UTK Geography and Sustainability

05/05/2026

PhD Candidate Brian Boyce has been awarded a Dissertation Fellowship from the African and African Diaspora Studies Program at Boston College for the 2026–2027 academic year. The fellowship will support the completion of his doctoral research, which explores questions of performance, placemaking, and Black expressive culture.

05/04/2026

Congratulations to Ian Scott, who received an Achievement Award in Natural Sciences from the College of Arts and Sciences in the 2026 Exhibit of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURECA). Ian worked with Professor Sally Horn to develop a long-term fire history from a lake sediment core. • • 📸: Sally Horn

05/04/2026

Congratulations to everyone recognized at this year’s department awards ceremony! ✨🌎🧡

🏆 Robert G. Long Outstanding Graduate Student (MS): Caroline Hamilton

🏆 Robert G. Long Outstanding Graduate Student (PhD): Katrina Stack

🌟 Exceptional Professional Accomplishment: Rae Tennant

🗺️ Bruce Ralston Geospatial Achievement (Graduate): Andy Zhang

📚 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant: Hope Hutchinson, Luke Blentlinger, and Jordyn Hammel

🎓 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Associate: Caleb Gore and Elizabeth Barnes

📝 Primary Lead Publication: Brian Boyce, Sarah Farahpoor, Caleb Gore, Seth Kannarr, Wan Hee Kim, Johnathan Lynn, Katrina Stack, Syeda Nazifa Tasneem, Abel Traslaviña-Arias​

📖 Publication Honors: Johnathan Lynn, Seth Kannarr, Katrina Stack

👩‍🎓 Outstanding Graduate (Geography): Ellie Bernstein

👩‍🎓 Outsanding Graduate (Sustainability): Liz Short

🌎 S. David Freeman Sustainability Scholarship: Miles Nellans

🌐 Bruce Ralston Geospatial Achievement (Undergraduate): Gwyn McClelland

📖 Michael R. Simon Outstanding Research: Ian Von Weisenstein

🤲 Michael R. Simon Exceptional Outreach: Nico Malagon

🎓 Michelle D. Pfeffer Outstanding Senior: Caroline Peters

🍎 Outstanding Graduate Teaching: Gabe Schwartzman

🎓 Outstanding Graduate Advocate: LaToya Eaves

🍎 Outstanding Faculty Teaching (Undergraduate): Jack Swab

🚀 Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD): Michael Camponovo

04/24/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Gabe Schwartzman for his contributions to the important and thought-provoking conversation at Wednesday night’s program, “Shifting Power in Rural America – Dialogues on Just Transitions,” hosted by the Appalachian Justice Research Center.

He and co-author Dr. John Gaventa also discussed their new book, Power and Just Transitions: Struggles for a Post-Coal Future in an Appalachian Valley.

04/22/2026

More great news to share about our outstanding undergraduate students!

Congratulations to Ian Scott and Grace Claerbout for recognition from the 2026 EUReCA student research symposium.

Ian earned an Achievement Award for his research focused on Holocene Fire History Reconstruction in the American Southeast from Macroscopic Charcoal in Sediment at Lake Louise, Georgia.

Grace earned an Honors recognition for her research focused on Mapping Maritime Piracy: Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Pirate Activity, 1978-2025

04/22/2026

Congratulations to undergraduate students Gwyn McClelland and Elizabeth Short for earning Second Place at the 2026 Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium (ASUReS) for their project supporting the USDA and mapping invasive tick species across the US.

These two outstanding students used their geospatial skills to clean data sets, build databases, build online forms, and create interactive visualizations to make it easier and more efficient to report and track the Asian Longhorn tick.

A special thank you to Becky Trout Fryxell and her team at UTIA for mentoring and supporting these students.

04/22/2026

Recently, our GIS Lab Manager, Tim Kane, and GIS Outreach Coordinator Michael Camponovo had the opportunity to support UTK Facilities Services with a unique UAV inspection project on the UT Ag Campus.

We were contacted by department alum Matthew Trent, who works with Facilities Services, to help inspect a fiber optic line after a squirrel apparently chewed away portions of the black outer insulation. The damage was easy to spot from the air, revealing a bright yellow layer beneath the outer covering.

Using the Parrot ANAFI USA, we collected nadir and oblique video of multiple sections of the line so Facilities Services could quickly assess the extent of the damage before beginning repairs or replacement. One interesting discovery: the squirrel seems to prefer the sections of cable near the trees on either side of the creek span, while the middle portion of the line appeared undamaged.

In less than an hour, we were able to help inspect multiple sections of fiber optic line and provide Facilities Services with useful information to guide their next steps.

It was great to partner with our friend and alumnus Adam Trent, support another UTK department, and apply our UAV skills in a way that was new for us. Projects like this are a great reminder that geospatial tools and drone technology can support all kinds of unexpected operational needs.

04/21/2026

Dr. Stephanie Insalaco-Wyner (PhD ‘24) and Dr. Hannah Herrero just published a new article on The Conversation US, “Hurricanes devastated Florida’s East Coast – then seagrass made an unexpected comeback.”

Read it now at the 🔗 below!

After years of collapse, seagrass in Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon rebounded unexpectedly following 2022 hurricanes, offering new insight into ecosystem resilience.

04/20/2026

Join us for our Lunch & Learn with our Earth Day speaker, National Geographic Photographer and BBC Cinematographer Martin Gregus!

📅 Thursday, April 23
🕦 11:30AM-1:00PM
📍 Frieson Black Cultural Center 102/103
🍛 Catered by Tarik's North African

04/17/2026

Join us on Thursday for our Earth Day Speaker, National Geographic Photographer and BBC Cinematographer Martin Gregus!

📅Thursday, April 23
🕞 Reception at 3:30pm with seminar to follow at 4:00pm
📍 SU 262 B/C

Martin Gregus is an internationally awarded wildlife photographer and cinematographer whose work has taken him to all seven continents. Inspired early on by National Geographic, he has documented some of the world’s most remote ecosystems and earned multiple honors, including Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Now based in Canada, Martin is best known for his work in the Arctic and Antarctic, including the acclaimed polar bear expedition “33 Days Among the Bears,” featured in National Geographic magazine in 2022. His storytelling continues through cinematic projects with Disney, BBC, and Netflix.