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March 22, 2006
Many faculty members and graduate students from the department attended the 2006 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting from March 7-11, 2006 in Chicago. In addition to giving presentations and organizing paper sessions, members of our department received honors and awards, and participated in the conference's week-long activities.
The Middle States regional team, which included graduate students Jamison Conley (Captain), Seth Dixon, and Lee Ann Nolan, placed fourth out of eight teams in the World Geography Bowl. Jamison won the MVP Award because he had the highest average number of correct answers per round for any individual in the bowl.
Other honors were given to alumnae Amy Trauger (M.S. '01, Ph.D. '05) and Corene Matyas (Ph.D. '05), who were finalists in the Nystrom Dissertation competition. Professor Emeritus Wilbur Zelinsky received the 2006 AAG Presidential Achievement Award. He was recognized for his long-standing and distinguished contributions to the discipline of geography. Staff member/graduate student Jodi Vender was re-elected as a director of the History of Geography Specialty Group; alumnus Mike Dorn (M.S. '94) also serves as a director of that group.
In addition to receiving awards, members of our department also enjoyed field trips offered as part of the 2006 AAG Annual Meeting.
Graduate student Michael Glass enjoyed his field-trip experiences during the AAG meeting. "There was a full-day tour to the AGS/AAG archives in Milwaukee, and another full-day excursion around Chicago's inner suburbs," he says. "Both were well organized, interesting, and engaging ways to encounter the city...great networking opportunities, too!" The Milwaukee trip was organized and led by alumnus Jim Akerman (Ph.D. '91), who also led three tours of the Newberry Library's Herman Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography, which he directs.
Current graduate student Brian Tomaszewski and his wife, Michelle, a librarian at Penn State - Altoona, organized and led a field trip during the AAG meeting. The trip explored the historical roots of blues music in Chicago from its rural origins in the Mississippi delta region, through its transformation into an urban sound in post WW-II Chicago. The activities also provided a general overview of how the city of Chicago is acknowledging this cultural gem of the city today.
"The trip was a real success," says Brian. "The field trip group was composed of a wide range of people from all over the world, and they all seemed to enjoy the experience."
According to the AAG, Brian and Michelle's trip was the only field trip to sell out. In fact, they had five people join them as "walk-ons" for the trip.
In addition to the field trips, faculty, graduate students, and alumni attended the Penn State/Syracuse reception at Grace O'Malley's on Wednesday evening. The event was organized by alumnus Don Mitchell (M.S. '89), who is chair of the Department of Geography at Syracuse, and Jennifer Driver, Public Relations Coordinator for the department. "We were delighted with the turn out," says Jodi Vender, Alumni Relations Coordinator for the department. "It was a wonderful opportunity to take a break from the meeting and catch up with old friends."
Many S.W.I.G. members from our department attended a S.W.I.G. social with members and alumni from Syracuse, University of British Columbia, Central Washington, and University of Southern California at the Park Grill on Thursday evening. "Overall the evening went really well," says Morgan Windram, a graduate student in the department. "I spent most of the evening speaking with University of British Columbia S.W.I.G. President Bonnie Kasserman, a fourth year Ph.D. student. "Their S.W.I.G. club is something I'd hope ours could emulate in some ways in the coming years, or at least try some of the things they do." Morgan mentioned that the club meets once a month in someone's private home for a wine and cheese reading group, they have a few short and 'light' readings to do before hand, and they discuss them at the meeting.
After the S.W.I.G. social, many department members attended the Geographical Perspectives on Women Specialty Group (GPOW) book presentation and reception.
Congratulations to all award recipients, presenters, organizers, and conference-goers.
Feel free to send your pictures from the AAG meeting to editor@geog.psu.edu, and we will add them to this article.
Check out the photographs below to follow faculty, graduate students, and alumni on their visit to Chicago.
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Panel Session: Race and Poverty: The Dimension of DiscoursePhoto by Antwan Love, undergraduate student at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Lucky Yapa and Jodi Vender organized a panel on Race and Poverty: The Dimension of Discourse. |
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Panel Session: Poverty in America: A Roundtable DiscussionPhoto by Antwan Love, undergraduate student at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Amy Glasmeier was a panelist on Pverty in America: A Roundtable Discussion. |
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World Geography BowlPhoto by Seth Dixon, graduate student at Penn State Jamison Conley with Bill Carstensen, Professer at Virginia Tech and Co-Director of the World Geography Bowl. |
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Sweet Home Chicago: The Geography of the BluesPhoto by Brian Tomaszewski, graduate student at Penn State Brian Tomaszewski gives the pre-field trip presentation. |
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Chess RecordsPhoto by Brian Tomaszewski, graduate student at Penn State Trip participants checking out the life-mask collection of blues artists kept at Chess Records. |