Bowling Green, Ky. - Fourteen faculty and students from Western Kentucky University’s Department of Geography and Geology are presenting research this week (March 7-11) at the annual Association of American Geographers conference in Chicago.

The largest annual gathering of geographers in the world with more than 5,500 attendees, the AAG conference showcases cutting edge basic and applied research in geography from around the world.

Another 10 undergraduate and graduate students from the department are attending the conference as part of their course requirements to engage in the discipline more actively.

Faculty and student presentations include the following:

Dr. Katie Algeo presents “Structures and Strategies in Creating a Kentucky Wine Region” as part of her ongoing research into the changing economic geographies of Kentucky.

Dr. John All presents “Geoinformatics and Policy: Building Bridges between Science and Action,” a project that has been incorporated into WKU’s Remote Sensing course.

Graduate student William “Mark” Baldwin of Crossville, Tenn., presents his master’s thesis research “An assessment of key aspects of warm and cool season severe flash flooding in the southern Appalachians.”

Graduate students Cari Bourette and Daniel Reader, both of Los Angeles, present a portion of their master’s thesis research titled “Nationalism and Terrorism: A Recipe for Disaster.”

Graduate student James Chaney of Nashville, Tenn., presents his master’s thesis research “The Rise of the Hispanic Enclave in Davidson County, Tennessee.”

Kentucky State Climatologist Emeritus Glen Conner presents “Hurricanes and Yellow Fever: Some Commonality of Impacts,” part of an ongoing investigation into historical climate processes.

Dr. Kay Gandy, Kentucky Geographical Alliance Coordinator, presents “A Comparison of Two Rivers: The Mississippi and the Yangtze,” part of her ongoing research in K-12 geographic education methods.

Dr. Greg Goodrich presents “Influences of Climate Variability on the U.S. West Coast Wine Regions and Wine Quality in the Napa Valley.”

Geography Study Abroad Coordinator Debra Kreitzer and graduate student Ashley Littell of Louisville present “Study-Abroad Pedagogy and Student Engagement in University Field Based Programs,” research emanating from two recent departmental study abroad programs.

Dr. Rezaul Mahmood, Assistant Kentucky State Climatologist, presents “Agricultural Cool Island,” a component of his ongoing research on land-use changes.

Dr. Jun Yan and Dr. Stuart Foster, Kentucky State Climatologist, present “Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of the Drought: A case study in Kentucky,” based on climate data collected and analyzed by students and faculty in the Kentucky Climate Center.

In addition to research presentations, faculty members are serving in various capacities on committees, workgroups and search committees. Department head Dr. David Keeling is representing the American Geographical Society in its search for a new editor for its flagship journal “Geographical Review.”

Dr. Michael Trapasso is promoting the second edition of his new co-authored textbook “Essentials of Physical Geography,” while Dr. Mahmood and Dr. Algeo are serving on a number of committees in their specialty area.

“Such great attendance from faculty and students in the department reflects the level of engagement in a number of different areas, including research, professional development, and service to the discipline,” Dr. Keeling said.

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