The 2015 OSU Department of Geography Graduation and Award Reception was held on Friday May 8'th at the Faculty Club. After enjoying some delicious appetizers and merriment with our graduating students and families, our Chairman Professor Dan Sui presided over the festivities with the assistance of key faculty committee members helping him with the delivery of this years academic and service kudos and merit awards. Here is a summary of the evenings events with accompanying pictures, Enjoy.

Undergraduate Studies Committee Chair, Dr. Mat Coleman Presented,
Awards and Scholarships for Undergraduate Geography/Atmospheric Sciences/GIScience Majors:

Before I get started, I want to thank my faculty colleagues who, each year, nominate students for our awards. The letters I get from my colleagues are passionate and full of praise.  However, most importantly, my colleagues' letters demonstrate clearly the fact that our students have significant access to our faculty.  For example, many of the nomination letters I received were for students involved in faculty research projects, as well as for students who had pursued their own research with help from a faculty member. In addition, all the letters I received from faculty -without students' knowledge - spoke in detail about students' progress through the degree, their strengths in the classroom and in the field, and generally about students' interests and commitments. What these awards show is not just that we have some pretty good students in the department, but that we have students who have flourished at Ohio State by virtue of being able to get to know faculty in the classroom, and to work closely with faculty in the field, in labs, through reading groups, and so on. This level of access sets Geography apart from our peer departments on campus, whether that is in SBS or the broader ASC community -where frankly it is not always the case that students can get to know, and work with, faculty, and vice-versa.

And I also want to thank our very capable undergraduate adviser, Brooke Raake, who helped with the selection process and who made sure that the Undergraduate Studies Committee had looked at all of our best undergraduates for these awards! In addition to having an excellent faculty, we also have a superb advising team in the department.
Brooke and Jill Klimpel, who is our other adviser, are really at the student-faculty interface, and help steer our students through our degree options in a timely and intellectually robust way. Without their work, I am sure the whole department would fall apart.

First, we have two different scholarships that we give to returning students.

1. Sharpe Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduates. This scholarship was established with funds from the Gary L. Sharpe Scholarship Fund in Geography, which was established in 2010. This scholarship provides funds for undergraduate students in any of our majors. Students who receive this award are chosen based on their excellence in the classroom.

Today we are excited to give the Sharpe Scholarship to 7 students.

John is one of our top performers, grade-wise, in our Atmospheric Sciences program. But he has exceled well beyond the classroom. John has interned successfully at the National Weather Service Office in Wilmington Ohio, has presented the weather on BuckITV (or Lantern TV, the campus-based broadcasting outlet for students interested in television  and related careers), was a key organizer for the 2015 Severe Weather Symposium
(which by all counts was perhaps the strongest symposium of the 19 held to date), and has been active in our Meteorology Club as the club's president, for the past two years.

John's nomination for the Taaffe award comes from Dr. Jay Hobgood. Jay notes that John was "clearly the best student in my courses.  He always got the highest grades on my exams.  He loves meteorology and works very hard to learn everything he can about the subject. ... He is an excellent representative of our department and I expect him to go far in the field of meteorology." Congratulations, John!

Alex McCarthy.

Alex is also one of our top performers in the Atmospheric Sciences program. And like John, Alex has been very active in the Meteorology Club, has helped organize the annual Severe Weather Symposium, and has participated in the Weather Challenge, a collegiate­ focused meteorological forecast competition for students and faculty from across the U.S. and Canada.
 
Alex's nomination for the Taaffe award comes from Dr. Jialin Lin. Jialin's letter examines, in close detail, Alex's excellence in the classroom, and especially his ability to research and present on complex topics, as well as his collegiality. Jialin notes that Alex
is a "brilliant student ... one of the best undergraduate students I have ever taught. He is a highly self-motivated student with a strong passion for atmospheric sciences and an excellent ability for independent research". High praise, indeed! Congratulations, Alex!


2. Huntington Award  for Outstanding  Undergrad uates in Environment  and Society, and in Urban Regional and Global Studies. These are our two core Human Geography degree options. This award was established with funds from the Charles Clifford Huntington Memorial Fund, established in 1957 by a generous gift from Helen Hughes Huntington in the memory of her husband, Professor Charles Clifford Huntington, who taught here at Ohio State, starting I believe in 1909, just a few years before our department was officially born. We have two students receiving the Huntington award this year.

Colleen Durfee.
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Colleen has been a mainstay in our human geography program for the past several years. She wrote an excellent senior thesis on the economic geography of fracking waste in Ohio, which she also presented at our annual Denman Undergraduate Research Forum. In addition to her excellence in the classroom and doing research, Colleen should be recognized for her service, both in the university and beyond. She has served as the president of our Undergraduate Geography Club (2013-2014), represented Ohio State at a national collegiate conference on human rights, and during her degree volunteered at a community refugee and immigration services provider, the mid-Ohio Foodbank, and at several other social justice organizations. Colleen is also a very accomplished athlete, and has worked as both a lacrosse coach and a referee at the high school level.

Collen's recommendation came from her adviser, Dr. Joel Wainwright. Joel notes that Colleen is an "exceptional" student and that her time at Ohio State has been "flawless". I too can vouch for Colleen. She has taken a number of classes with me, including a Ph.D.­ level seminar, and indeed, in the latter seminar I ranked her written work at the top of the class.  Congratulations, Colleen!

Zack Paganini.

Zack joined our program later in his academic career but has excelled at his studies in the department. His grades are excellent, as with everyone else here today. However, what really sets Zack apart is his research. In the spring of 2013, Zack prepared a proposal, an IRB application, and received funding from Ohio State University's Undergraduate Research Office to conduct field research in summer 2014 in Canarsie, Brooklyn to investigate the dynamics of disaster recovery programs following Hurricane Sandy. He very ably defended his thesis several weeks ago, and this year presented his research at the national Association of American Geographers conference (Chicago, IL), as well as at the Denman Forum and for Ohio State's Undergraduate Research Office.

Dr. Nancy Ettlinger wrote for Zack. Nancy noted that Zack is "bright, creative, responsive, and unusually professional" and that he "has been an asset to our program academically and more generally as an especially socially and intellectually mature citizen of our department and the broader community". Zack will be joining our graduate program next year! Congratulations, Zack!


3. Robinson Award for Outstanding Undergraduates in GIScience and Spatial Analysis. This award was established with generous funds from the Arthur H. Robinson Fund, established in 1985. Professor Robinson received his Ph.D. from Ohio State in 1947 and went on to have a storied career at the University of Wisconsin. Among other things, he created the Robinson map projection in the early 1960s, which of course was used by National Geographic for most of the 1970s and 1980s. We have two students receiving the Robinson award this year.

Daniel Berghoff.

Daniel is a major in GIS, with a minor in City and Regional Planning, and is a student in the very competitive Capital Program, a major-sized minor designed in cooperation between Arts and Sciences and the Fisher College of Business.  Daniel has amazing grades and has supplemented his excellence in the classroom with multiple internship experiences as well as a study abroad experience in Ghana.

Dr. Ningchuan Xiao wrote Dan’s nomination letter -with support from Drs. Desheng Liu and Harvey Miller. Ningchuan wrote in his letter that "what really strikes me the most about Danny is his work ethic: he is clearly one of the most hard-working students I have ever seen in my GIS classes at Ohio State. ... He has a high level of curiosity; he always chooses to work on the most difficult tasks and successfully completes them." Ningchuan also told me that to the best of his knowledge Dan, "a model student in our GIS program", has never in the entirety of his undergraduate career missed a class -except the day of the 2015 National Championship game, so I guess we'll give him a pass on that one! Congratulations, Dan.

Nat Henry.

 
Nat has worked in many areas in the department. He has presented Atmospheric Science research at the Denman, has exceled in his human geography classes, and most recently returned from a yearlong study opportunity in China, funded with a prestigious Boren International Study Scholarship. However, Nat is receiving the Robinson this afternoon in recognition for his work with Dr. Ola Ahlqvist on the creation of 3D, immersive, first person digital landscapes using Structure-from-Motion technology and Kite Aerial Photography. He received funding for this work through the Undergraduate Research Office.

Ola wrote the rec letter for Nat, and in it, Ola notes that Nat is "a very ambitious and accomplished undergraduate student. ... He is very attentive, open to new ideas and willing to do the necessary research to learn and understand as new aspects of a problem emerges". I concur. I have had Nat in my classes -not about kites, LIDAR, or Structure­ from-Motion technology; just plain old books - and my experience is that he is an exceptionally hard worker and mature well beyond his years. Congratulations, Nat.

Congratulations to all our students-those who are returning for one or more additional years with us, and the graduating seniors who are embarking on the next stage of their lives. We wish you well in your travels and adventures.

Graduate Studies Committee Chair, Dr. Harvey Miller Presented,
Awards and Fellowships for Graduate Students (MA/MS and PhD):

Fenburr Travel Scholarship for Outstanding Graduate Students. This scholarship is intended to offset costs of travel associated with professional development. The competition is run twice a year, with three awards made in autumn and spring and the competition is open to Master's and Doctoral students. The recipients for this past year are:

Debangana Bose, PhD Student, Advisor: Nancy Ettlinger, Commitee: Becky Mansfield, Max Woodworth and Leo Coleman(Comp. Studies)

Austin Kocher, PhD Student, Advisor: Mat Coleman, Comitee: Joel Wainwright.
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Rayner Scholarship for Field Work. This scholarship supports fieldwork by graduate students - data generation including expenses related to travel to a field site, supply or equipment costs, access fees or other research-related expenses. The recipient for this past year are:

Debangana Bose, PhD Student, Advisor: Nancy Ettlinger, Commitee: Becky Mansfield, Max Woodworth and Leo Coleman(Comp. Studies)

Lakshmanan Chatterjee Fellowship for Outstanding Ph.D. Students ('Lakshmanan Chatterjee Fellowship') This endowment was established June 5, 2009 with gifts from Dr. Tiruvarur R. Lakshmanan and Dr. Lata Chatterjee to be used to recognize a distinguished graduate student in the Department of Geography who is in the PhD program. This award is intended to benefit a PhD student, either from the Global South (Asia, Africa, or Latin America), or carrying out research on the Global South. The award should support a student professionally focused on issues of benefit to humanity, and with demonstrated professional promise. The fellowship provides funds for research and this year it goes to:

Debangana Bose, PhD Student, Advisor: Nancy Ettlinger, Commitee: Becky Mansfield, Max Woodworth and Leo Coleman(Comp. Studies)

E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Fellowship Award. The highest recognition the department can bestow on a graduate student.
Given in recognition of potential to make a major contribution to geography particularly through scholarship and scholarly writing.  
An award recipient is designated as an E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Fellow for one year. And this year the Fellowship goes to:

Chris Hartmann, PhD Student, Advisor: Becky Mansfield, Commitee: Nancy Ettlinger, Kendra McSweeney and Barbara Piperata(Anthropology)

Calvin Tribby, PhD Student, Advisor: Harvey Miller, Commitee: Ola Ahlqvist, Ningchuan Xiao, Jack Nasar(City and Regional Planning), Barbara Brown(Family and Consumer Studies, Univ. of Utah)

2014-2015 Graduate School Presidential Fellowships, Given by the Graduate School to recognize the outstanding scholarly accomplishments and potential of graduate students entering the final phase of their dissertation research or terminal degree project. Provides financial support so the student may devote one year of full-time study to the completion of his or her dissertation or degree project unimpeded by other duties.
Competitions are held autumn and spring semesters. And this award goes to,

Oliver Wigmore, PhD Student, Advisor: Bryan Mark, Commitee: Desheng Liu, Darla Munroe, Mike Durand(Earth Science)
Chris Hartmann, PhD Student, Advisor: Becky Mansfield, Commitee: Nancy Ettlinger, Kendra McSweeney and Barbara Piperata(Anthropology)


Personnel Committee Chair, Dr. Ed Maleki Presented the,
S. Earl Brown Outstanding Staff Award:

S. Earl Brown Outstanding Staff Service Award: Recognition of an individual staff member in the department of Geography who has demonstrated excellence in overall job performance above and beyond their prescribed duties. The award goes to:

Diane Carducci

From Kendra McSweeney’s nomination letter:
Diane’s long and steady years of service to the department through multiple staff and Chair changes, her warmth and compassion to all, and her crucial ‘behind-the-scenes’ role in departmental development.
She has been here longer than most of us and thus knows everyone connected to the department.

From Becky Mansfield’s supporting letter:
Diane is warm, friendly, and gracious, something that not only makes life in the department more pleasant, but plays a key role in networking with alumni and friends connected to the department.

Outgoing Chairman Dan Sui Recognition:
At this time we would like to recognize our outgoing Chairman Dan Sui for his service to the Department. Dr. Kevin Cox gave this tribute to our Chairman,

I want to say a few words about our Chair, Dan Sui. Dan is stepping down from his position as Chair of the Department after four years. He has left a very distinct imprint on our Department and I want to tell you how that has been and why we should be grateful to him.

At the start, though, you need to know that Dan became Chair at a time of very difficult challenges for the Department, some of which could not have been anticipated. Not least there were difficulties on the personnel front that required lots of very time-consuming meetings. Dan then had to be the person to implement university-wide policies. First of all he had to preside over semester conversion; the change from quarters to semesters. Becky Mansfield, of course, was hugely important in this but Dan was the person ultimately responsible. There has also been a budget restructuring process at the university level which has meant challenges on the revenue front that he has had to cope with.

Nevertheless, and through it all, Dan leaves a Department that is the better for having had him as Chair. I want to mention three things that he will or should be remembered for. The first is that he made some excellent staff appointments. We should mention here Suzanne Mikos, our fiscal officer, who is so accessible to faculty and graduate students and prompt in her responses. He also made a shrewd appointment of a new undergraduate advisor. During his period as Chair the number of undergraduate majors in the Department has soared. He is not solely responsible. Successive Chairs of Undergraduate Studies have worked hard to this end. But Dan laid the cornerstones. Crucial here was the appointment of Brooke Raake as undergraduate advisor: Brooke has instilled new enthusiasm into the job and made contacts across campus that have worked to our benefit. Not only did Dan appoint Brooke, he also gave the undergraduate advisor a new, much more spacious office. Instead of the old hole in the wall that previously served as the undergrad advisor’s office and which seemed to signal, ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter her’ he provided something in which undergraduates could feel that they mattered; that the Department took them seriously.

Second, the Department is physically changed for the better. For the first time the Department has a lounge where faculty and graduate students can meet in an informal atmosphere and relax. There were other changes. We now have a new seminar room and another which was refurbished in quite striking fashion.
 
Third, Dan proved to be a wonderful community-builder. This is entirely appropriate to his friendly, personable character. So at the end of this tribute I want to reflect briefly on what he achieved in this area. For a start, Departmental activities like the annual Christmas party and seasonal picnics acquired a new status under Dan. He introduced Departmental retreats at which faculty debated new directions for the Department. The Departmental T-shirt contest was his initiative. He turned his wonderful capacity for visuals to the recognition of students, as at this awards ceremony and of past members of the Department: notably his orchestration of a memorial event for one of our great past Chairs, Larry Brown. And of course, without his initiative, this particular event at which I am speaking now, would not be taking place. The Awards Ceremony was his brain-child and it has turned out to be a wonderful time for celebrating the achievements of our students as well as paying tribute to their parents.

So Dan made a big difference to this Department. We are all benefiting from it. Please join with me in a vigorous round of applause.


2015 Retirement Celebration.

Department Chair Dan Sui honoring our retiring faculty members and thanking them for their years of service.

Dr. Jeffrey Rogers, 1975-2015 Professor and State Climatologist

Dr. Kevin Cox, 1965-2015 Distinguished University Professor

This Concludes the 2015 Department of Geography Graduation and Awards Ceremony, thank you for your participation and Congratulations to all of our Graduates and Award Winners.