2021
Katelyn Miner
Current Position: Planning-Planner, Bi-State Regional Commission, Rock Island, IL (https://bistateonline.org/about-us/our-staff/36-katelyn-miner.html)
Thesis: “Analyzing perceptions of citizen science as part of an international learning experience”
Advisor: Dr. Lisa Tabor
2020
Yiyi Zhang
Current Position: Doctoral student, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Thesis: “Evaluating Livelihood Vulnerability of Farming Communities to Winter Storms in Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Bingqing Liang
Taylor Rae Garton
Current Position:
Thesis: “Analysis of a Paleoglacier Reconstruction Model for Valley Glaciers of the Wind River Range, Wyoming”
Advisor: Dr. Dennis Dahms
2019
Daniel Murphy
Current Position:
Thesis: “Separability of Maize Varieties Using an Unmanned Aircraft and Hyperspectral Sensor in Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Grant Burke
Current Position:
Thesis: “Intermodal Transportation Stakeholder Analysis Methods Selection: A New System Addressing Existing Methods and Which to Choose”
Advisor: Dr. Lisa Tabor
Md Atiqur Rahman
Current Position: Doctoral student, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Thesis: “High-Resolution Satellite Imagery Analysis of Coastal Tundra Vegetation Disturbances Caused by All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVS): A Case Study in Teriberka, Russia”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Sushil Tuladhar
Current Position:
Thesis: “Spatio Temporal Assessment of Condition, Seasonal Trends, and Determinants of Agriculturally Derived Nutrients in the Upper Cedar River Watershed, Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Peterson Wambuu
Current Position: Doctoral student, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Thesis: “Socio-economic Impacts of International Tourism on A Local Community: A Case Study of the Town of Malindi, Kilifi County Kenya”
Advisor: Dr. J. Henry Owusu
2018
Christopher J. Pierce
Current Position: Doctoral student, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Thesis: “Integration of Refugees from Burma in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas in Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Aaron T. Padilla
Current Position: GIS Technician, Bolton & Menk Inc.
Thesis: “landscape and Climate Drivers of Harmful Algal Blooms in Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. James Dietrich
David Jensen
Current Position:
Thesis: “Spatial Disparities and Socio-economic Conditions: A Food Desert Analysis of Greater Des Moines, Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Dane Atkins
Current Position: Doctoral student, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Thesis: “Affective Risk Perception in Automotive Environments”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
2017
Athila Gevaerd Montibeller
Current Position: GIS Analyst, Caruso Jr., Florianopolis, Brazil
Thesis: “Estimating Energy Fluxes and Evapotranspiration of Corn and Soybean with an Unmanned Aircraft System in Ames, Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Bingqing Liang
Narmina Lusubova
Current Position: Research Analyst, Transportation Institue, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Thesis: “A Multiscale Assessment of Wind Energy Resources and Suitability in the Russian Arctic”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
2016
Arif Masrur
Current Position: Doctoral student, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
Thesis: “Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Active Wildfire Events in the Arctiv Tundra Biome Using MODIS Data (2001-2015)”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Emily Franics
Current Position: Doctoral student, University of Maine, Orono, ME
Thesis: “Analyzing Winter Migration Fidelity and Movement of the Wild Taimyr Reindeer Herd, Rangifer T. Tarandus”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Garrett Jepsen
Current Position:
Thesis: “Natural Disaster Planning an Preparedness at Universities”
Advisor: Dr. Patrick Pease
2015
Ekaterina Korzh
Current Position: Graduate student, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Thesis: “Spaces of Disadvantage, Places of Hope: Women Empowerment, Economic Emancipation and NGOs in Bogota Slums”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Adejoh E. Ogbe
Current Position: GIS Specialist, Apple Inc., Austin, TX
Thesis: “Spatial Analysis of Foreclosure and Neighborhood Characteristics in Miami Metropolitan Area, Florida”
Advisor: Dr. Bingqing Liang
2014
Matthew D. Cooney
Current Position: GIS Technical Director , Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
Thesis: “Understanding the Long-Term Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Taimyr Reindeer Herd During the Summer Concentration Period”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Andrei V. Kushkin
Current Position: Doctoral student, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Thesis: “Understanding the Impact of Vegetation on Surface Roughness Length for Enhancing Wind Resource Characterization in Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
Tesfay G. Russell
Derek Richards
Iulia Zykova
Current Position: Remote Sensing Specialist, Sovzond, Moscow, Russia
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
2013
Philip A. Cavin
Jonathon J. Launspach
James Crawford
Irina Childinova (1984-2013)
2012
Graham, Michael
2011
Andrew Duggan
Current Position: International Support Manager at JAMF Software
Thesis: "Post-Graduate Settlement Patterns: Tuition Reciprocity and its Impact on Graduate Retention in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin"
Advisor: Dr. Alex Oberle
Current Position:
Thesis: "Spatial Dynamics of Economic Polarization and Rural Development in Bulgaria and Serbia, 1995-2010"
Advisor: Dr. Andrey Petrov
William Burkett
Current Position: Analytical Engineer, Williams Interactive, Cedar Rapids, IA
Thesis: "A Survey of LiDAR Use by Iowa Professionals"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Brian Gedlinske
Current Position: Environmental Specialist, Iowa Waste Reduction Center
Graduate Project: "PCE Groundwater Quality Assessment of the University of Northern Iowa Campus Area:
Advisor: Dr. Dave May
2010
Justin Thomas
Current Position: GIS Technician, Iowa Department of Natural Resources/University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Thesis: "A Semi-Analytical Method for the Temporal Prediction of Chlorophyll in Clear Lake, Iowa Using Hyperion Imagery"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Tyler Johnson
Current Position: GIS Technician, Iowa Department of Natural Resources/University of Iowa; Iowa City, IA
Thesis: "A Late-Quaternary Record of Environmental Variability from Lake Sediment Cores, Wind River Range, Wyoming"
Advisor: Dr. Dennis Dahms
Munshi Khaledur Rahman
Current Position: Post Doctoral Fellow in Geography, Virginia Tech University, VA
Thesis: "Preparation and Response to the Flood of 2008 and Windstorm of 2009 in Cedar Falls, Iowa"
Advisor: Dr. Kay Weller
Ying He
Thesis: "A Geographic Analysis of Wind Turbine Placement in Iowa"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Micah Destival
Graduate Project: "The Spatial Distribution of College Football Recruiting"
Advisor: Dr. Kay Weller
2009
Anna Pestereva
Current Position: Programmer, Aerial Services, Inc; Cedar Falls, Iowa
Thesis: "The Role of Road Network Structure in the Spatial Analysis of Crashes"
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Luhua Cai
Current Position:
Thesis: "Development of a Spatial Decision Support Tool for Watershed Critical Area Identification of Soil Loss and Best Management Practices Evaluation"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Jeffrey Lentz
Current Position:
Thesis: "Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Consolidation: An Evaluation and Development of Viability Assessment Tools"
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Lucas Geadelmann
Current Position: Transportation Analyst, Donaldson Company, Inc.
Thesis: "Risk management of commercial overland food transport and distribution"
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
2008
Scott Larson
Current Position: Doctoral student in Entomology, UW-Madison, Madison, WI
Thesis: "A field study and prediction of mosquitos in Black Hawk County, Iowa and ecological niche modeling for probably West Nile Virus mosquito vectors in Iowa using GIS"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanthan Sugumaran
Alexander "Sasha" Savalyev
Current Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Geography, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
Thesis: "Temperature mapping of the UNI campus using high resolution thermal infrared aerial imagery"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Daniel Walsh
Current Position: High school teacher; Cedar Rapids, IA
Graduate Project: "Mapping Metro High School Students: Defining transportation issues and recommendations for Metro High School Students."
Advisor: Dr. Kay Weller
Ryan Takatsuka
Current Position:
Graduate Project: "College Hill: Business viability of a college business district."
Advisor: Dr. Alex Oberle
2006
Matt Voss
Current Position: Remote Sensing Scientist, US Army Corps of Engineers
Thesis: "Tree Species Mapping With Hyperspectral and LiDAR"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Guang “Sunshine” Yang
Thesis: "Using GIS Models to Simulate Water Quality in Iowa Lakes"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Jeffery Rossate
Current Position: Manager, Strategy and Operations, Deloitte Consulting
Thesis: “Ethanol Facility Locations in the United States: Historical Trends and Future Directions” (Rossate’s paper won Second Place Award in the Graduate College Master’s Paper competition, $100)
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Mark Steger
Current Position: GIS Associate, City of Overland Park, Kansas
Thesis: “Spatial and Modal Characteristics of Farm to Elevator Transport: Where, How, and Why Black Hawk Farmers Transport Their Grain.”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
2005
Nathan Green
Current Position: Senior Remote Sensing Specialist, National GeoSpatial Intelligence Agency, St. Louis, MO
Thesis: "Water Quality Assessment Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Brian Bakker
Current Position: Program Manager, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Thesis: "GIS-Based Site Suitability Analysis for Planning Confined Animal Feeding Operations in Iowa"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
Greg Halverson
Thesis: “Spatial Interaction Modeling within the Pella/Knoxville, IA Laborshed”
Advisor: Dr. Thomas Fogarty
Steven Kent Oaks
Current Position: Teacher, East High School in Waterloo, IA
Thesis: “Settlement Patterns of Bosnian Rufugees in Waterloo, Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Kay Weller
Matthew Kajewski
Thesis: “The Automated Query and Analysis of Crash Statistics in a GIS Environment: Using MapObjects 2.2, CrimeStat 2.0, and Visual Basic 6.0”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Brooke Kayser
Current Position:
Thesis: “The Geographic Analysis of the All-American Girls Baseball League”
Advisor: Dr. James F. Fryman
Leonard Bombom
Current Position:
Thesis: “An Evaluation of Crash Cluster Identification Methodologies: A Case Study of Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Alexandra Bozheva
Current Position:
Thesis: “Russian Immigration to the USA, 1990-2003”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
2004
Tami Huegel
Current Position: Teaching high school in Forest City, IA
Thesis: “Regional Geopolitical Conflicts Stemming from the Southeast Anatolia Project on the Euphrates River”
Advisor: Kay Weller
James Harken
Current Position: GIS Analyst, Polk County, IA
Thesis: "Mapping Wetlands and Potential Wetland Restoration Areas Using Object-oriented Classification and a GIS"
Advisor: Dr. Ranamathan Sugumaran
Gregory A. Keller
Current Position:
Thesis: “Water Resources for the Las Vegas Area" (Research paper won First Place in the Graduate College Research paper competition)
Advisor: David May
Amber Doyle
Current Position:
Thesis: "Reviving the CRANDIC: Is there interest in reviving passenger rail service on the CRANDIC route between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa?" (Research paper won Second Place Award in the Graduate College Master’s Paper competition, $100)
Advisor: Kay Weller
Jess Elder
Current Position: Senior Product Manager, National Geographic Society
Thesis: “Assessing the Applicability of Traditional Urban Transportation Planning Methods for the University Campus: A Case Study of the University of Northern Iowa”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Andrey N. Petrov
Current Position: Professor in Geography, University of Northern Iowa
Thesis: “Spatial Population Dynamics in the Resource-dependent Peripheral Territories of the Canadian North during the 1990s”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
James Gerjevic
Current Position: Information Technology Officer, White River Junction, VT
Thesis: "Transportation Infrastructure Extraction from Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
2003
Nanmi J. Tissing
Current Position:
Thesis: “The Use of GIS and Remote Sensing to Analyze Mosquito Habitats in Black Hawk County”
Advisor: Dr. Tim Strauss
Karla L. Suckling
Current Position:
Thesis: Regional Patterns and Social Implications of Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh
Advisor: Dr. J. Henry Owusu
Jasper E. Dung
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Geography, Alabama State University
Thesis: "Development of An Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) Decision Support Tool Using RS and GIS"
Advisor: Dr. Ramanathan Sugumaran
2002
George Kuhter
Current Position: Teaching at a Middle School in Toledo, IA
Thesis: "Factors Related to the Shifting Spatial Distribution of African Distance Runners in Olympic and World Championship Competition"
Advisor: Dr. Kay Weller
Dale Splinter
Current Position: Associate Professor of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
Advisor: Dr. Dennis Dahms
James Quinn
Current Position: GIS Coordinator, Buchanan County, IA
Advisor: Dr. Dave May
2000
Rhonda Shaw
Current Position: Teaching in Toledo, IA
Thesis: "Tonto’s Revenge"
Advisor: Dr. Kay Weller
1998
Bonnie Sines-Deceased
Current Position:
Thesis: "A Geographical Analysis of Houses of Worship in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa 1968-1998 (Research paper won First Place in the Graduate College Research paper competition)
Advisor: Dr. James F. Fryman
Frederick Payne
Current Position:
Thesis: "Changing the Rules for Congressional Districts"
Advisor: Dr. C. Murray Austin
1995
Rose Estes
Current Position:
Advisor: Dr. Robert E. Clark
Ezana Habte-Gabr
Advisor: Dr. Thomas Fogarty
1994
Bryan Blaha
Current Position:
Advisor: Dr. Thomas Fogarty