Spring 2023 - GEOG Newsletter

SPRING 2023

WHAT'S IN PROGRAM NEWS THIS ISSUE: P A G E S 2 - 3

ISSUE NO. 6

FACULTY UPDATES PAGE

4-5

STUDENT ACTIVITIES & HIGHLIGHTS PAGES

6-11

ALUMNI UPDATES PAGES

12-13

EDITOR'S CORNER PAGE

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PERSPECTIVES 33.2075° N, 97.1526° W

THE SEMI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR

BY STEVE WOLVERTON

This year there has been much to celebrate in UNT Geography and the Environment. We welcome two new faculty members this fall. Mr. John South will join us as a continuing lecturer in GIS and Dr. Rajshree Rege will serve as a visiting lecturer for the next year. Welcome to you both! This spring we celebrate a graduating class in our geography undergraduate and graduate programs; members of this class are moving on to new graduate programs and professional opportunities. In addition, we recognize the first three graduates of our BS in GIS+CS program.

Congratulations graduates! We wish you the best. This year we also welcomed Dr. Wei Kang as a new assistant professor and Mr. Scott Hanel as our new front desk administrative specialist. All of us are glad you are on board, and we are excited for the rest and relaxation of the summer.

Enjoy our updates in this installment of our newsletter!

Steve

ISSUE NO. 6

SPRING 2023

PROGRAM NEWS It has been another busy year in our department with a lot of great things happening! Spring is always the time of the year to finish searches, review things we would like to add or change, start new programs, and host events! Read on to see what is happening in the department.

Years of Service March is staff appreciation month at UNT, and every year UNT hosts the service awards ceremony. Years of service is measured in 5-year increments. This year we had a few faculty and staff reach different milestones. We're proud of all our faculty and staff for their service to our department!

Below are those who reached a milestone in 2022: Dr. Waquar Ahmed 10 years of service Dr. Paul Hudak 30 years of service Keshia Wilkins 5 years of service Dr. Steve Wolverton 15 years of service

Currently a Teaching Fellow for our GEOG 3500 course John South and the rest of our TAs are an essential part of our program! We are proud to announce that John will be joining our department in the fall as a lecturer. John studies with Dr. Lu Liang and has a background in GIS and remote sensing. He is working on his doctorate in Environmental Science from UNT. Stay tune for our fall newsletter to learn more about John!

Our department also welcomes Dr. Rajshree Rege as a visiting lecturer.

Rajshree completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr. M.B. Potdar, who is a Scientist at Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad, India. Her dissertation was “Satellite and Land Based Remote Sensing of the Properties of Tropospheric Aerosols”. Stay tune for our fall newsletter to learn more about Dr. Rege!

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PROGRAM NEWS

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New Alumni Spotlight page is active! We are always excited to hear about the wonderful things our alumni are doing; the newsletter is one way to connect. A new feature is a section of our website, the Alumni Profile, which highlights what past students are up to in their careers; this benefits our current students. We added this to our webpage under the same tab that includes our Student Spotlights; our hope is that alumni and current students will see more of what our community members are up to. The new Alumni Profile page can be found under 'About Us' on our website, geography.unt.edu! Over the summer we plan to fill this page with past alumni profiles and highlights from our previous newsletters and to work our way up to new entries! We will shift our featured alumni spotlights over time.

Human-Centered Spatial Data Science We had a great turnout at our first talk in the new series, World Leaders in Big Data Analytics that we co-hosted with UNT Data Analytics! Dr. Tony Grubesic, Director of Center for Geospatial Sciences and Professor at the University of California, Riverside, gave an engaging talk on Human-Centered Spatial Data Science (HCSDS),an emerging interdisciplinary field that emphasizes applied geography. We look forward to future speakers in the series next year!

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FACULTY PROFILE: DR. LU LIANG This semester's faculty profile is of Associate Professor, Dr. Lu Liang, who has been a faculty member at UNT for about 5 years.

Prior to joining UNT, Lu taught at University of Arkansas, Monticello for three years where she was an assistant professor.

In true geography fashion, UNT's location is what drew her to our institution. She felt it was a great place to study both urban and natural environments. Her current research projects are: “Geospatial study of air pollution using low-cost sensors, satellite, airborne imagery, and other multi-source data to study urban heat and urban pollution islands.”

And “detecting agricultural irrigation system types for crop fields in the US.” This information is critical for water and carbon conservation purposes.

Lu is a highly active person who enjoys bringing her energy into the classroom. Teaching takes her away from computer screens to interacting and talking with students. As much as she enjoys these interactions and the energy that she can bring to her classes, teaching also fills her with energy. This fuels her passion for working with students, fine-tuning her philosophy on instruction, and how this can play out in the classroom. She respects that students have different learning styles and enjoys the chance to engage with students in various ways. She also believes integrating research and realworld questions in her courses help students connect to their future careers. She encourages collaborative work and independent problem solving to help develop these skills in her students.

When asked what her favorite course to teach is, Lu had a hard time choosing. With her online Intro. to GIS course she gets to know over 200 students each year. In her other two upper division courses (GIS for Applied Research and Digital Imaging Analysis) she can work with students on their projects, which she enjoys. She learns just as much from her students as they are learning from her.

When Lu is not teaching, she is busy doing research, community outreach, and mentoring her students. She also has recently received several awards! The UNT Presidential Early Career Award (2022), UNT Division of Research and Innovation’s Early Career Award for Research and Creativity (2023), and the Toulouse Scholar Award (2023).

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DEPARTMENT FACULTY UPDATES Dr. Murray Rice has been working on research in two different areas. First, he is completing a handbook entitled "Pathways to Actionable Results with Business GIS", which should be published later this year by Caliper, Inc. (publisher of the Maptitude GIS software package).Caliper will also publish a related blog and set of webinars that complements the main book content. Second, Dr. Rice is starting a new research project focused on the positive and negative neighborhood impacts of Airbnb properties. He has completed an initial publication that provides an overview of the research potential from analysis of one of the most widely available open-source Airbnb data sources. Aside from writing, Dr. Rice is enjoying teaching our applied retail geography (4220),statistical research (4185) and introduction to the geography major (2110, with Steve Wolverton) classes this spring.

Dr. Wei Kang recently received a UNT research seed grant to investigate affordable housing policies and neighborhood outcomes in the DFW region. This project will jumpstart her research in the DFW area. Dr. Kang is also working on an NSF grant looking at housing insecurity and community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on Inland Southern California. Earlier this year, Dr. Kang was invited to join the editorial board of Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, an interdisciplinary journal publishing cutting-edge and innovative computer-based research on urban systems, systems of cities, and built and natural environments, that privileges the geospatial perspective. Dr. Kang taught two courses this Spring semester, Introduction to Python Programming to undergraduate students, and Advanced GIS to graduate students. Dr. Kang is excited to teach and grow with those amazing students, and she has started to work with several amazing GIS+CS students to pursue the Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

This term, Dr. Paul Hudak is teaching GEOG 2180 and 4800 as well as supervising independent studies. His students in GEOG 2180 are exploring interactions between people and the physical environment, including exercises in sustainability, earthquakes, and flooding. Capstone students are writing proposals on such wide-ranging topics as sustainable practices at soccer stadiums, preserving and promoting green spaces, native plantings and riparian corridors, sustainable food production, home-schooling trends, and language preservation.

Paul's recent research includes Saharan dust markers in fine particulate matter above northcentral Texas, segmented trenches for recovering contaminated groundwater, and propagating buttonbush at high-energy lakeshores. Recently, Paul was recognized by Wiley for a top-downloaded article on riparian fragmentation, and he is on Stanford's list of the world's top-cited scientists.

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FALL 2022-SPRING 2023 TEACHING ASSISTANTS In last semester's newsletter, we featured four of our new Teaching Assistants. Please read on to learn more about some of our other TAs, who have ensured the success of faculty and students in the spring 2023 semester. The department is thankful for their contributions!

Kamrun Keya, Teaching Assistant for GEOG 1710 Major Professor: Dr. Waquar Ahmed Area of Interest: Contemporary hydropolitics of water and water justice issues in developing countries Fun Facts: I'm a foodie and a chatterbox, I'm from Bangladesh (a riverine country) - I work with water issues but do not know how to swim. I also love debating and was the champion in an inter-university debate competition.

Shwarnali Bhattacharjee, Teaching Assistant for GEOL 1610 Major professor: Dr. Pinliang Dong Area of Interest: Application of remote sensing and GIS on coastal geomorphology, oceanography, wetland ecosystem studies and climate change Fun facts: I love traveling, trekking and reading books. Singing and crocheting are my favorite hobbies; I like to play ukulele while I sing.

Prashant Thapaliya, Teaching Assistant for GEOG 3500 Major Professor: Dr. Pinliang Dong Area of Interest: Disaster risk management, climate change, GIS, remote sensing (LiDAR), 3D mapping Fun facts: I have climbed an elevation of 5,500 meters above mean sea level. I am a musicphile and spend my free time playing guitar.

Noah Ray, Teaching Assistant for GEOL 1610 Major professor: Dr. Lu Liang Area of Interest: environmental monitoring, air quality & LiDAR Fun facts: I can speak basic Chinese and I love Star Wars.

John South, Teaching Fellow for GEOG 3500 Major Professor: Dr. Lu Liang Area of Interest: LiDAR, remoting sensing, GIS, and spatial analysis Fun facts: I am a Part 107 certified remote pilot for unmanned aerial systems. I enjoy studying the historic and architectural record of the inhabitants of the pueblitos (c. 1690 - 1755 CE) in NW New Mexico.

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STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS Our students had a busy semester - from special projects to presenting research work. We're proud of all their accomplishments this spring!

Geography & the Environmental Studies Student ResearchSymposium at TSU We are proud to share that the UNT team, consisting of Noah Ray, Michael Biancardi, Dr. Lu Liang, Prashant Thapaliya, Injal Bhattarai, and Aniv Chakravarty, attended a symposium at Texas State University in San Marcos on March 3, 2023.

During the event, the team presented their exciting research in various areas of environmental studies.

Noah shared his innovative approach to quantify seasonality and vertical dispersion of PM2.5 using mobile monitoring. Noah won the second place in the paper competition.

Michael’s talk focused on the empirical comparison and sensitivity analysis of dust event identification methods.

Aniv introduced the audience to data processing for irrigation system type classification using very high-resolution aerial imagery and deep learning.

We are thrilled to see our team's hard work and dedication to environmental research.

GIS Regional Meeting Shwarnali Bhattacharjee presented her research, Building a Digital Twin Model of University of North Texas Using Airborne LiDAR and GIS data at the 2023 Regional GIS Meeting on May 3rd. Shwarnali shares more about this intriguing research in our student highlights (p. 10) along with some other interesting things that she has accomplished.

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STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS, CONTINUED Preview Day This year at the Undergraduate Preview Day Fair Kyra Shank (Geography Ambassador), Dr. Rice, and Dr. Wolverton hosted the Geography and GIS+CS tables. There were several prospective students who visited with their parents to learn about our programs. We look forward to welcoming future generations of geographers!

A new semester brings new lab courses and a chance to do some hands-on learning outdoors! Here are few photos from our Earth Science lab.

Scholars' Day Four of our students presented at this year's Scholars' Day, which is hosted annually by UNT's Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Honors College.

The event on April 5 celebrated their work as researchers and contributors in our academic community. Our scholars this year are: Rylee Babino, Evangeline Dwelle, Grace Martin-Young and Nicole Spero PAGE 8

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STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS, CONTINUED

Students from GEOG 3200 Sustainability visited the Dixon Water Foundation this spring to learn about restoration of grasslands in North and West Texas via adaptive multi-paddock grazing and other approaches to sustainable land management. Hilary Knight and Richard An of the Dixon Foundation led the students on a tour of the Josey Pavilion, a Living Building, itself a fascinating example of regenerative building construction and example of the sustainable potential of vernacular architecture. The students then visited an exclosure zone (pictured above),to witness the effects of decades of carefully planned rotational grazing. Finally, the Dixon staff took the class on a (very windy!)visit to the Leo Unit, to view cattle and sheep management in practice, as well as the transformation of former farmland into tallgrass prairie.

Students from GEOG 1710 Earth Science at Frisco visited the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary this spring to learn about biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by regional landscapes. "Mr. Dave" -- a 17-year veteran of the Heard Museum -- took the students on a tour of several Blackland Prairie restoration plots on the grounds of the museum (pictured above).

The students identified key biotic components of the Blackland Prairie, and viewed the impacts of last year's drought on early spring growth. Additionally, the students had an opportunity to compare carbon and nitrogen cycling in the different ecosystems present at the Heard Museum, and consider the implications for climate change. As a surprise bonus, the students were able to meet a few rescued animals -- bobcats, white-tailed deer, and even a Patagonian cavy!

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STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS, CONTINUED

Students from GEOG 3200 Sustainability visited the UNT Community Garden and the Pecan Creek Pollinative Prairie, both of which began as projects supported by the We Mean Green Fund, to learn about sustainability initiatives on campus. Eden Hensen, the UNT Community Garden Facilitator, introduced the studentsto the garden and its importance to the UNT Food Pantry.The students then learned about different activities that go on at the garden, and tried their hand at composting, watering, and soil testing. The students also visited the Pecan Creek Pollinative Prairie, a few days after it was announced they would receive funding from the Diamond Eagles Society. Dr. Jamie Baxter-Slye, director of the Pollinative Prairie, described the history of the site, including increases in biodiversity, current challenges, research opportunities, and future plans, including increased capacity to host students and lab groups, as well as plans to introduced prescribed burns. The ability to experience such an important site on campus was a key opportunity for the class to consider the importance of prairie restoration as a part of UNT's sustainable landscape, as well as for Denton more broadly.

Savannah Thomas started her second year of graduate school this semester. In her first year, she worked on researching vegetation barriers around schools for the Texas Trees Foundation. The report on this research will be publiclyavailable sometime in April on the Texas Trees Foundation website. This semester,Savannah has field verified the location of all trees (~3,000) on UNT’s main campus. This project will provide needed data to help understandand manage our campus forest.

Student survey teams will startcollecting more detailedinformation in April.

Savannah has been leadinga green wall education workshopseries funded by the We Mean Green Fund.This project aims to providea handson collaborative and multidisciplinary learning experience for the UNT community. The end goal of this project is to create small experimental green walls with native plants to help inform local green wall installations.

Savannah has also been nominated for Student Employeeof the Year for 2022-2023 for her role as a GIS Technical Assistant at UNT Facilities.

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STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS, CONTINUED Cassey Llamas finished her professional master's degree in Geography with an emphasis in water resources and a certificate in GIS. Cassey's final research project was studying the erosion of an urban creek and the intensity of the erosion due to the inclusion of stormwater infrastructure - aging the creek quicker than natural processes would alone. Cassey enjoys her current job in stormwater for a local municipality. She believes it is important that what she does contributes to the community and the environment. Cassey has been accepted into a PhD program where she will study forest hydrology starting fall 2023. She was also awarded with a grant funded graduate research assistantship position to study green infrastructure and forest riparian systems.

Kaitlin Stewart finished her master’s in the spring and was one of the award recipients for the Schoolmaster Outstanding Graduate Student Award 2023 in our department. She was our lead TA for GEOG 1710 and studied with Dr. Matt Fry and Dr. Steve Wolverton.

Kait will be going to West Virginia University to start her PhD in Geography with Dr. Cynthia Gorman this fall. She will be focusing on educational care practices with refugee youth in Appalachia.

Shwarnali Bhattacharjee is a second-year master’s student in our department. Her research focus lies in building a digital twin model of the University of North Texas using airborne LiDAR and GIS technologies. Utilizing this model, Shwarnali is integrating 3D buildings, trees, emergency management floorplans, and other utilities to create an innovative and comprehensive representation of the university's physical layout.

Shwarnali was excited and honored to be able to present her research at the American Association of Geographers conference this spring. In addition to her research, she served as a lead teaching assistant for our introductory geology labs.

Shwarnali was one of the award recipients for the Schoolmaster Outstanding Graduate Student Award 2023 in our department, which she views as a testament to her hard work and dedication to her academic pursuits.

In 2022, her ArcGIS StoryMap, "Sundarbans: A Gift to Bengal," was awarded the runnerup position in the Nature and Physical Science Category of the 2022 ArcGIS StoryMap competition that showcased her proficiency and expertise in the field of GIS. If you're interested in exploring more of Shwarnali's GIS works further, she invites you to check out her portfolio at https://shwarnaligisportfolio.github.io/.

Marissa Greer finished her master’s degree during the spring.

She was a TA for GEOG 1710 and studied with Dr. Matt Fry and Dr. Steve Wolverton. She will be going to University of Utah to start her PhD in the fall. She will be focusing on renewable energy in the US. PAGE 11

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ALUMNI PROFILE: BOB AYENSU Bob Ayensu studied with Dr. Paul Hudak and graduated with his master's in Applied Geography from UNT in December 2002. His research was on ground level ozone pollution from man-made sources.

While at UNT the curriculum and the environment were two factors that helped set him apart from his peers. The disciplines within in our department emphasized the principles and fundamentals of various subjects that allowed Bob to leave our program feeling equipped. This experience gave him tools and knowledge that promote problem solving and decision making in the workplace. He emphasized it was not specific tools or applications that the faculty focused on but the combination of approaches; he also appreciated their philosophy on group work. He felt this fostered a collaborative environment, which is of great benefit in the workforce.

Completing his master's degree prepared him for a career in Geospatial Services. His degree helped lay the foundation in data collection, processing, storage, analysis, interpretation, and reporting. It also helped him easily adopt appropriate tools and methods to accomplish goals. He mentioned how fortunate he was to have Dr. Bruce Hunter, Dr. Joseph Oppong, Dr. Paul Hudak, Dr. Don Lyons, and many others as mentors to guide him through the program and set him on a career path.

While at UNT he fondly remembers his first Christmas in Denton. Dr. Bruce Hunter took him to see Brave Combo play on the Square in downtown Denton. Somehow Dr. Hunter also convinced Bob to join a crowd of people doing the “Chicken Dance”. Fortunately for Bob social media was not prevalent at the time. If it had been, he is sure it would have gone viral!

Currently Bob is employed with the City of Frisco as an Enterprise GIS Manager. He provides leadership to the GIS Division and directs the administration of the enterprise GIS environment and related technologies.

The past year Bob was awarded as the ESRI Water GIS Hero in spring 2022, and in summer of 2022 the ESRI's Special Achievement in GIS (SIG) was awarded to the Trinity River Authority GIS team where he served as the team lead.

In the workforce, Bob has gained a lot of experience and knowledge over many years. One thing he wants to share with students today is to be open minded as they pursue their professional interests and to not restrict themselves to a rigid career path. He also mentioned they should take risks, get out of their comfort zones, and to be eager to learn and explore opportunities as they come their way. Bob encourages students to see such vulnerable moments as growth opportunities.

Thanks Bob for sharing your experiences and memories! It is through our challenges that we grow and develop. Surrounding ourselves with a supportive community to help and encourage us through those challenges makes the experience worthwhile and meaningful.

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS Andrew Gillreath-Brown (M.S. Applied Geography, 2016) went on to complete a PhD in Archaeology at Washington State University in December 2022. His dissertation, Reconstructing Summer Temperatures in the Southwestern US Over the Last Five Millennia: Effects on Prehispanic Farmers and the Spread of Maize Farming, focused on paleoclimate modeling, which was used to understand how climate change affected the spread of maize agriculture and how climate and other processes stimulated migration, contributed to the precarity of people arriving to new locations, and ultimately resulted in social instability, inequality, and depopulation of portions of the southwestern United States.

He is now a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, where he does paleoclimate modeling in China, specifically in Tibet. He is also a Research Associate in the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology and Adjoint Faculty at Washington State University. He works on a number of other projects, such as ancient tattooing in the southwestern United States. For more information, see his website: https://andrewgillreathbrown.wordpress.com/.

When Andrew is not working, he enjoys spending time with his pirate-loving 5-year-old son, his newborn girl, and his partner, especially being outside and going hiking. Andrew plans on pursuing a career in academia, working with/for a museum, and collaborating and being an advocate for Indigenous Peoples.

Sentell Dickson (B.S. Geogrpahy, 2020) went on to receive her Master's degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga after graduating from UNT. Since then she has started her own children's book company called Cactus Mountain Publishing. Their goal is to inspire children to explore their imaginations and to teach them about the world around them through captivating storytelling and beautiful illustrations.

She is particularly excited about her latest release that she wrote, "Wonderful Beings Everywhere". She created this book to be a celebration of diversity that encourages children to embrace and appreciate differences in the world. Her company believes that it is essential to teach children about empathy and compassion from an early age, and this book does just that.

Her company has been gaining momentum and has received positive feedback from parents, teachers, and children alike. They are passionate about what they are doing, and strongly believe that their books can make a difference in the world.

Kelly Sims (BS Geography, Certification in GIS) Kelly worked in the GIS industry for about ten years. She earned her MBA for Centenary University in New Jersey in 2011 and in 2012 she started working in marketing strategy for Verizon Wireless in Atlanta, GA. She and her husband started their own marketing agency,Sims Marketing Solutions, in February 2020. She is also a Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) through the American Marketing Association. More information about the company can be found here.

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SPRING GRADUATES AND HONOR ROLL On April 21st we hosted our annual Award Ceremony reception at the Elm Fork Exhibit Hall. It was wonderful to gather with students, faculty, and alumni and to recognize our honor roll students, graduates, and special awardees. Here are some pictures from the event!

2022-2023 Scholarship Award Winners Eric Gilmore Physical Geography Scholarship Daniela Serrano Human Geography Scholarship Ariana Mendoza Schoolmaster Outstanding Undergraduate Student Shwarnali Bhattacharjee & Kait Stewart Schoolmaster Outstanding Graduate Student

Bachelor of Science Graduates: Oluwatimilehin Alabi Darby Blagg Sydeny Campbell** Crystal Contreras Alexa Evans Lynette Gilliam Alison Howard Marco Huang Amanda Olvera* Berndt Parker Roman Rangel Kayla Shelby Julie Wasielewski Bachelor of Arts Graduates: Justin Lee

Bachelor of Science in Geographic Information Systems & Computer Science Graduates: Emma Leary Nicole Spero Madison Woolley

Master of Science Graduates: Eric Gilmore+ Marissa Greer++ Cassey Llamas Benjamin Lyke++ Noah Ray++ Spencer Stegall+ Kaitlin Stewart++

GPA 3.5 and Higher * (Undergraduate) Giselle Arnold Marsh Baker Nathan Belles Emberlea Bradford Levi Briggs Ethan Coffin Christina Fackler Eden Gonzalez David Jett Emma Leary Grace Martin-Young Ariana Mendoza Ivan Moreno Betzabe Munoz Amanda Olvera Abigail Pyle Kimberly Ramirez Nick Reedy Jacob Rendulic Riley Roder Kip Ross Nicole Spero Emma Trolinder Jenny Waters Madison Woolley

GPA 3.8 and Higher ** (Undergraduate) Rylee Babino Sydney Campbell Emmalee Contreras Evangeline Dwelle Avery Foltz Morgan George Kadie Kakay Hannah Klapprodt Kathryn Krueger Lilly Lindsay Ariana Lopez Laurie Medina Emma Morris Julia Myers Aletris Oles Zachary Pawlik James Pilkenton Julia Prokop Jack Roberts-Abbott Salima Shahjhan Kyra Shank Cooper Smith Katelynn Swenson Amasria Tisdell Hien Trinh Easton Vanover Jack Webster Christopher Young

GPA 3.5 and Higher + (Graduate Students) Agim Bardhi Eric Gilmore Kevin Le Maire Spencer Stegall GPA 3.8 and Higher ++ (Graduate Students) Shwarnali Bhattacharjee Injal Bhattarai Madeline Crawford Jonathan Esmonde Shelby Frank Ashley Green Marissa Greer Kamrun Keya Benjamin Lyke Ronney Phillips Noah Ray Daniela Serrano Kaitlin Stewart Prashant Thapaliya Savannah Thomas Larry Voice PAGE 14

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REMEMBERING DON LYONS 04.02.1961 - 03.12.2023

Don Lyons joined the Geography department in 1991 and retired from his position in 2011. He taught many of our undergraduate and graduate courses during his time at UNT. He also participated in the British Isles Field School trips that so many students enjoyed and have fond memories of. While working at UNT he made a lot of memories and stories that a few people would like to share. Please read what former colleagues and students had to say: "I remember Don as an enthusiastic and compassionate human and geographer. Thus, it’s not surprising to me that he became a human geographer! As a person, he was fun to be around. He always seemed interested in others and what they had to say. He was instrumental in developing and leading our graduate program in its early stages."

"Don practiced martial arts, but was a softie at heart. His spouse wanted a family dog, but Don was reluctant to get one. Eventually, she talked him into getting a dog, and Don became its caregiver and best friend."

"Don liked to cook while singing "I'm Gonna Be" (500 miles) by the Proclaimers."

Don would say, "Watch out for my Shotokan Karate Chop."

"Don had a great sense of humor and knew how to laugh at himself."

He will be dearly missed.

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EDITOR'S CORNER So, cheers to another spring semester filled with exciting events, successful defenses, students graduating, and celebrating faculty and student awardees. I hope everyone takes time to rest, recharge, and explore the world around them over the summer.

This year has been one of change for our department! We conducted faculty searches, started a new lecture series: World Leaders in Big Data Analytics with UNT Advanced Data Analytics, and celebrated the memory of a former faculty member (Dr. Lyons).

We also get to congratulate our first group of GIS +CS graduates, since the program started in fall 2020!

CHEERS, K.W.

One of our core values at UNT is "we care", so as a department we incorporate this value in different ways including new programs, courses, teaching modalities (such as increasing our INET offerings), new ways of connecting to alumni, and opportunities for social events for students, faculty, and staff!

In the five years that I have worked in the department, I have seen a lot of change and growth. We continue to evolve so that we can provide the experiences that today's students need to be successful in their careers, for our faculty to advance in their research and professional development, and for our staff to find opportunities for professional development and to advance in their career goals.

The summer is fast approaching with a muchneeded break! While we will take time to rest and recharge, many things will be happening in the background. In the midst of the break, as faculty are exploring research and working on course updates, we in the front office will be preparing for a new cohort of students, freshening up classrooms, and getting ready for the fall semester. Summer is a time when we find our footing for the next year!

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