Doctoral Advisees

1. William E. DOOLITTLE III (BA,TCU; MA, U. Missouri). Ph.D. 1979, Pre-Hispanic Occupance in the Middle Rio Sonora Valley: From a Ecological to a Socioeconomic Focus (supported by NSF Anth. Project). {Asst. Prof., Mississippi, St.} Erich W. Zimmermann Regents Professor of Geography & Chair, Univ. of Texas at Austin. [Honors CLAG, CAPE, & AAG, Fellow AAAS, Honor degree U. Stockholm]

No one persevered under the difficult conditions that Bill did and he has sustained that work ethic throughout his career.

Clark University [39]

2. A. M. Shajaat ALI (Bangladesh; BSc, U. Rajshahi; MSc, U. Dhaka; MA, U. Windsro & Wayne St. U.). Ph.D.  1987, Clark University, Changes in a Near-Saturated Agroecosystem: A Comparison of Six Villages in Bangladesh (NGS grant). Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Social Sciences, University of Texas at Tyler. (retired/deceased)

Shajaat was the first student to come to Clark to work with me; I had almost given up on that prospect.

3. Arnold GRAY (BA, Clark).  Ph.D.  1988, Clark University, The Relationship of Production Type to Resource Stock Manipulation in Chipinga District, Zimbabwe: A Micro-Agricultural Geography (NSF doctoral grant). Environmental Services, Boston.

Arnold was the first Clark student to work with me, opening the doors to many others.

4. Thomas M. WHITMORE (BA, U. Colorado).  Ph.D.  1990, Clark University The Sixteenth Century Amerindian Population Collapse in the Basin of Mexico: A Systems Dynamics Approach (NSF doctoral grant). Assoc. Prof., University of North Carolina. Retired 2008. 

Tom holds one of the most analytically rigorous minds I have encountered and is my only advisee to use Stella in his dissertation.

5. Anthony J. BEBBINGTON (UK; BA U. Cambridge).  Ph. D. 1990, Clark University, Indigenous Agriculture in the Central Ecudorian Andes. The Cultural Ecology and Institutional Conditions of its Construction and its Change (UK Fulbright; Inter-American Foundation Fellowship). Higgins Professor of Environment and Society, Clark University & International Director for Natural Resources and Climate Change, Ford Foundation. [Fellow CASBS; NAS, American Academy, AAG Honors, Australian Laureate Fellow] 

Some students really don’t need advisors but the advisor needs them; Tony is one. 

6. *David MAZAMBANI (Zimbabwe).  Ph.D. 1990,  Clark University, Impacts of Rural-Urban Migration on agriculture in Zimbabwe (Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship).

Edit- Trust Zimbabwe

I have lost David somewhere in southern Africa.  If anyone knows his whereabouts please let me know.

7. Brad JOKISH (BA, Augustana). Ph. D. 1998. Clark University. Migration and Agricultural Change: The Case of Small-holder Agriculture in the Highlands of South-Central Ecuador    (NSF doctoral grant). Assoc. Prof., Ohio University. 

Brad knows what he wants in his professional life and will not be enticed in other directions.

8. Yelena Ogneva Himmelberger (BA, Moscow State U.). Ph.D. 1998. (MAB grant). Assoc. Prof. GIS doe Environment and Development, Clark. U.

Russian fluent in Spanish and undertaking Maya research from afar.  Her work was the predecessor of the long-term SYPR project to follow.

9. Rheyna LANEY (BA, U Cal. Berkeley, Econ.). Ph.D. 1999. Agricultural change and deforestation in Madagascar (NSF doctoral grant & Fulbright Fellowship), Professor, Sonoma State University.  

Oh those Berkeley women, operating alone in the “outback” of Madagascar; Rheyna improved our understanding of induced intensification.

10. Peter KLEPEIS (BA, Colgate U.) Ph.D. 2000.  Deforesting the Once Deforested: Integrated Land History of the Southern Yucatan Peninsular Region (NASA SYPR). Professor., Colgate University. 

Peter said from day one he wanted to return to Colgate and by golly he did.

11.  *Emma ARCHER (South Africa; BA, U. Capetown). Ph.D. 2000, Clark University.  Fragile Calculus: Climate, Political Economy and Vegetation Change in the Semi-arid Karoo, South Africa.  (SA Fulbright/NASA Earth System Science Fellowship/Rockefeller Summer Institute Fellow/SMARTT Fellow, U. Capetown). Professor, University of Pretoria, South Africa. 

Got her thanks to Fulbright; when I once asked Emma how many awards won needed to get a dissertation she responded, “I want them all.”

12.  *William C. McCONNELL (BA, Econ. U. Cal. Berkeley; MA, ID Clark). Ph.D. 2000, Clark University. Human- Environment Relation in Madagascar: The Importance of Spatial and Temporal Resolution. Assoc. Professor, Michigan St. U.

Bill could thrive in the NGO, US Agency, or academic world; and he does

13. *Dmitry VARLYGUIN (Russia; BS-MS Moscow St. U.). Ph.D. 2000, Clark University. West Siberian Peatland Dynamics in Relation to the Global Carbon Balance. (NASA Earth System Science Fellowship). VP & Chief Scientist, Geospatial Data Analysis Corp., State College, PA. 

Irony.  Dmitry bemoaned the capitalist systems upon his arrival here; then he became a quasi- capitalist.

14. *Patricia A. BENJAMIN (BA, U. Oregon; MLS, U. Maryland). Ph.D. 2002, Clark University, Landscape change and social impacts on Mt. Arusha, Tanzania (SSRC African Fellowship & NSF doctoral grant).  Assoc. Professor, Worcester State College. (retired)

One the sharpest minds I have ever encountered, Pat knows what makes her happy and lives it.

15. Nicholas HAAN (BA, Econ., U. Cal. Berkeley; MA, ID, Clark). 2002.  Agents of change and Miombo deforestation, southern Tanzania (NASA Earth System Science Fellowship). President for Impact, Faculty Chair of Global Grand Challenges, and Managing Director for the Global Startup Program, Singularity University. 

Oh those Berkeley men.  Nick said he loved Africa and he almost never remained there.

16. Paul LARIS (BA, San Jose St. U.).  2002. Burning the Seasonal Mosaic: A multi-scale study of savanna burning in West Africa, (NASA Earth System Science Fellowship).  Professor. Long Beach State U.

Paul is one of the most meticulous researchers I have encountered, and his fire-woodland & savanna work is outstanding.

19. *Davison GUMBO (Zimbabwe; BA, U. Zimbabwe; MA, ID, Clark).  2003. Socializing Miombo Ecology: Change in Woodland Use and Its Meaning for Sustainable Livelihoods (NASA Earth Sytem Science Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation). Senior Researcher, CIFOR, Zambia.

At the height of tensions in Zimbabwe, Davison completed his research and led me through a miombo safari.

20. Rinku ROY CHOWDHURY (India; BS Computer Sci., Wellesley; MS, Ecol., U. Georgia). 2003. Landscape Dynamics and Land-Use Change, Southern Yucatan (NSF grant/NASA Earth System Science Fellowship/Horton-Hallowell Fellowship).  Professor, Clark U. 

Rinku is surely the most all around land change scientists I have encountered at the early career level—remote sensing/GIS, social survey work, ecological assessment. 

22. *Claudia RADEL (AB, Env. Studies Brown U.; MPA, Public & Int. Affairs, Princeton U.). 2005. Women's Participation in Conservation Projects in the Southern Yucatan Peninsula: Effects on Land Control, Farming Practices, and Women's Empowerment (NSF Fellowship/Fulbright-Hays Fellow/NSF Diss. grant). Professor & Associate Dean, Env. & Soc. College of Natural Resources, Utah State U. 

Claudia may have surpassed Susan Hanson in her quantitative study of women’s groups in the field, all the while being robbed twice and wrecking her car. 

23. *Pablo PACHECO (Bolivia; BA Soc., U. San Andres; Msc, Agr. Econ., Bolivian Catholic U.). 2005. Populist and Capitalist Frontiers in the Amazon: Diverging Dynamics of Agrarian and Land-Use Change (ICREF research award). Global Forest Lead Scientist, World Wildlife Fund.

One of the easiest going students I ever encountered; no matter how hard I tried, I could not rile him.

24. *Aaron POLLACK (BA, Soc., Wesleyan; MA, Inst. Soc. Sci, Haque). 2005. Place, Connections and the Totonicapán Rebellion (Guatemala) of 1820 (Fulbright Hays Fellowship).  Researcher, Lin 1. Centro di Investigaciones Estudios Superiores en Anthropologia Social, Mexico.

One of only two Clarkies to undertake a Latin American, cultural-historical dissertation, but in the Clark tradition of problem framing. 

25. Jacqueline VADJUNEC (BA English-Geog., Bucknell). Ph.D. 2007, Clark U., The Social, Economic, and Environmental Sustainability of the Extractive Reserve System in Acre, Brazil (Fulbright Hays Fellowship).  Professor & Director, Institute for Resilient Environmental and Energy Systems, U. Oklahoma.

Jackie has overcome more difficult field experiences than any other student I have advised, and she never complained.

26. Ximena RUEDA (BA, Econ., U. de los Andes, Colombia, MS, City and Regional Planning, MIT). Ph.D. 2007.  Landscapes in Transitions: Conservation, Structural Adjustment, and Forest Change in the Southern Yucatán (Fulbright Fellow).  Dean and Professor, School of Management, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia).

One of few Clarkies to take post-doc & did so with E Lambin, Stanford.

27. Mohan SEETHARAN (India; BS-MS, Env. Sci, U. Western Australia). PhD. 2007. Vulnerability in the Ghats of India (Public Entity Risk Institute Fellowship).  Faculty, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.

Lost touch with Mohan.  Hope he finds this web site and makes contact.

28. Birgit SCHMOOK (Germany-Mexico; Ms Agronomy, U. Hohenheim). Ph.D. 2008.  Household Life Cycles and Land Use in Southern Mexico (CONABIO-Mexico Grant). Senior Researcher, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur-Quintana Roo.

Hard to do household survey work with Birgit, not because she carries a machete, but because she can illicit too much information and keep the informant talking.

29. Anna VERSLUIS (BA, Biol. Eastern Mennonite U.; Geography, Oregon St. U.).  Ph.D. 2008. Vulnerability and Land Change in the Soliette River Basin of Haiti. (Sigma Xi grant; PERISHIP Fellowship) Associate Professor, Gustavus Adolphus College.

What can one say of student who takes off to the far-reaches of Haiti and pulls off a project that few would even think of attempting.

30.  *Thidinalei TSHIGUVHO (South Africa; BS, Biol., U. Vende; MS Cons. Biol., U. Capetown). Ph.D. 2008. Sacred Places, Biodiversity and Co-Management in Venda, South Africa. (South African Fulbright Fellow). Environmental Leadership Program, Urban Ecology Institute.

They held a university post in South Africa for Thidi, but she remained in U.S.

31. Kirsten (McClaid-Cook) Barrett (BA, Env. Studies, Simon Rock College of Bard). Ph.D. 2008. Effects of Land-Cover Change on Terrestrial Carbon Storage and Uptake in the Southwestern Brazilian Amazon (EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship). Associate Professor, U. Leicester, UK.

Kirsten ask for and required so little and accomplished so much; completing a tropical savanna dissertation, she switched to boreal forests without batting an eye.

32. Jabob BRENNER (BS, Biology & Spanish, St. Lawrence U.). Ph.D. 2008.  Structure, Agency, and the Transformation of the Sonoran Desert by Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare): An Application of Land Change Science. (NSF Fellowship). Associate Professor, Ithaca College (Environmental Studies and Science).

Oh this NSF Fellow; says one thing in the proposal, do another.  Jake’s research is set to move him forward handsomely.

33.  Rebecca (Palmer) DICKSON (BS, Env. Sci., Cornell U.). 2008. Secondary Diversity: Ecological and Spectral Dimensions of Secondary Succession following Smallholder Cultivation in Southern Yucatán (NASA Earth System Science Fellowship). Assistant Research Prof., Department of Biology, Wake Forest U. & TerraCarbon Project.

Oh those NASA Fellows; say one thing in the proposal, do another.  How Rebecca “did it” with her other responsibilities, I do not know how.

36. *Lily RAY GADAMUS (BS, Geology, Rice University ).  Ph.D. 2010. Incorporating Community Participation into Wildfire Management in Rural Alaska: Can it Improve Outcomes for Athabascan Communities? (NSF Fellowship; Community Forestry Pre-Dissertation Fellowship; UAF Resilience and Adaptation IGERT). Kawerak Inc. (Alaska).

Another talent, Lily leaped in one direction and landed in another—in the case Alaska.

37.  *Elia MACHADO (Spain; BS-DEA, Env. Sci. U. Granada). Ph.D. 2010. Vulnerability to Dengue in Mexico. (Fellow, Fundación Alfonso Martín Esudero). Associate Professor, Environmental, Geographic, and Geologic Sciences, Lehman College, CCNY.

Always questioning the vulnerability concept, Elia development a disease vector twist on the theme that proves most interesting.

38.  Marco MILLONES ( Peru; B.A. Geography, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru; M.A. Geography, University of Miami). Ph.D. 2012.  Fire, flows and forests: land change, commodity flows, and multi-scale sustainability in the Mexican Yucatán. Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography, Mary Washington University.

A “spatial” talent mastering human-environment issues, Marco is a pleasure.

39.  Dominique WERBOFF (BA, Geography, U. Miami). Ph.D. 2012. The Role of Institutions in Shaping Livelihoods and Land Use/Cover in Northern Negros Natural Park, Philippines (NSF Fellowship). Director of Arboriculture, Coastal Carolina University.

Dominique is only student who completed her orals and dissertation proposal defense while I was away, on the phone. My last Clarkie.

Arizona State U. [12]

40. Christopher GALLETTI (BS Computer Science, Rider College; MS Archaeology, Stevens Institute of Technology) (Fulbright Fellowship). 2015. Understanding Environmental Change and Biodiversity in a Dryland Ecosystem through Quantification of Climate Variability and Land Modification: The Case of the Dhofar Cloud Forest, Oman. R & D Scientist, US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Chris is a stickler for detail and rigor in his analysis.

41. Arijit GUHA (BA History, Carleton College; MA Clark U.) (IGERT Fellowship) . Deceased during degree work.

He followed me from Clark. He was the bravest student I have ever encountered.

42. John P. CONNERS (Casellas Connors) (BA, MA-GIS Clark University) (Borlaug Fellowship in Global Food Security, Boren Fellowship, NSF Dissertation grant). Ph.D. 2015. Agricultural Development, Land Change, and Livelihoods in Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley. Assoc. Professor, Texas A&M).

Another Clarkie that came to ASU, John need little guidance.

43. Jesse SAYLES (BA Environmental-Biodiversity and Conservation, McGill U.; Msc. Geography, Concordia U.) (Walton Sustainability Award). Ph. D. 2015. Flowing Together: Addressing Social-Ecological Scale Mismatches for Estuary Watershed Restoration in the Whidbey Basin, Puget Sound, WA.  Post Doc Fellow, Geography, McGill University; post doc, EPA.

Jesse works harder than just about anyone and scored a PNAS article from his dissertation.

44. Karina BENNESAIAH (BS, MS, Environmental Science, McGill). Ph. D. 2018. Social-Ecologies of Crisis Assessing the Back-to-Land Movement in Greece (SSHRC Fellowship & Trudeau Fellowship).  Banting Fellowship (Canada), McGill U; Asst. Prof., U. Guelph.

Karina seems to win everything, following a creative mind inspired by her summer get-aways in Greece.

45. Yujia (Cindy) ZHANG (B.S. GIS, Henan University, China, M.A. GIS, Clark University, MA)  Ph.D. 2018. Improving urban cooling in the semi-arid Phoenix Metropolis: land system science, landscape ecology and urban climatology approaches.  Research Post-Doc.  Center for Geospatial Science, U. C. Riverside.  Assist. Prof., Duke-Kunshan U., China.

An extremely focused methodologist; perhaps the most so among my advisees.

46. *Elizabeth TELLMAN (BA Env. Studies, Santa Clara U., MS Yale School of Forestry) (Fulbright Fellow, NSF Graduate Fellowship, NSF DDRI,  Lincoln Land Grant, NSF GROW Fellowship) Ph.D. 2019. Mapping and Modeling Illicit and Clandestine Drivers of Land Use Change: Urban Expansion in Mexico City and Deforestation in Central America. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Columbia University; 2021, Asst. Prof., U. Arizona.

Beth is involved in so many projects it makes my head spin.  I just let her do it all.

47. Jordan P. SMITH (BS Earth Science & BA Environmental Science, Rice University) (ASU Doctoral Enrichment Fellowship) Ph.D., 2021. Lots of Potential: Planning Urban Community Gardens as Multifunctional Green Infrastructure. Lead Planner, Harris County (TX) Community Service Department.

With real world experience in environmental assessments, Jordan has his eyes on real world practice.

48. *Michelle STUHLMACHER (BA, Geography, George Washington U.)  (Heidelberg Laureate, Coor Great Communities Graduate Fellowship) Ph.D. 2020. Patch to Landscape and Back Again: Three Case Studies of Land System Architecture Change and Environmental Consequences from the Local to Global Scale. Asst. Prof., DePaul U.

Bubbling with ideas and strong sets of skills, I simply could not let Michelle escape beyond the ASU community.

49. *Puyang LI (BA, History & Economic Geography, Sun Yat-sen University).  Ph. D.  2022. Modeling Land System Consequences of Estate-Smallholder Relationships in Central Tanzania. Research Assoc., Duke Kuhson University.

His perseverance in the face obstacles is significant.

50. *Megs SEELEY (BS, Forest Science and Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison) (Geoinformatics Fellow, NASA DEVELOP National Program, Frontier Development Lab, NASA, NSF dissertation grant). Ph.D. 2023. The spectoral ecology of a highly polymorphic tree specices. Post-doc, Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, ASU-Hawaii.

A rock climber whose web page really rocks and whose creativeness with remote sensing matches the climbing.