Geospatial Analysis Lab
Our lab is spearheaded by our spatially talented and collaboratively minded PI's - Jennifer Ciminelli and Dr. Cathy Viverette, in partnership with the VCU Rice Rivers Center Geospatial Scientist, Nina Brundle, and the VCU Rice Rivers Team.
Each year, we build our team with a group of amazing undergraduate and graduate students who have the opportunity to work with our equally amazing and knowledgeable partners.
Research Team
2024 - Research Team
Herman Tomasi, Graduate, MEnvs 2025
Herman is working with Dr. Damian Pitt of the VCU Wilder School and ISEE, and Mr. Aaron Berryhill from the Virginia Department of Energy, to assess land use and development trends for utility scale solar in Virginia.
Emma Soutiere, Undergraduate Envs 2025
Emma joins our team providing geospatial support to Scenic Virginia. Emma will be helping with outreach and viewshed generation to help support Scenic Virginia's mission.
Urban Greening and Resilience Team includes Emily Sharp, MEnvs 2025, Alaa Hamid, Undergraduate Envs 2025, and, Aidan McGilvray, Undergraduate Envs and Honors College!
Graduating Members!! Congratulations:
Dylan Stephens, Graduate, MEnvs 2025
Andrew Cameron, Graduate MEnvs 2024
Our Maymont Foundation Geospatial Research Team 2024: Logan Andrews and Paaru Raj
Ryan Hearl, Undergraduate, BS 2023
Megan Black, MEnvs 2023
Nina Brundle, MEnvs 2023
Emily Hastings, MS 2023
Grace Lumsden-Cook, MEnvs 2023
Thank you to our collaboration partners. Without their willingness to partner with us, and provide these opportunities, we would not be able to provide our students with invaluable experiences while promoting our collective effort - to help promote and preserve the integrity of our environment.
VCU Life Sciences
VCU Center for Environmental Studies
VCU Rice Rivers Center
VCU College of Health Professions
VCU Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment
VCU Facilities
VCU Libraries
VCU School of Social Work
Scenic Virginia
The Maymont Foundation
The City of Richmond, Virginia
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Division of Soil and Water Conservation
Division of Recreation Planning
Department of Wildlife Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
The Maymont Foundation
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
City of Richmond
CACIL
Scott’s Addition
Science Museum of Virginia
Grants
Scenic Virginia, 2024, P.I. $6,500. Scenic Virginia Support.
VCU Research Breakthroughs Fund Grant. 2024; Co-PI. $199,898. The Urban Green Equity & Resilience Project.
Virginia Department of Energy. 2024. $16,998. Land Use and Development Trends for Utility Scale Solar in Virginia.
VCU Rice Rivers Center. (2023) $2,000. PI. Geospatial Collaborative Maymont Research Project.
Scenic Virginia. (2023 - present). $10,000. PI. Scenic Virginia Support.
VCU Rice Rivers Center. (2023). $3,000. PI. Rice Rivers Center Geospatial Collab Intern.
Transdisciplinary Environmental Research Incubator Grantee. VCU Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environments (ISEE) and the VCU Environmental Humanities Lab. (2023). $21,098. co-PI. The Urban Green Equity Project.
Scenic Virginia. (2022 - 2023). $10,000. Scenic Virginia Support.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. (2022). $9,400. PI. Chesapeake Bay Perennial Stream Dataset Editing.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. (2022). $18,640. PI. Virginia Tillage Survey.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. (2022). $50,000. PI. DCR Agricultural Crop Cover Survey.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. (2021-2022). $10,000. co-PI. DCR – VCU MOU for Scenic River Resource Support.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. (2020 - 2021). $10,000. co-PI. DCR – VCU MOU for Scenic River Resource Support.
Virginia Department of Forestry. (2020-2021). $ 31,338. PI. irginia Department of Forestry Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grants.
Virginia Commonwealth University Council for Community Engagement. (2018-2019). $10,000. PI. Outstanding University-Community Partnership for Community-Engaged Research Award.
Virginia Department of Forestry. (2018). $15,000. co-PI. Virginia Trees for Clean Water Grant Program.
Virginia Department of Forestry. (2018). $16,000. co-PI. Urban and Community Forest Assistance Grant.
VCU Council for Community Engagement. (2017). $10,000. co-PI. Community Forest Project.
Dominion Foundation. (2017). $40,000. Building a ‘SmarterBirdHouse’ or Carbon Credits Are for the Birds.
Projects
Experiential learning opportunities are semester to year long projects undertaken by a student and a knowledgeable partner collaborator. Collaborators provide our students with experiential learning opportunities that serve as workforce learning opportunities for our students.
Some recent projects include:
Stephens, Dylan. 2024. Evaluating Scenic Viewshed Generation. Virginia Commonwealth University. <link to report>.
Cameron, Andrew. 2023. The Urban Green Equity Project: Identifying Social Ecological Capital of Richmond’s green infrastructure using Actor Network Mapping: GIS Modeling Framework Findings Report. VCU Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environment. <link to report>.
Black, Megan. 2023. Development of a public outreach protocol and viewshed generation management protocol for Scenic Virginia. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: Scenic Virginia
Bundle, Nina. 2023. Development of a cultural resource prediction model for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Wildlife Management Areas. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Bundle, Nina. 2023. Projected Sea Level Rise and Its Impact on Hospitals in the Coastal Regions of the United States. Collaborating Partner: Department of Health Administration, College of Health Professions, Virginia Commonwealth University,
Hastings, Emily. 2023. Use of a LESA Approach to prioritize urban agricultural areas in the Richmond Metro Region. <link to thesis>. Collaborating Partners: Chesterfield County, City of Richmond, Virginia.
Lumsden-Cook, Grace. 2022-23. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Scenic Resource Support. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
DCR Agricultural Crop Survey. 2022. Student researchers: J. Buikema, B. Gatling, E. Hastings, R. Kline, J. McIntosh, J. McNeil, K. Odell, J. Panzino, E. Riffe, A. Sabo, D. Stephens, R. Wetzell, A. White, and M. Whitehurst. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
DCR Tillage Survey. 2022. Student Researchers: S. Kincaid, R. Kline, J. McIntosh, J. McNeil, and D. Stephens. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Eaves, A., Orellana, Mangaroo, N., and D. Orellana. 2022. VA DCR Chesapeake Bay Perennial Stream Editing Project. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Kincaid, Sky. 2022. Exploratory Geospatial Data Development and Mobile Field Collection Process for the Maymont Foundation. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: The Maymont Foundation.
Lumsden-Cook, Grace. 2022. Educational material development for a scenic river evaluation as part of the state scenic river designation process. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
McIntosh, John. 2022. Isle of Wight, Virginia: Land Use Change Analysis within the Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area. <link to report>. Collaborating Partners: Isle of Wight County, Virginia and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Panzino, Jamie. 2022. Development of an ArcGIS Online Pre-Field Site Assessment Tool. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
2021
Blais, Evan. 2021. Developing input criteria to evaluate a LESA approach in Chesterfield County, Virginia. GeoCore Initiative.
Odell, Kendell. 2021. Viewshed Analysis for Hayfield Farm Site Development Project. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Planning and Recreation Resources.
Thompson, Amanda. 2021. Development of Cartographic Maps and Candidate Variable Analysis for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources' FishLocalVA Initiative. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
2020
Curtis, Dylan. 2020. Comparison of Automation of Spatial Viewshed Generation. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Planning and Recreation Resources.
Dagliano, Brian Tyler. 2020. Scenic Viewshed Process Assessment. <link to report>. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Planning and Recreation Resources.
Krovar, Sedrek. 2020. Analysis for Watershed Automation Techniques. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Schwenkler, Patrick. 2020. Aid in the delineation of spatial viewsheds of scenic resources, provide spatial analysis support for a hotspot analysis, and, create Story Map products for scenic resources. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Planning and Recreation Resources.
Siegler, Isabell. 2020. Development of a Cool Space Map for the City of Richmond, VA. Collaborating Partner: City of Richmond Sustainability Office, Virginia.
2019
Hanretty, Angela. 2019. Salt Management Strategy (SAMS) GIS Support. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Rhodes, Joseph. 2019. A GIS based landscape assessment for defined watershed locations in Virginia. Collaborating Partner: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.