On Friday, May 8, the Department of Geography gathered to celebrate its newest graduates. After opening remarks by department chair Sarah Moore, faculty, staff, family, and friends enjoyed applauding as Professor Joe Mason presented awards and as Professor and Director of Graduate Studies Jenna Loyd recognized the master’s and PhD research graduates; Professor and Director of GIS Professional Programs Jonathan Nelson recognized the professional master’s degree graduates; and Undergraduate Advisor Joel Gruley recognized the bachelor’s degree graduates. All, of course, enjoyed the post-ceremony cake, ice cream, and photo booth.
Awards
Department of Geography awards celebrate and support exceptional students. This year, the department was especially excited to present the Lindstrom Travel Award for the first time ever. Supported by an endowment from alumnus Carl Lindstrom (MS’72), the Lindstrom Travel Award is designed to give Geography students more opportunities to get out and see the world.
Undergraduate Awards
Olmstead Award for Excellence – Sabine Dolan-Gashignard, Lauren Wunderlich
Olmstead Award for Undergraduate Achievement in the Geography Major – Jordan Czyzewski
Olmstead Award for Undergraduate Achievement in the Cartography & GIS Major – Will McAllister
Kohn Scholarship – Paige Dixon, Tim Tannarat
Petchenick Memorial Undergraduate Award in Cartographic Design, 1st Place – Nick Bolstedt, “21st Century Significant Storm Exposure Index by US County”
Petchenick Memorial Undergraduate Award in Cartographic Design, 2nd Place – Anya Shaw, Pinkalicious
Lindstrom Travel Award – Anna Davies, Dana Carneol
Graduate Awards
Petchenick Memorial Graduate Award in Cartographic Design, 1st Place – Hope McBride
Petchenick Memorial Graduate Award in Cartographic Design, 2nd Place – Eugenie Huang
Olmstead Award for Outstanding Teaching – Brynn Patrello
Olmstead Award for Outstanding Citizenship – Katie Braun, Kara Atkinson, Marco Vallejos
Whitbeck Graduate Dissertator Fellowship – Samto Wongso
Leopold Geomorphology Graduate Research Award – Mauricio De La Parra Guerra, Stacy Nuryadi
Bachelor’s Degree Graduates
25 undergraduates walked the stage at our celebration. Many of them are double (or triple!) majors, and two of them were invited to join Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.
Solomon Baran – BA Geography
Mason Behnke – BS Cartography/GIS & Geography
Ian Beilfuss – BS Cartography/GIS & Environmental Sciences
Halle Callahan – BA Cartography/GIS & Geography
Krista Cannon – BA Cartography/GIS
Henry Collins – BS Cartography/GIS & Data Science
Jordyn Czyzewski – BA Environmental Studies, Geography & Landscape & Urban Studies
Nate Dancer – BS Environmental Studies, Geography & Landscape & Urban Studies
Teja Davis – BA Environmental Studies & Geography
Sabine Dolan-Gaschignard – BS Anthropology & Cartography/GIS
Cassidy Fish – BA Economics, Geography & International Studies
Stella Harder – BS Environmental Studies, Geography & Landscape & Urban Studies
Nolan Hegge – BS Cartography/GIS, Data Science & Environmental Studies
James Jiang – BS Geography
Alexandra Kocheny – BS Computer Sciences & Geography
Zixuan Ma – BS Cartography/GIS & Geography
Will McAllister – BS Cartography/GIS & Geography
Mya Migacz – BA Cartography/GIS, Geography & Political Science
Bryce Minock – BS Cartography/GIS & Wildlife Ecology
Nadia Nackers – BS Cartography/GIS & Wildlife Ecology
Jay Riccabona – BA Geography & History
Peter Vajagich – BS Cartography/GIS, Environmental Studies, Geography & History
Aidan Vandre – BS Cartography/GIS & Geography
Silas Witmore – BA Geography
Lauren Wunderlich – BA Cartography/GIS, Environmental Studies & Geography
GIS Professional Program Graduates
The GIS Professional Program includes students who earn an online master’s degree or an in-person accelerated/non-thesis master’s degree. These graduates have mastered technical skills in cartography, GIS, geovisualization, geospatial analysis, and web map programming.
Daniel Arnouk – Accelerated/Non-Thesis: Cartography & GIS MS
Addison Atkin – Accelerated/Non-Thesis: Cartography & GIS MS
Brooke Fandrich – Accelerated/Non-Thesis: Cartography & GIS MS
Rawan Hinzman – Cartography & GIS – GIS Development MS
Ethan Kalchik – Cartography & GIS – GIS Development MS
Alex Krebs – Cartography & GIS – GIS Development MS
Zach Newton – Cartography & GIS – GIS Development MS
Sonja Sebree – Cartography & GIS – GIS Development MS
Hongbo Zhang – Accelerated/Non-Thesis: Cartography & GIS MS
Research Master’s and Doctoral Degree Graduates
Our graduate program is best in class, with research that reflects the wide breadth of our discipline. Here, we list the degree they earned as well as the title of their research.
Yuying Chen – Geography PhD, Cartography/GIS – Geographic Feature Recognition from Scanned Historical Maps Using Deep Learning and Spatial Context
Erin Clancy – Geography PhD, Human Geography – Transnational Psy-Entanglements: Family systems from anorexia nervosa to deinstitutionalization
Lauren Gerlowski – Geography PhD, Human Geography – The Urban Geographies of Dance:
Performance in Chicago
Hilary Habeck Hunt – Joint Geography PhD – Human Geography & Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies – Collectively-Conserved Land: An Alternative Economies Approach to Conservation Land Tenure
Hannah Kass – Joint Geography PhD – People Environment & Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies – Forest Fight: Repression and Resistance in the Struggle to Stop Cop City
Becky Rose – Joint Geography PhD – People Environment & Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies – Understanding and Preparing for Extreme Heat in Wisconsin
Akarath Soukhaphon – Geography PhD – People Environment – Different Dams: Towards a Feminist Political Ecology of Hydropower Dam Development in the Lao Spaces of the Lower Mekong Basin
Miriam Bartleson – Geography MS – People/Environment – Urban Greenery and Environmental Justice in
Environmental and Urban Planning Practice
Leah Bulbula – Geography MS – Human Geography & Urban and Regional Planning – Inequality: Socio-Spatial Mobility, Access to Transportation, and the Impacts on Community Health in Madison, Wisconsin
Natalie Correa – Cartography/GIS MS – Carto-Graphics: Sketch mapping and comic making as feminist practices and educational tools
Susannah Cox – Cartography/GIS MS – Navigational Signatures: Using VR to Cognize ADHD Spatial Cognition
Eric Giese – Geography MS – Earth Systems – Glacial to Deglacial Record of Environmental Change at Long Lake in Southeastern Wisconsin
Alton Hipps – Cartography/GIS MS – Foundations of Trust in Maps
Hong-Xuan Le Nguyen – Geography MS – People/Environment – Living with Water: Community Water Narratives and People’s Policy Visions in the Mekong Delta’s River Islands
Brynn Patrello – Cartography/GIS MS – Under Pressure: Psychological Stress in Cartographic Interaction
Tang Sui – Cartography/GIS MS – FireST-GraphNet: Wildfire Progression Prediction via a Temporal Graph Neural Network with Sequence Learning
Helen Tosteson – Cartography/GIS MS – Cartographies of Care and Control: A Content Analysis of Abortion Access Maps in National News Coverage Post-Dobbs
Mae Wallace – Geography MS – Earth Systems Geography – Storage and Evolution of Soil Organic Matter in Wisconsin Landform Assemblages
Chen Wei – Cartography/GIS MS – GeoAI Foundation Models for Environment Understanding: A Case Study on Road Safety Analysis
