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The fall began with an excitement and energy reminiscent of semesters prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Geography welcomed two new faculty members, Assistant Professor Melisa Diaz and Associate Professor Jill Harrison. Dr. Diaz’s research interests include Geochemistry and Biochemistry of the cryosphere and urban environments. She received her PhD in Earth Science from Ohio State University in 2020 and joined our faculty from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where she was a postdoctoral scholar. Dr. Jill Harrison joined the Department of Geography as an Associate Professor after transferring to Geography from the Sociology Department. Dr. Harrison’s research interests include Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, Political Ecology, Agriculture and Food Systems. 

Dr. Fernando Riosmena, who has been a member of the faculty in the Department of Geography and the Institute of Behavioral Science since 2007, will resign at the end of this academic year and will join the faculty at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Dr. Riosmena’s departure is an enormous loss for our department, and he will be greatly missed. We also extend our congratulations and many warm wishes to him.

Our faculty continue to contribute excellent scholarship to the Discipline of Geography and related fields. I would like to highlight the accomplishments and contributions of a few of our faculty. Emeritus Professor, Barbara (Babs) Buttenfield presented the opening keynote to the USGS Center for Excellence in Geospatial Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Conference in Rolla Missouri. Professor Tim Oakes, who is currently the interim director of the Center for Asian Studies, was instrumental in securing a $2.2 million grant for this center. This grant from the U.S. Department of Education will support the Center for Asian Studies as a National Resource Center in Asian studies and provide foreign language and area studies fellowships for students at ����ֱ��-Boulder. Professor Emily Yeh and her PhD advisee Emma Loizeaux attended the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. On December 1, 2022, Professor Waleed Abdalati, ����ֱ�� Director, testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Space and Science as part of a hearing on “Landstat at 50 & the Future of U.S. Satellite-based Earth Observation”. 

The Department of Geography organized two major events in conjunction with National Geography Awareness Week. Sarah Kelly, Teaching Assistant Professor, working with Geography Librarian, Dr. Phil White, organized GIS Day 2002 on Friday, November 4th. This event included both in-person and virtual attendance in collaboration with the Auraria Campus of ����ֱ�� Denver and the ����ֱ�� ����ֱ�� Springs campus. The second event was our first annual Geography Buff Trivia Night. Graduate Student, Gabriella Subia Smith was the lead organizer for this event, which occurred on November 10, 2022. Over fifty students both graduate and undergraduate attended this event and enjoyed food and fun, while the top three winning teams received prizes.

In closing, we ask that you to save the date for our Alumni and Friends Celebration in Guggenheim Building this spring semester on March 25, 2022. We hope you will join us! We can promise you a fun filled night of food, drinks, activities, and walk down memory lane. More information and invitations to follow. 

Best wishes to you and yours for happy holiday season.