GIS 108 - Digital Earth. An introduction to various applications of mapping and navigational technology (Google Earth, GIS, and GPS) used in daily life. This course involves student presentations and projects focused on basic principles and applications of this technology.

GEOG 110 - World Regional Geography. This course is an examination of the world using a regional geographical perspective. Students completing this course should achieve the following: (1) A better understanding of the world through examination of regional similarities and differences; (2) Development of analytical and critical thinking skills which are then used to explore and critique suggested explanations about the regional differentiation of human activity; (3) An understanding of key geographical concepts; (4) An understanding of the tools and techniques that geographers use to examine social, cultural, and economic relationships. This course utilizes a significant online component with the integration of WesternOnline.

GIS 202 - Principles of GIS. Introduction to the principles of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including GIS representation of the real world; GIS concepts, data, methods, tools, and their integration for location-related decision making; and GIS procedure for representation, analysis, and presentation.

GIS 402 - Advanced Cartography. This course is the second of the Geography Department’s two cartography courses. This course has a laboratory component whereby students receive hands-on experience with the concepts covered in the lecture. Exercises are devised to help the student understand advanced cartographic and visualization skills as well as advanced thematic mapping applications using GIS software.

GIS 407 - Social Applications of GIS.

GEOG 445 - Urban Geography. While most Americans live in urban areas, many have little understanding about the reasons for cities, why cities are the way they are, and what processes are at work shaping urban structure. In this course, students the urban setting as presented in a geographic framework. Topics include the interaction and impact of historical, physical, and social forces on the urban system at both the external (between cities) and internal (within cities) scales. Students should leave the class with a deeper understanding of how cities work and the problems and opportunities existing at the urban scale.

GIS 509 - Fundamentals of GIS Analysis. An introduction to geographic information system (GIS) analysis tools for graduate students. Students will learn theory and techniques that will be applied to project(s) associated with their discipline.

At Western Illinois University

• • GIS 208 - Cartographic Design for GIS

  • GEOG 505 - Research Methods I

  • GEOG 605 - Research Methods II

  • GEOG 650 - Seminar in Urban Geography

  • GEOG 650 - Seminar in Urban, Transportation and Industrial Geography

At Northwestern State University

• • GEOG 1010 - World Regional Geography: The Developed World

  • GEOG 1020 - World Regional Geography: The Developing World

  • GEOG 2010 - Principles of Physical Geography

  • GEOG 2020 - Cultural Geography

  • GEOG 3050 - Geography of North America

  • GEOG 3060 - Geography of Europe

At the University of Denver

• • GEOG 3360 - Principles and Practices of Urban and Regional Planning

  • GEOG 3380 - Urban Geography 

Supervision of Undergraduate Honors Thesis

• 2013. McWhirter, Meagan. ‘Necrogeography of Oakwood Cemetery in Macomb, Illinois’

Supervision of Undergraduate Senior Thesis

• 2017. Heise, Michael. ‘Effects of Ocean Currents on Coastal Tornadoes’

Supervision of In-Course Undergraduate Honors Projects

• 2012. Alycia Thurston (GEOG 208)

• 2012. Meagan McWhirter (GEOG 445) 

Supervision of Student Posters & Presentations

• 2012. Mackey, Caleb. “You Can Lay There But You Can’t Hide: Using GIS to Map Cemeteries” Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day. April 18

• 2012. Thurston, Alycia. “Elevation and GPS Data Mapping of the Western Illinois University Cross Country Course.” Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day. April 18

• 2008. Goddard, Selina and Bibhuti Nakarmi. “Using Google SketchUp to Reconstruct the Town of Vishnu Springs, McDonough County, Illinois.” Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Springfield, IL. April 26

• 2008. Schroll, Tim, Geoffrey Olson and Mark Glison “Finding and Recreating the Town of Vishnu Springs, McDonough County, Illinois.” Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Springfield, IL. April 26

• 2008. Olson, Geoffrey. “Finding and Recreating Vishnu Springs circa 1889, McDonough County, Illinois.” Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day. April 16

• 2008. Schroll, Tim. “Finding and Recreating the Old Town of Vishnu Springs, McDonough County, Illinois.” Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day. April 16

• 2007. Mannion, Rory. “3D Modeling in SketchUp and ArcGIS for Fun and Profit.” Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day. April 18

• 2007. Snapp, Daya and Andy Parer. “3D Mapping Project of the Courthouse Square in Macomb.” Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day. April 18

• 2007. Pelletier, Chase, Bill Lotz, and Andy Parer. 3D Mapping of Macomb’s Courthouse Square, Phase I. Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Charleston, IL. April 14

• 2007. Fadul, Nife, Ahmed Elsheikh and Rory Mannion. 3D Mapping of Macomb’s Courthouse Square, Phase II. Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Charleston, IL. April 14

• 2007. Snapp, Daya and Paras Acharya. 3D Mapping of Macomb’s Courthouse Square, Phase III. Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society, Charleston, IL. April 14

Active

Completed

• 2023. Adepeju, Ayomide Grace. The Relationship Between Developed Land Change and Economic Development of Kendall County, Illinois.

• 2023. Baptiste, Marcus. Using UAS for Volume Estimate of Debris Piles Following a Tornado in Taylorville, Illinois.

• 2022. Adeleye, Tola. A Spatial Analysis of Gun Violence in Chicago, Illinois.

• 2022. Sutton, Zachary. The Square Through Time: An Interactive Map of Land Use in the Commercial Center of Macomb, Illinois.

• 2018. Landes, Megan. The Geography of Iowa’s Craft Brewing Industry

• 2013. Emmons, Janice. Site Suitability Analysis for Light Industrial Development in Fulton County, Illinois

• 2011. Lowery, Priscilla. Two paper option, (Co-Chair with S, Thompson)

• 2011. Shepard, Rob. 3D Historical Reconstruction of Camp Ellis, Illinois.

• 2010. Fox, Amelia. Illinois Biofuel Systems Program: An Analysis of Land Use/Land Cover Data Sets to Aid in Locating Marginal Lands.

• 2010. Menge, Tim. The Geography of Sex Offenders in Iowa.

• 2010. Nakarmi, Bibhuti. A Geographic Information System Site Suitability Analysis for Ethanol Processing in Illinois.

• 2009. Hanson, Brian. An Analysis of College Football Recruiting Patterns within the Big Ten Conference, 2002-2008.

• 2006. Sample, Shawn. Citizen Participatory Planning Through Photo Elicitation in Centralia, Illinois

• 2004. Gustison, Steve. The Evolution of the Quincy, Illinois Transportation System and its Impact on Urban Land Use Patterns.

• 2004. Peterson, Kyle. The Relationships Between Urban Vegetation Change and Quality of Life Variables in Chicago, Illinois from 1970 to 2000.

• 2003. Swain, Joseph. Changes in Location and Concentration of Immigrant Groups in the Western United States, 1980-2000.

• 2002. Atkinson, Heather. Community and Economic Development in Annawan, Illinois.

Active

• Duncan, Ramona [University of Guyana]. ‘An Investigation of the Application of Smart City Solutions to address key development challenges in New Amsterdam, Region 6, Guyana’ 

• John, Fabio [University of Guyana]. ‘The potential of smart city surveillance applications on crime prevention in the urban center of Georgetown’ 

• Maxey, Brandon, 'Simple Spatial Characteristics of Tropopause Folds and Bomb Cyclone Strength'

• Yattoni, Anthony. The Displacement of Macomb.s X-Band and Davenport and Lincoln S-Band Radar Images Caused by Atmospheric Conditions.

Completed

• 2022, Ginos, John [MS Applied Statistics and Decision Analytics].  Examining the Spatial Heterogeneity of the Effect of Foreclosures on Neighboring House Prices: An Analysis of Cook County.

• 2022, Helmke, Claire [MS Biology]. Environmental Analysis of an Iron Foundry Slag Pile to Inform Habitat Remediation Efforts.

• 2021, Forbis, Dakota. Accuracy and Variability Analysis of The Global Forecast System’s Near-Surface Temperatures Throughout the Contiguous United States.

• 2020, Sample, Richard. An Analysis of the Relationship of Radar Beam Height and Terrain Characteristics to Tornado Warning False Alarm Rates.

• 2019, Bruce, Rachel, [MA Community and Economic Development] ‘The Intersection of Art and Livability: Celebrating Tactical Urbanism as a Form of Community Development in Rock Island, Illinois.

• 2016, Büker, Renée. Geographic Distribution of Public Libraries in Illinois: How Equitable is Library Access?

• 2014, Ostrowski, Richard. Impact of Urbanization on Local Precipitation Patterns around the City of Orlando, Florida.

• 2013, Wakefield, Matthew. Factors Affecting CSA Farm Success in Western Illinois, 2005-2011’

• 2012, Johnson, Katherine. Spatial Distribution of Acer Negundo in Proximity to Water Source in a Floodplain Forest.

• 2011, Awadze, Dela, Two paper option

• 2011, Gurung, Babita. Influence of Historical Land Use and Physiography on Current Forest Composition at the Post Wildlife Sanctuary, McDonough County, Illinois.

• 2011, Kim, Seonmi, Two paper option.

• 2011, Solis Guillen, Mario. Developing Livestock Activities for Production of Dairy Products in the Municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico.

• 2010, Goddard, Selina [MS Biology]. Historic Land Use Effects on Forest Structure and Composition at the Post Wildlife Sanctuary, McDonough County, Illinois.

• 2010, Wertz, Amanda. Classification of Squall Line Evolutions near the Mississippi River in Illinois’ 

• 2009. Khamis, Zakaria, ‘The Geography of Housing Foreclosures in the State of California: A Geographical Weighted Regression Analysis’

• 2008. Pelletier, Chase, ‘A Site Suitability Analysis of Wind Farms in Illinois’

• 2007. Terry, Brock, ‘Locating Suitable Sites for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in Fulton, McDonough, and Warren Counties, Illinois Using GIS Suitability Analysis’

• 2007. Schultz, Dale, ‘Red Counties in a Blue State: A Geographical Analysis of the 2004 U.S, Senate Election in Illinois’

• 2005. Barker, Darrel, ‘Public Knowledge and Perceptions of Wetlands and Wetlands Mitigation Policy: A Study of Four Illinois Counties’

• 2005. Toader, Mihaela, ‘Romania’s Accession in the European Union: A Critical-Geopolitical Approach’

• 2004. Gugliotta, Steve, Two paper option

• 2004. Kaskie, Shawn, ‘A Regional Economic Development Plan for Northwestern Illinois: Experiences and Outcomes of Developing the 2004-2008 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Update’

• 2004. Odermann, Brittany, ‘Promoting Rural Transit Coordination: Developing a Demonstration Project in Macomb, Illinois’

• 2004. Wellman, Melanie, ‘Input-Output Analysis of Recreational Facilities in the Peoria-Pekin MSA: O’Brien Field vs, the Peoria Civic Center’

• 2003. McLaughlin, Patrick, ‘Promoting Rural Community Development: Community Supported Agriculture Farms in the United States’

• 2003. Morrell, Trent, ‘Cultural Identity in the Residential Landscapes of Rural Suffolk County, England’

• 2003. Walker, Brad, ‘The Potential Effect of the Proposed Outer Belt Highway Upon the LESA Values of Adjacent Agricultural Land in Kendall County, Illinois’

• 2002. Sawyer, Shane, ‘The Role of the Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission in Community Development in Southern Illinois’

• 2001. Hall, Terry, ‘The Court Creek Pilot Watershed Project in Knox County, Illinois’

• 2001. Hubbard, Bradley, ‘Transportation Needs Assessment of Monroe and Randolph Counties’

• 2001. Lindley, Todd, ‘The Investigation, Selection, and Implementation of Interactive Mapping Solutions for the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs’

• 2000. Honer, Mary, ‘Planning and Urban Forestry in the Rural-Urban Fringe of Chicago’

• 2000. Randall, Ann, ‘Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs of Small Illinois Communities’

• 2000. Shaw, Rebecca, ‘Community Transit in the Greater Wabash Region of Illinois’

• 1999. French, Charles, ‘Ashland, Gateway to Site M: The Impact of Park Visitors on Gateway Communities’

• 1999. Scott, Daryl, ‘Growth Management in Carbon Cliff, Illinois’

• 1999. Young, Melanie, ‘American Heritage River Designation Procedure: The New River Headwaters, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia’