Ritter Receives Award for Textbook
Michael Ritter, Department of Geography and Geology received the
National Council for Geographic Education "Geographic Excellence in
Media (GEM)" award at the 2011 national NCGE conference on August 6,
2011 for his online textbook "
The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography".
All forms of media that exhibit outstanding geographic content or
teaching methods are eligible for a GEM award. These may include any of
the following: Internet websites, CD-ROMs, videos, software, television
documentaries, films, slide sets, books, or articles in non-geographic
periodicals. Both non-commercial and commercial productions are
considered for the award. The award is based on the quality and impact
of the production in advancing the learning and teaching of geography at
any level for any age group.
Hefferan Presents Poster at AGU Meeting
Kevin Hefferan presented a poster at the
American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in San Francisco, December 17,
2010 entitled "The Tiddiline Formation: An enigmatic Pan African
molasse deposit of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco". This paper was
co-authored with Jeremy Inglis of the University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Hefferan Receives Personal Development Grant
Kevin Hefferan received a UWSP Personnel
Development Grant entitled “Pan African subduction and sedimentary basin
development” for $4,980. Kevin also received a $2,000 UWSP Faculty
Development Grant: “Sedimentary basin development in the Anti-Atlas
Mountains, Morocco”. Both of these grants will provide funds for field
work and geochemical analysis of rock samples as part of a collaborative
study with researchers from Cadi Ayyad University (Marrakech), Syracuse
University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
GIS Center Receives WIST Grant
Gene Martin, Doug Miskowiak and Keith Rice,
of the UWSP Geographic Information System (GIS) Center and the UWSP
Department of Geology and Geography received a grant for $34,724 from the
Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology (WIST). Their project
will apply GIS tools to model commuting routes, mileages, and other
travel parameters among UWSP staff and students so as to estimate fuel
utilization and identify potential consumption reductions.
Miskowiak Co-authors GIS Book
Douglas
Miskowiak, recently co-authored a book describing the role of
geospatial technologies in land planning, design, and management and
environmental problem solving. It is also about civic engagement in
planning the future and how to encourage and enhance such engagement.
Instead of an abstract or theoretical treatise, our approach is to share
with the reader our ideas, observations, experiences, and outcomes as
they have evolved over more than three decades. The stories we tell,
examples we cite, and case studies we report are based mostly in
Wisconsin, but they are intended to give readers ideas about what
approaches might or might not work in their own geographic, political,
and cultural contexts. Our purpose, then, is to make a candid, practical
contribution to those who struggle daily with difficult land-planning
and management issues, regardless of where they occur.
This contribution is embodied in Planning
Analyst, a term we use to describe a set of off-the-shelf
technology-based tools and procedures that attract and engage citizens
in the comprehensive land planning and management process. Although this
book focuses on engaging citizen planners, professional planners and
educators and elected officials will find this book useful to recognize
cost-effective geospatial workflows and implement them successfully.
About the Authors
Bernard
(Ben) Niemann Jr. is emeritus professor of Urban and Regional Planning
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the founding director of
the Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility. There, he
co-created and co-taught the first interdisciplinary course in GIS. He
served as vice-chair of the Wisconsin Land Records Committee, helping
establish the Wisconsin Land Information Program.
D. David Moyer is an honorary fellow in the
Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility at the University of
Wisconsin - Madison. He is chief executive officer and senior consultant
for D.D. Moyer and Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in
LIS, GIS, land title systems, and geospatial economic studies. He
co-founded and co-edited the Urban and Regional Information Systems
Association Journal.
Stephen Ventura is professor of environmental
studies and soil science at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He
is director of the Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility. He
has served as editor of the Urban and Regional Information Systems
Association Journal and chaired the University of Wisconsin Spatial
Information and Analysis Consortium.
Earth Materials Textbook Published
Kevin Hefferan, Professor of Geology, co-authored a new textbook that was published in April.
Since the 1980’s, Earth science at the
undergraduate level has experienced fundamental change with respect to
curricula and student goals. Many universities have compressed separate
mineralogy, optical mineralogy, igneous petrology, metamorphic petrology
and sedimentology courses into a one- or two-semester Earth Materials
course or sequence. This in part reflects the increasing demand on
departments to service students in environmental sciences, remote
imaging and geographical information systems and science education. This
change has occurred at an accelerating pace over the last decade as
departments have adjusted their course offerings to the new realities of
the job market. John O’Brien and I recognize the need for an Earth
Materials textbook to address the evolving mineral and rock course
offerings. Our goal is to produce an innovative, visually appealing,
informative textbook that will meet changing market needs in the Earth
Sciences. Earth Materials provides equal treatment to minerals, igneous
rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks and demonstrates their
impact in our personal lives as well as our global environment. Earth
Materials represents a new comprehensive approach in introducing
students to the importance of minerals, rocks, soil and water in our
global society.