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.