News Archive

The evolution of the tropics and the modulation of convection

Peter J. Webster will present "The evolution of the tropics and the modulation of convection" on Thursday June 4, 2009 at 12:00 P.M. in 136 Scott Hall.

  He will discuss a new paradigm to understand why tropical cyclones have increased intensity, but not in number as our climate changes.

 For a complete abstract and official flyer, click here. Dr. Webster is a Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

Undergraduate Research Panel Session

Join us for the final colloquium of 2008-09 on Thursday May 21, 2009 at 3:30 P.M. in Derby 1080 as the Department of Geography proudly showcases the achievements in undergraduate scholarship. The format of this colloquium will be a panel discussion featuring:

• Laura Thornhill
• Beth Morrison
• Hudson McFann
• Rachel Dahlby
• Patrick Burns

For more an official flyer and more details regarding each speaker, please navigate to our colloquium series page.

Mosley-Thompson elected to National Academy of Sciences

Ellen Mosley-Thompson, professor, geography and senior research scientist, Byrd Polar Research Center, has been elected member of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of her distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The National Academy of Sciences, established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation by Abraham Lincoln, is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. Check out the official release here.

Centennial Weekend Schedule Posted!

Check out the event-filled schedule for the Centennial Weekend on May 15th and 16th. The complete schedule is accessible on our Centennial Information page along with accommodation information. We look forward to seeing you on the 15th and 16th!

If you have any questions, please e-mail us or call (614)292-2514.

UPDATE: Service Mapping Course to present to Columbus City Council, Featured on WOSU

UPDATE: Course Instructor Tim Hawthorne was featured on WOSU. To listen to Tim's interview with WOSU's Kim Fox, click here!

The course, "Serving the Community through Cartography," offered this past Winter continues to create a buzz not only throughout the University, but the greater Columbus community as well.

Over 3,000 maps created by students will be distributed for free to Near East residents through our partnering agencies. This printing is funded by generous financial support from CURA and from the OSU Service Learning Initiative.

As a result of the class map presentations at the African American and African Studies Community Extension Center (AAASCEC) on March 12th, the students were invited by Councilwoman Tavares to present to the full Columbus City Council meeting. Three of our talented undergraduates will present during this meeting. This meeting is open to the public. The meeting begins promptly at 5 P.M. on May 4th. Directions and additional information is available by going to the Columbus City Council Webpage.

Course Instructor Tim Hawthorne and students were also featured in the Ohio State University Outreach and Engagement newsletter. For the entire newsletter (2.3 MB) click here. (See Page 18). For just the story on "Serving the Community with Cartography," click here.

For more information regarding the ongoing happenings of this exciting initiative, check out Maps2Serve.

From Feminist Fieldwork to Collaborative Praxis: Can analytical frameworks travel across North/South Borders?

The Departments of Geography and Women's Studies are pleased to present Professor Richa Nagar from the University of Minnesota's Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Nagar's talk will be held on Thursday May 7th at 3:30 P.M. in Derby 1080.

Here is an abstract of her presentation: When the content of formal knowledge is evaluated in isolation from the making of that knowledge and from its deployment and dissemination in multiple locations, a hierarchy of theory, method and outreach is crystallized in which issues of relevance and accountability are sidelined. In academia, this general problem becomes pronounced in the contested realm of ethnographic and field-work based research, especially when the producers of academic knowledge are located in the global North and their research subjects are located in the global South. The task of imagining new possibilities for knowledge across North/South divides must begin by grappling with a series of difficult questions, including: Who controls the production and distribution of the knowledges produced? Who forms the intended and actual audience of intellectual production? How do these production processes intersect with the politics and economics of publishing, literacy, access to and distribution of literature? What can be done to reconstitute the systems of knowledge production and dissemination?

This presentation considers how feminist engagements with these issues can be advanced through multi-institutional alliances across geographical and sociocultural borders. My discussion will be based primarily on an ongoing transnational collaboration with members of a rural women’s collective called Sangtin in Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh (India). We initially came together in 2002 to critically reflect on how caste, class, religion, gender and geography shape the lives of poorest rural women in Sitapur, as well as the internal processes, structures, effectiveness, and limitations of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in which village-level workers undertake the main labor of translating donor-funded projects of empowerment on the ground. I will highlight the key moments in this collective journey, focusing on the analytical frameworks and forms of knowledge that have emerged, as well as the dialogues triggered by our collaboration in multiple institutional sites – academic presses, NGOs, activist collectives, and donor agencies. Academic theories, reflexive activism and critical pedagogy get interwoven and extended as members of the collective work in multiple sites to democratize hierarchical structures of knowledge production through collaborative praxis.

For an official flyer (PDF), click here.

COSI's Expert Series to feature Dr. O'Kelly

Professor Dr. Morton O'Kelly, will be featured at the Columbus's Center of Science and Industry (COSI) Friday April 24, 2009.

Dr. O'Kelly's presentation is part of COSI's Experts Program which, allows students from 2nd to 12th grade interact via teleconference with experts from a variety of different fields. Dr. O'Kelly's presentation will showcase how mathematical and numerical methods used in geographical analysis can assist in the design of better solutions for the location of sirens, transportation hubs, and fire stations.

For complete information regarding COSI's Expert Program and to read more about Dr.O'Kelly's presentation, please click here.

Two OSU Geographers Take Part in Collaborative Dance Exhibit

A new Wexner Center exhibition featuring William Forsythe has involved the extensive efforts of geography graduate student Hyowon Ban, and faculty Ola Ahlqvist.

The "Synchronous Objects" project aims to create a new body of visual literature with dance at the center, augmented by geography, statistics, information aesthetics, cognitive science, philosophy, and architecture. The role of geographers in the project was to analyze and visualize spatio-temporal data of a dance performance and find relationships between 17 dancers performing in the dance. The dancers create their own body landscapes through the dance which reflects narratives of the choreography. This enables geographers to revisit choreography in space/time perspective, that is not done by choreographers or dancers themselves.

Forsythe's related installation "Transfigurations," will be on display in the Wexner Center through July 26, 2009. "Synchronous Objects," the virtual component, is available here. For more details regarding the installation and a full schedule, click here.

Van Cleef Exhibit on Display

The Eugene Van Cleef Collection is now on display! Dr. Van Cleef was a professor in the Ohio State Department of Geography from 1920 to 1963. As part of the Centennial Celebration during the 2008-09 academic year, we are showcasing Van Cleef's collection as a way of honoring our history.

To participate in this exhibit, navigate to the Centennial Page for full instructions.