Incoming geography students awarded UNT fellowships

Three incoming geography students have been selected to receive the prestigious UNT Tolouse School of Graduate Studies GATS (Graduate Assistantship Tuition Scholarship) fellowship. This year's recipients bring with them a variety of research experiences and much enthusiasm.

Alicia Gray

Prior to my acceptance into the Master of Science in Applied Geography at UNT, I received a Bachelor of Arts in Geography at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). The program at SCSU allowed me to gain summer field experience in Iceland in 2010 (Environmental Economic Geography) as well as in South Africa in January 2012 (Land use conflicts and sustainable development). While at SCSU, I graduated with honors from the Geography Department by completing an undergraduate thesis on the theoretical production of organic wine in Connecticut. My interests include human-environment interactions as well as environmental-economic sustainability. I became interested in the M.S. in Applied Geography at UNT, because it is research oriented and students can work with faculty in the Environmental Science department. Continuing my education at UNT in geography at the graduate level will provide me with competitive research opportunities to pursue the field in which my passion thrives.

Alicia soil coring and sampling in Skálanes, Iceland. June 2010.

Kereen Griffith

I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from the Honors College at the University of Texas at San Antonio. As an underclassman, my first experience in a research lab involved a lot of dish washing and agar preparation, but I enjoyed being able to observe experiments and ask questions about graduate research. With more experience, I became involved in a range of research projects, including contaminated groundwater remediation, algae growth for bio-fuel, and even nematode studies following the BP Oil Spill. The graduate program in geography at UNT is a great fit for me, because the faculty encompasses a broad range of disciplines and interests. I am very excited to begin working with my graduate advisor Dr. Alexandra Ponette-González in the coming fall semester. My research topic involves understanding how to extrapolate atmospheric deposition data to larger spatial scales using forest characteristics derived from LiDAR.

Kereen monitoring water quality along the New England coast aboard EPA's research vessel, the OSV Bold, during her EPA Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship for Undergraduate Environmental Study.

Jennifer Nichols

Before enrolling in the Environmental Science Ph.D. Program at UNT, I earned a Master of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management from the University of Connecticut. While earning these degrees, I gained invaluable research and fieldwork experience in hydrology that I brought with me to Dallas where I became a Water Resources Engineer and a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. It is my passion for hydrology that has me pursuing my Ph.D. The hydrology experience of Dr. Feifei Pan within the Geography Department at UNT is what drew me to this program. The research I am performing in this program will allow me to build a solid understanding of hydrology along with GIS and computer modeling skills.

Jennifer measuring atmospheric aerosols using a ground-based LiDAR system.