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 is a Great Lakes Social Scientist at the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. 

I began my journey in geography during a year of post-baccalaureate studies at 51����. I was drawn to the field of geography due to the breadth of discipline across the physical and social sciences, and also because I’m a big map nerd. It was during this year of post-baccalaureate studies that several faculty inspired a passion for geography, which prompted me to enroll as a graduate student. I completed my master’s (2014) and PhD (2019) under the guidance of my advisor, Dr. Ryan Holifield, as well as my committee members, Drs. Bonds, Donnelly, Fredlund, Sziarto, and Yoon. My specialization is environmental geography, and my graduate research focused on controversies surrounding the restoration of Milwaukee’s Kinnickinnic River (master’s) and oil and gas development in residential areas of northern Colorado (PhD).     

Following completion of my doctorate, I taught at Central Washington University and then UW-Rock County and the 51���� Department of Geography before joining Wisconsin DNR as a Natural Resources Research Scientist. I currently work for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) as a Great Lakes Social Scientist and am also an affiliate with NOAA. I am currently based in Alpena, Michigan (pull out your atlas, geographers!) at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) supporting a large, multi-component socioeconomic study on the three Great Lakes national marine sanctuaries—Thunder Bay, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast, and Lake Ontario. As part of this study, I collaborate with researchers and other staff at NOAA, NMSF, West Virginia University (WVU), and an environmental consulting firm.  

Currently, my work centers on leading a social values mapping project in which residents of Great Lakes NMS communities identify locations in the waters and coastal areas of these sanctuaries they feel are representative of different types of social values (e.g., recreational, aesthetic, maritime heritage). Over this past summer, I managed field staff and data collection for a visitor use study led by WVU that focused on recreation and tourism in Great Lakes NMS regions. In my researcher roles, my training as a geographer has allowed me to apply my experience in qualitative and quantitative methodologies with my GIS skills in numerous ways, including study design, data analysis, and visualization. In my current role, my training allows me to contribute a geographic perspective to investigating spatial dimensions of value (broadly defined) that Great Lakes sanctuaries bring to their communities and region, as well as to partner organizations.  

I have many fond memories of my time as a student in the department, and they are too numerous to list. Among them are the department picnics, grad student lunches with colloquium speakers, and social outings with fellow grad students to grab a beer at the Gasthaus, go bowling, or just get out around Milwaukee. Above all, I enjoyed working with numerous geography students over the years as a teaching assistant (and sharing my passion for geography with them), as well as appreciated the incredible amount of support provided by my advisor, committee members, and the faculty, in general.   

Balancing work and life can be a challenge for me, particularly in my current role, but I find that getting out to hike, camp, and generally spending time outdoors is therapeutic and allows me to disconnect from the bustle of work. Living in northeast Michigan provides plenty of opportunity to explore and enjoy the outdoors and has been a refreshing change from city life.  

The advice I would offer to geography students would be to get out of your comfort zone and seize opportunities during your studies to do and try new things that come your way. You never know what or where those experiences will bring you. Also, even though you specialize in a track or subdiscipline of geography, embracing the breadth of the discipline (human, physical, geospatial) will help you be more versatile and valuable in the professional work you do.  

 is currently a professor in the Department of Anthropology and Geography at Minnesota State University, Mankato and serves as a Graduate Program Coordinator for the GIS Certificate Program.  

Being born and brought up in the flanks of Eastern Ghats (Hills) in India, since my childhood, I was always intrigued by spatial processes around me. That fascination naturally attracted me to the field of Geography. As a student of Geography, I was very interested in survey techniques, quantitative methods, and regional planning. In India, after finishing my master’s degree in Geography, I was exposed to the field of Remote Sensing and GIS. As I was exploring options to pursue my Ph.D. degree in the USA, through internet search, I found out about 51����’s Ph.D. in Geography program and the esteemed faculties. I was very fortunate to get admission to the 51����’s Ph.D. program and worked under the guidance of Dr. Changshan Wu. Dr. Wu’s guidance on the application of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to extract information from high resolution satellite images was a life-changing experience for me. As an international student, financial support was one of my criteria for deciding to join 51����’s Department of Geography. Apart from the Teaching Assistantship, the Mary Jo Read Scholarship offered by the Geography Department was extremely helpful. I earned my doctoral degree in 2012.  

Currently, I am working as a Professor of Geography in the Department of Anthropology and Geography at Minnesota State University, Mankato. My training at 51���� helped me evolve as an expert in applications of GISc (Geographic Information Science), remote sensing technologies, econometrics, and machine learning to model geographical data. My primary role at Minnesota State University, Mankato involves teaching numerous GISc classes, serving as thesis adviser, guiding students on their internships, and supervising graduate and undergraduate student research projects. My teaching focuses on Geoanalytics, GeoAI, Geospatial modeling, 3D GIS, Temporal GIS, Web GIS, Utility GIS, Business GIS etc. In my courses, I introduce students to the concepts, theories, techniques, and tools in the context of modeling and analyzing geographical data. Therefore, everything I do every day is related to Geography. 

I have a lot of fun memorials from my time in the doctoral program at 51����. Every Friday, my friends and I would attend our colloquium in the American Geographical Society Library (AGSL) and listening to the speakers was a source of weekly inspiration. After the colloquium, we would go hang out with the speakers or just with friends in the GASTHAUS, where faculty would often join us. I owe Dr. Wu a lot; each time he was there, he would pay for my soft drinks. The annual picnic, holiday party, and many other departmental social events are still very fresh in my memory. In the department, you feel as if you are in a family. During my time, we created the GIS Club on campus; I am guessing that might be the first student lead GIS club in the nation. As an international student, I was also actively involved in the activities of Student Association of India. 

As you grow in your career, it is difficult to maintain a balance between work and life, but we have to somehow make that happen. If I am not doing university related work, then I try to spend as much time as possible with my family. During the summer, I try to travel and explore new places with my family and spend some time in a small garden. In my extra time, I regularly read or watch a lot of ESRI’s educational materials. I don’t consider this work because I find it relaxing. I try to make time for some of the pro bono community work that involves GIS, because I enjoy doing this type of work. 

He also shared suggestions for the students in the Department of Geography; “Enjoy what you are doing. Milwaukee is a great city, and the programs offered by the Department of Geography at 51���� are some of the bests in the country. As you pursue your degree, equip yourself with some technical and soft skills. I tell my students, if you are technically sound then a job is waiting for you. The soft skills are transferable and can be applied to anything you do. If you can make some friendships, then go for that. From my experience, they last long, and you cherish those relationships year after year.”  

My path to 51���� was non-traditional. Nearing the end of a long career as a physical scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, I started thinking about what I would enjoy doing when retired. I combined my love for science and research with my lifelong interest in learning into a plan to set myself up for teaching, part-time, at the college level. So, in 2020, I decided to apply to PhD programs in geography and geology. After interviewing different schools   and potential advisors, I decided to start the Geography PhD program at 51����, working with Dr. Woonsup Choi. From my first interaction with the 51���� Geography department, I’ve had nothing but support and encouragement from every faculty member I had the fortune to work with and learn from.   

I was fortunate in my career to work on some of the most significant environmental and natural disasters, contributing to both cleanup and enforcement programs. My work at the EPA consistently drew on physical and human geography, whether through GIS, spatial analysis, and remote sensing, or by understanding watershed dynamics, assessing risks and impacts on communities, and addressing environmental justice concerns.  

Looking back, I especially enjoyed the graduate seminars. To me, they were the best part of graduate school. The small groups of students and the enthusiasm of the professors created an environment that pushed us to think critically and engage deeply with the material. My only regret is missing out on some of the particularly interesting human geography seminars.   

Balancing school, work, and life was a big challenge. With the support of my family, I was able to complete the program while working full time. Most weekends and weekday evenings were devoted to graduate school, and my family understood this and gave me the space I needed to stay on track. I made it a point to carve out one night each week to spend with them, and I also set aside a few hours for exercise, which provided important physical and mental benefits. 

I’m a big fan of both physical and human geography, and I always encourage students to explore classes in both areas. In my experience, the two go hand in hand. I also see geography as the best problem-solving science (and yes, I know not everyone calls it a science, but it feels right here). My advice to students is to learn about this: find an important geographic problem that speaks to you and work to improve our understanding of it or even help solve it. 

I recently started a new position as a Geospatial Analyst with the National Zoning Atlas (NZA), a nationwide initiative to compile, standardize, and map zoning codes across the United States, making this complex data more accessible to researchers, policymakers, and the public.  

In this role, I use GIS and data analysis to translate local zoning regulations into standardized, mappable data. This work not only strengthens my technical skills but also allows me to contribute to a project with real-world impact, supporting a greater understanding of how zoning influences housing, development, and community planning. 

I’m grateful for the experiences and training I received during my graduate studies, which prepared me for this position, and I’m excited to continue growing in the field of geography and geospatial analysis!