stage, and American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge.  Iconic venues such as the Boston Opera House and Citi Wang Theatre collaborate with Broadway in Boston and Boston Ballet to bring captivating performances to Boston’s theater district.

And of course, Boston’s museums are exceptional!  The great masters are on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Harvard Art Museums, and each of these cherished collections has recently undergone a state-of-the-art renovation. Mix in some modern art with a journey down to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston’s Seaport District. All of these museums, as well as the Boston Public Library, feature intimate concerts set against the backdrop of their distinctive settings.

Courtesy BostonUSA.com.

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Jobs and Careers Center at the 2017 AAG Annual Meeting

The Jobs & Careers Center will be located in Rooms 203, 204 & 205 of the Hynes Convention Center, Second Level. It provides a central location for job seekers, students, and professionals to interact with one another and to learn more about careers and professional development for geographers. A careers information table will be staffed and accessible each day for general questions, information, and resources and will be open daily from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.

This year’s session track will include over 75 panel and paper sessions, workshops, and field trips related to careers and professional development. Sessions will cover a broad range of topics, from working as a geographer in the public, private, nonprofit, or academic sector, to networking, to becoming a certified GIS Professional (GISP), to building inclusive spaces for women in geography. In addition to the many sessions taking place within the Jobs and Careers Center, dozens more careers and professional development sessions will take place at various locations throughout the meeting. The complete schedule of activities is available online at https://www.aag.org/annualmeeting/jobs_center.

Highlighted Sessions

The AAG would like to highlight two back-to-back Friday afternoon sessions featuring two high-profile leaders in workforce development. On Friday, April 7 from 1:20 – 3:00 pm in Hynes 203, Ms. Trinh Nguyen, the Director of Mayor Walsh’s Office of Workforce Development, will participate in a panel entitled “Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: Leading Employers Discuss Career Pathways to Jobs in Infrastructure, Hospitality, Tech, and Sustainability,” and from 3:20 – 4:00 pm (also in Hynes 203), the Honorable Ronald L. Walker, II, Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development will be keynote speaker at the recognition ceremony for the AAG Emerging Workforce Scholars program participants. The session is entitled: “Keynote by Hon. Sec. Ronald L. Walker, Massachusetts Secretary of Labor: Massachusetts’s Workforce Investment Programs and AAG Emerging Workforce Scholars Recognition Ceremony”

AAG Careers in Geography Fair

The AAG Careers in Geography Fair will feature representatives from a wide range of industries that employ geographers. Employer tables will be located in the Hynes Convention Center, Second Level, in the hallway outside of the Jobs & Careers Center on Friday, April 7, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. A room will be reserved for breakout meetings and on-site interviews with qualified job candidates on Thursday, April 6 from 1:00 – 5:00 pm and Friday, April 7 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm. For more information about the Careers in Geography Fair, visit: https://www.aag.org/annualmeeting/jobs_center/career_fair

Career Mentoring

Whether you’re looking for your first job, considering graduate school, or changing careers, the advice of a mentor can help prepare you for success in today’s competitive job market. The AAG has assembled a team of experienced geography professionals, faculty members, and advanced students to provide one-on-one and small-group consultation about careers in a variety of industries and employment sectors. Topics for discussion might include creating resumes and cover letters that will grab an employer’s attention, finding jobs where you can put your geography skills and training to work, choosing a graduate program, developing your personal and professional networks, long-term career planning, and more. Career mentoring sessions will take place April 5-8, each morning from 10:00 – 11:40 am.

Job & Student Opportunity Postings

Each year, the Jobs & Careers Center features job postings and student opportunities in all fields of geography. Attendees can browse the postings during the career mentoring sessions and or at any time during the conference. Employers are also welcome to post printed ads for open positions within their organizations.

Diversity Ambassadors

A diverse group of graduate students, faculty, and professional geographers serve as AAG Diversity Ambassadors. AAG Diversity Ambassadors are organizing a panel session at the 2017 Annual Meeting entitled “Embracing Diversity: An Open Discussion with the AAG’s Diversity Ambassadors.” The session will take place on Wednesday, April 5 from 2:40 – 4:20 pm in Hynes 203. This session is a continuation of similar panels organized in recent years, which intends to both build upon and enhance the information provided in alternative conference sessions focused on careers and professional development.

AAG Emerging Workforce Scholars

This year, the AAG has launched a unique Emerging Workforce Scholars program for Bunker Hill Community College, Boston Latin Academy and Charlestown High students to engage local youth and advance diversity in geography and the geosciences. The Boston Private Industry Council (PIC) and Massachusetts Workforce Professional Association (MWPA) have been working on this innovative project as AAG’s implementation partners. Please extend a warm welcome to the Emerging Scholars as they explore careers in geography and the geosciences! For more information about the program, visit: https://www.aag.org/diversity_scholarship

GISCI Certification

Did you know you can earn GISP credits by participating in the AAG Annual Meeting? Attendance provides several ways to earn necessary points for the “Contributions to the Profession” and “Education” components of becoming a GISP. A workshop entitled “GISCI – An Exploration of Professionalism Early in a Career or Profession” will take place on Thursday, April 6, from 1:20 – 3:00 pm in Hynes 205. Prospective GISPs and current GISPs who have questions about renewing their certification are encouraged to attend. Attendance is first-come, first-served.

For more information and materials about careers in geography, visit the Jobs & Careers area of the AAG website (www.aag.org/careers). For more on the 2017 AAG Annual Meeting, visit www.aag.org/annualmeeting.

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Annual Meeting

Carry the AAG 2017 Annual Meeting Program in Your Pocket

Get the most from your AAG 2017 Boston experience with the mobile app. Enjoy an interactive experience on your Apple, Android, BlackBerry and other mobile devices during the annual meeting. If you’re a laptop user or have a Windows phone, there’s also a Web version for your devices.

Plan your experience throughout the meeting:

  • search sessions by day, group or type or just browse the abstracts and participants listings
  • create your own calendar of events by adding your favorite sessions to your schedule
  • receive updated changes to sessions and events from organizers
    browse exhibitor listings
  • take notes during sessions and send as emails and also rate the sessions
    view the list of local restaurants to experience during your visit
  • locate various sessions by tapping on areas of each floor plan within the maps icon

The app will help you balance your schedule of preferred sessions, events and meetings with friends and colleagues, while keeping you informed with daily Geograms and social media updates. Networking features offer colleagues tools to share schedules and exchange contact information. The AAG mobile app also integrates with social media networks on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And, it will help you collect and share important notes and information from sessions and exhibitors.

For more information, download the tip sheet to help get you started.

Download the native app: https://m.core-apps.com/aagmeetings

Bookmark the Web version on your Windows phone, computer or laptop: https://app.core-apps.com/aagam2017

IMPORTANT NOTES: If you plan to use the app on two of your mobile devices, it’s important to set up the multi-device sync within the app on both devices. (See tip sheet for more details.)

Also, if you find the app is slow to launch, you may bypass the update by simply tapping the back arrow on Android or the cancel button on iOS devices to immediately get to the dashboard. Update times during app launch vary by device, connection strength and also depend on when you last did a full update. Remember, this is a large meeting with 6,900 abstracts, 1,700 sessions and 9,000 attendees! Make sure you try to update at least once a day to capture any changes, such as session updates, newly added attendees, etc. If your refresh button turns red, it’s time to update.

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Explore the Growing List of AAG 2017 Field Trips, Workshops and Excursions

Explore the rich physical and cultural geography of Boston, Mass., and the New England region through informative field trips led by geographers or other experts. Field trips and excursions are also an excellent way to meet and exchange ideas with colleagues and friends. Also, expand your knowledge base and sign up for a workshop within your area of expertise.

Learn more.

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AAG Theme: Uncertainty and Context in Geography and GIScience

Uncertainty and context pose fundamental challenges in geographic research and GIScience. Geospatial data are imbued with error (e.g., measurement and sampling error), and understanding of the effects of contextual influences on human behavior and experience are often obfuscated by various types of uncertainty (e.g., contextual uncertainties, algorithmic uncertainties, and uncertainty arising from different spatial scales and zonal schemes). Identifying the “true causally relevant” spatial and temporal contexts that influence people’s behavior and experience is thus also challenging, since people move around in their daily lives and over their life courses and experience the influences of many different contexts. To generate reliable geographic knowledge, these uncertainties and contextual issues will be addressed within the special theme, Uncertainty and Context in Geography and GIScience: Advances in Theory, Methods, and Practice, during the 2017 AAG Annual Meeting in Boston.

The Opening plenary of the Uncertainty and Context theme features a distinguished group of researchers and scholars experienced in addressing the issue of uncertainty. Speakers in this session include Mei-Po Kwan (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Michael Goodchild (University of California). David Berrigan (National Cancer Institute) will serve as a Discussant and Tim Schwanen (University of Oxford) will chair this session.  This plenary session is on Thursday, April 6, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. in the Independence West room at the Sheraton.

The Closing plenary for this special track will be held on Saturday, April 8, from 11:50 a.m. – 1:10 p.m and features Mei-Po Kwan (University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign); Tim Schwanen (University of Oxford); Wenzhong Shi (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University); Jamie Pearce (University of Edinburgh); Daniel A. Griffith (University of Texas at Dallas). All attendees are welcome to attend.

To find many additional sessions on this featured theme, consult the AAG website for a full list.

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Robert E. Frenkel

Longtime Corvallis resident Robert “Bob” Frenkel, 89, died in Portland on Feb. 20, 2017.

Bob is survived by his wife, Elizabeth “Liz” (Mills) Frenkel; son Stephen Frenkel and wife Judy Walton; and daughter Ann Frenkel and husband Gwido Zlatkes.

He was preceded in death by his sister, Janice Pachner.

Bob was born in New York City in 1927 to Leo and Helen (Wolff) Frenkel. He discovered his lifelong love for the natural world in Central Park — his backyard. He attended Kenyon College in the late 1940s. At Kenyon he survived a jump from a burning dormitory but broke so many bones he was told he’d never walk again. Undaunted, Bob recovered within a year and graduated. He went on to obtain a master’s in metallurgy from UC Berkeley, where he hiked and climbed at every opportunity throughout the Sierras and Cascades.

After working as a metallurgist at Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Bob returned to UC Berkeley in 1959 to follow a career path more closely aligned with his interest in the outdoors. He received a Ph.D. in geography, specializing in ruderal vegetation along California roadsides.

While at SRI Bob met and married Liz, who became a strong partner in his passions for mountains, hiking, environmental activism, international travel, good food and wine, music (particularly chamber music and the Oregon Bach Festival) and family.

Bob and Liz moved to Corvallis in 1965 where Bob joined the geography faculty at Oregon State. His specialty areas were biogeography and plant ecology, particularly in salt marshes. After retiring in the 1990s, he continued to conduct research as an emeritus professor.

Among Bob’s more notable achievements were his seminal work on salt marsh restoration at Oregon’s Cascade Head and his fight to protect the Jackson-Frazier Wetland north of Corvallis in Benton County. The county honored Bob by dedicating the wetland’s boardwalk — which Bob planned, raised money for and even helped build — as the “Bob Frenkel Boardwalk” in 2005.

Bob had a long history of environmental activism, particularly with the Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy. His Sierra Club involvement began with the Mills Tower Conservation Committee, and included building and maintaining ski huts in the Sierra Nevada, becoming an active member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter, and serving as the first Chair of the Mary’s Peak Group and later as Oregon Chapter Chair.

In 1982 Bob received the Oak Leaf Award from The Nature Conservancy for his outstanding service for land conservation in Oregon, and in 1997 he received the George B. Fell Award for exceptional accomplishments from the Natural Areas Association.

Bob loved to share stories and slideshows of his adventures, from climbing Mt. Orizaba in Mexico, to a six-month bicycle trip through Europe in the early 1950s, to hikes, backpacks, ski tours, and international trips with his family. Though Bob’s memory was cruelly robbed by Alzheimer’s, these memories live on.

A memorial celebration in Corvallis is being planned for late spring.

Originally published in the Corvallis Gazette-Times

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John Miller Morris

John Miller Morris, Jr., 64, passed away on February 16, 2017, in a San Antonio hospital after surgery, attended by friends who traveled thousands of miles to come to his bedside. He is survived by a daughter Erin Claire Noakes of Washington D.C. He will be missed by his longtime companion, many friends, colleagues, and neighbors.

John grew up in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle and his early experiences in the southwest shaped his work, home, and life. He was an Eagle Scout and high school underground newspaper editor demonstrating his civic priorities from an early age. He obtained a bachelor degree (Plan II Honors Program), two master’s degrees (Community & Regional Planning and Slavic Literature and Language), and a doctoral degree (Geography and Planning) from The University of Texas at Austin where he also competed in fencing. His love of the land and his personal heritage was demonstrated through his long involvement in the family’s business, the C.B. Morris Company, one of the first family farm corporations in Texas.

As a scholar, he authored and edited multiple books on his way to his full professorship at the University of Texas at San Antonio, including El Llano Estacado which remains the definitive work on the history, geography, culture and peoples of that region. He also received multiple awards including the UT Regents Outstanding Teaching Award and the Piper Professor Award for his “dedication to the teaching profession and for outstanding academic achievement.”

John was well-respected throughout the state and was a member of many professional organizations including the Texas Institute of Letters, the Texas State Historical Association, and the West Texas Historical Association (current president). He was also a charter member of the Sensitive Men, a monthly brunch/politics/Frisbee fellowship in Austin and a vital member of the Pros & Cons, a group of scholarly colleagues who met monthly for critical dialogue and conviviality.

John was also an integral force in keeping his Austin neighborhood and the surrounding area on RM 2222 beautiful, livable places. He worked tirelessly to improve and expand Long Canyon’s unique hiking trail system. He served on the homeowner’s association board for numerous terms. He worked with developers in the RM 2222 corridor to assure that developments would be tasteful, as unobtrusive as possible, minimize environmental impacts, and in character with the Hill Country.

He was brilliant, outgoing, inquisitive, energetic and unique. One of his many legacies is a 140-year-old Victorian house he rescued from demolition in the west campus area in 1978, moved twice, and lovingly restored in the woods and hills of west Austin. If you would like to share a memory of John or would like more information about memorials, please email friendsofjmm@gmail.com.

Memorial contributions may be made on his behalf to the John Miller Morris UTSA scholarship here: https://giving.utsa.edu/Morris.

Published in Express-News on Mar. 5, 2017

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