Ph.D. Student Receives Dissertation Research Scholarship, Teresa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research

November 7, 2005

We are proud to announce that Kolson Schlosser, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography, has received the Dissertation Research Scholarship offered by the Teresa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research. The Heinz foundation gives away eight such scholarships to Ph.D. students from seven different schools who work on policy-related environmental research.

Kolson earned his bachelor of science degree in environmental studies from Slippery Rock University, and then went on to receive his master’s degreae in geography from Penn State.

Now Kolson has decided to focus his research interests on nature-society relations, political geography, and political ecology. “I explore the intellectual lineage of the merger of 'environment' and 'security' discourses soon after the Cold War,” he explains, “and how this all may contribute to the relationship between the environment and conflict.”

The Dissertation Research Scholarship has helped Kolson in a number of ways with his Ph.D. work. He was able to present his work at the annual conference of the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) in Bonn, Germany and plans on presenting at the Annual AAG Meeting this spring in Chicago. It also allows him to focus on his work throughout the summer months. “Not to mention it pays for plenty of my books and journals,” he adds.

When asked his advice to Undergraduate and Graduate students at Penn State Kolson talked about the importance of focusing on only one or two areas of geography. He says, “You can't be everything to everybody, and it's only the rarest among us that have the entire field of geography pretty well nailed down. So spend a lot of time finding exactly what YOU uniquely contribute to the discipline, and things will take care of themselves.”

Following his own advice has worked well and the Department of Geography would like to congratulate him on his achievements.