IMAGE OF THE WEEK
MGIS students from Rhode Island, New Jersey, Ohio, and New Mexico working on their MGIS capstone projects were invited to participate in an online pub time on October 10, 2017. MGIS faculty (left to right) Justine Blanford, Beth King, and Jim Detwiler gathered after work at Whisker’s pub in The Nittany Lion Inn. They exchanged tips and ideas in an informal setting and connected with their fellow students. Through Zoom, students shared glimpses of their home life, kids and pets. Another pub/tea time will be announced soon.
GOOD NEWS
Gian Rocco was elected Chair of the Amphibian and Reptile Technical Committee (ARTC) of the PA Biological Survey (PABS).
Eli Nasr Azadani has been recognized by the North American Association for Environmental Education as one of their “Environmental Education 30 Under 30” for 2017. The program recognizes individuals in the U.S. and internationally, 30 years of age or younger, who are game changers in their communities.
Alumnus Tony Greulich (’96) was recently promoted to the position of Planner IV in the Development Review and Design Division of the Department of Planning for Henrico County, Virginia. He credits Roger Downs with setting him on the right career path.
NEWS
Coffee Hour with Mark Guiltinan and Siela Maximova: Cacao for Peace: From Plant Genomics to Training Farmers in Indigenous Communities
Mark Guiltinan and Siela Maximova co-direct a program to study the molecular biology of cacao with the long-term goal of helping cacao farmers develop sustainable farms. Their work spans the gamut of the land grant university mission of research education and extension—from genome sequencing and functional genomics, educational programs for scientists from developing countries to hands-on teaching of farmers in cacao production methods—their program integrates multiple levels of the cacao production system. This talk will give an overview of the research program and focus on a specific program, Cacao for Peace, which aims to help cacao farmers in Colombia in the post-conflict era through integration of the land grant mission strategy.
- 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.: Refreshments are offered in 319 Walker Building at 3:30 p.m.; the lecture begins in 112 Walker Building at 4:00 p.m.
- Watch the webcast on Mediasite
[Editor’s note: The Summer 2017 GEOGRAPH Newsletter was published and mailed in August. We are placing the articles on the department website, and will highlight this content during the fall. Want to get your copy in the mail? Send your postal address to geography@psu.edu]
From the Summer 2017 GEOGRAPH newsletter
Q&A with Joshua Inwood
Joshua Inwood joined the Department of Geography in July 2016 as an associate professor and has a joint appointment as a senior research associate with the Rock Ethics Institute.
Q: What first inspired your scholarly interests in issues of place, social power, and inequality?
JI: I have always been interested in issues of justice and inequality, but it wasn’t until I got into graduate school and I began reading and thinking about social relations and the making of space and place that I realized how the organization of space and place is central to not only understanding inequality, but also how we might address structural inequality.