UB PhD student Festus Adegbola stands in front of NASA’s G-III research aircraft. He is using airborne imagery collected from this aircraft to study bird diversity in South Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region. . Photo: Adam Wilson
In this Issue:
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D. Scott Mackay writes:
Welcome to the Spring 2025 edition of "The Compass," UB Geography's newsletter. This issue arrives at the end of an academic year highlighted by a packed colloquium series spanning topics from across geography subdisciplines, the development of a new undergraduate degree that embraces Artificial Intelligence, our annual student awards ceremony and numerous awards bestowed on our faculty and students. It was a relatively quiet year in terms of personnel changes, but I’m pleased to announce that Professor Eun-Hye (Enki) Yoo was promoted to Full Professor, effective in August 2025. Congratulations to Enki on this achievement!
Our colloquium series featured numerous accomplished scholars, including Somayeh Dodge (UC Santa Barbara), Nina Ebner (Colegio de Mexico), Sardana Nikolaeva (University of Toronto), Lu Liang (UC Berkeley), Sinead Farrell (University of Maryland), Patrick Keys (Colorado State University) and Luis Alvarez Leon (Dartmouth). Professor Adam Wilson (UB Geography) screened “The Spectrum of Life,” a short documentary about NASA’s first biodiversity airborne campaign in South Africa, , for which he is the terrestrial lead scientist. Professor Aniket Aga (UB Geography) screened his film, “Seed Stories,” which documents how genetically modified seeds and associated chemicals are reshaping the geography and the people of the Eastern Ghats in Odisha, India. I am grateful to all the faculty who invited and hosted colloquium speakers this past year.
In collaboration with the new Department of AI and Society, the Department has created a new undergraduate Bachelor of Science program called “AI and Geospatial Analytics.” This new four-year degree blends societal impacts of Artificial Intelligence with technical knowledge in geospatial analytics and seeks to provide the breadth and depth competencies needed for UB graduates to integrate rapidly evolving AI technologies into the core practice meeting the needs of future employers and society at large to develop and refine AI systems and applications that improve the social good. This new degree program leverages expertise of faculty in the departments of Geography, Computer Science and Mathematics along with those in the new AI and Society department. As I write this, the new program has received full SUNY and New York State Education Department approval and is accepting current and prospective students to the degree program beginning in Fall 2026.
I would like to highlight a few success stories from the past year. Faculty and students alike made headlines:
- Yingjie Hu won the Early/Mid-Career Research Award from the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science
- Meredith Palmer was named a Humanities Institute Faculty Fellow
- Marion Werner received the UB Gender Institute’s Excellence in Mentoring award
- PhD candidate Qingqing Chen landed a tenure-track role at James Madison University
- Our students brought home multiple AAG awards across a range of research topics
We capped it off with our April 25 award ceremony, honoring students for their achievements. Keep reading for highlights and more success stories.
As always, we welcome your news, your support, and your continued connection. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a great year—from organizing events and supporting students to giving generously to scholarships and awards.
Best wishes,
D. Scott Mackay, PhD
Professor and Chair
Geography NFL Football Pool
Congratulations to our 2024-25 co-winners, Jeff Janak '96 and Taylor Sims '05!
The Geography Football pool has been maintained for almost three decades with players scattered around the country and sometimes even in Europe and Asia. It is a great way to maintain contact with friends from Geography. Each week participants try and pick the winners in the NFL games. The “traveling trophy” is sent from winner to winner each year. The trophy was handcrafted in 2002 by Alum Jeff Brunskill, PhD 2005. The donuts represent an old tradition of having the winner bring donuts into the office each week.
Watch your inbox each August for your invite to join the pool. For information, please email ubgeogfootball@gmail.com.
2023-24 winner, Dr. Jared Aldstadt, preparing to send the trophy on.
Congratulations to Henry Yan (IT-MA), winner of this year’s snowfall prediction contest. Buffalo saw 77.6 inches this season—with 0.1 inches on April 16 clinching the win.
Thanks to Stuart Evans for running the contest and giving us a reason to enjoy the snow (and complain about it).
Participants
Leaders
Jared Alstadt - 59.2
Chris Larsen - 62.4
Ying Zhou - 70
Jay Qi - 75
Boyu Wang - 76
Ethan Kendrick Garcia - 77
Jing Miao - 77
Henry Yan - 78
Marion Werner - 79
Abigail Cooke - 81
Jimmy Jarvis - 83
Meredith Palmer - 84
Trina Hamilton - 85
Shawnie Sun - 87
Jiyeon Kim - 88
Andrew Crooks - 90
Scott Mackay - 92
Festus Adegbola - 93
Adam Grodek - 93
Katie Piscitello - 94.5
Yingjie Hu - 96
Mike Woldenberg - 97
Tina Ni - 97
Kristin Poinar - 98
Adam Wilson - 99
Sydney Deck - 100
Sara Metcalf - 104
Stuart Evans - 111
Collin O'Connor - 125
Jared- Start – Feb 14
Chris - Feb 15
Ying - Feb 16–19
Jay - Feb 20
Boyu - Feb 21–28
Ethan - Mar 1–Apr 16
Jing - Mar 1–Apr 16
Henry - Mar 26–present
Greetings Snowfriends!
I have been remiss in my updates: I kept waiting for something to happen in March or April and it just never did. With temperatures in the 70s now I’m calling it: the 2024-25 snow season ends with 77.6” of accumulation at Buffalo airport. By the smallest possible margin, our winner this year is Henry Yan, IT-MA, congratulations!
It was an off and on and off again snow season. Our first accumulation wasn’t until November 30, and at the end of December there was no snow on the ground and total accumulation was only at 23.2”, well behind the 34.9” that would have been average.
On January 1, somebody flipped the switch, and it started snowing. Snow fell for the next 41 consecutive days, paused on February 11th, then snowed another 12 days in a row. There was snow on the ground from January 7 until March 4. 53” fell during that 54-day stretch, we caught up to the average pace, and when we reached February 23rd, we were at 76.3”, compared to an average pace of 75.8”. This was a proper Buffalo winter.
And then the switch got turned off again. We only had 1.3” of snow left in the season after that, despite 18 days with flurries. When it snowed 0.7” on March 26, putting us at 77.5” it looked like we’d have three champions this year. But just a week ago, April 16, we managed the smallest measurable amount, 0.1” to bump our final total to 77.6” and making Henry our sole champion. A dramatic finish that needed every last day of snow to determine the winner.
With the snow prediction contest over, I feel justified in expanding my Snow Prediction Commissioner powers to officially declare it to be Spring. Hope you enjoy the flowers!
- Stuart Evans
In March, PhD students and faculty gathered for an afternoon of practice presentations ahead of the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Detroit.
The presentations ranged in subject area from spatial analysis of 311 calls during the 2022 Buffalo blizzard to women’s debt burdens in smallholder farming households in Bangladesh to developing predictive models based on the 2023 Maui fires in Hawai’i. Seven doctoral students and seven faculty participated in the run throughs, , which included tough questions from the audience. Students were on the hot seats and did very well!
Big thanks to Dr. Abigail Cooke for organizing.
From left to right. Stuart Evans, Marion Werner, Abigail Cooke, Jiyeon Kim, Shawnie Sun, Xunhuan Li, Ryan Zhou and Tianze Li
We celebrated another year of academic excellence on April 25 with our annual awards ceremony, followed by an End of Semester Celebration with the Geography Graduate Student Association.
Award Recipients:
- Charles H.V. Ebert Scholarship: Sarah Pickering (UG) and Festus Adegbola (PhD)
- Abrahams-Woldenberg Field Scholarship: Faithwin Gbadamosi (PhD)
- Hugh W. Calkins Applied GIS Award: Zhenqi (Ryan) Zhou (PhD)
- Dr. L. Michael Trapasso Award: Jiyeon Kim (PhD)
- Greg and Susan Aldrich Research Award: Mia Maines (UG)
- International Trade Scholarship: Jayden Sisley (UG)
- Excellence in Teaching Award: Festus Adegbola (PhD)
- Outstanding Senior: Heidi Eberhardt
Three students were also recognized at the AAG national conference:
- Xunhuan Li (PhD): Best Student Paper Award
- Qingqing Chen (PhD): Applied Geography Award
- Tianze Li (MS): First Place, Student Illustrated Paper Competition
Spotlight on Galo Maradiaga Eguez
“In the Spring of 2024, I received the Greg and Susan Aldrich Award to pursue a research project on the pesticide trade between Mexico and the US in the context of the recently signed US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). As part of the research, I received training on trade issues through a field course organized jointly by York University and the Autonomous University of Mexico.
Participating in the USMCA field course was an incredibly exciting and transformative experience. Traveling to both Toronto and Mexico City, I met with labor, government, and business leaders in both places to learn more about trade agreements. The experience gave me the means to personally engage with the social, historical, and scientific dimensions of the efforts in Mexico to ban the import of glyphosate (Roundup), the world’s most widely used weed control chemical, and a key input for genetically modified corn production.
I learned that the movement to ban glyphosate emerged from movements against genetically modified food in Mexico, originally focused on the protection of native maize species. This evolved to include a critique of the larger agro-industrial model before ultimately focusing on glyphosate as a central issue for regulation. Given the opportunity to sit down with academics, activists, and labor union representatives, the tensions between international trade pressures and domestic ecological goals were quickly revealed with a particular emphasis placed on the role played by the United States.
I could not be more satisfied with the experience and want to express my appreciation for the effort and accepting nature shown by the staff at both the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and York University in including a Buffalo student in their program. I’d like to give an enormous thanks to our staff at the Geography Department and the Aldrich family for allowing me to witness firsthand the challenges of balancing environmental/public health concerns with economic interests. I hope more students can learn about and apply to this program in the future as it was monumental in deepening my understanding of not only my research, but also the intersection of national policy, global trade dynamics and local activism in our modern landscape.”
~Galo Maradiaga Eguez
The awards are funded by from our alumni and friends of the department, and you can direct your to a specific award by choosing the “search for more” option and typing in your preferred award choice. We are pleased to be able to continue these awards with your donations and we thank all for your most generous support.
In Memoriam: Ross MacKinnon
We’re saddened to share the passing of , former professor and chair of the UB Geography Department, on January 27, 2025. Ross came to UB from the University of Toronto in 1976 and helped guide the department through challenging times, including its potential closure in 1982. Through leadership and advocacy, he helped elevate the department's national standing.
Ross was instrumental in the founding of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA), a collaboration with UC Santa Barbara and the University of Maine that helped shape the future of GIS. He later served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and eventually as Professor Emeritus at the University of Connecticut.
Beyond academia, Ross loved jazz, contemporary art, sports, and spirited conversations over a good meal. He was a proud Canadian and naturalized U.S. citizen who believed deeply in public service and education. He will be missed by colleagues, students, and friends across the geography community.
Sean Bennett, Professor and Associate Dean
Dr. Bennett was featured in UBNow for his research on sustaining wildlife in the Niagara River and Great Lakes ecosystems. In the article, Dr. Bennett and his team are trying to determine how fish behavior, flow velocity or turbulence, pushes them from point A to point B.
To conduct this research, a recirculating flume was constructed by Kevin Cullinan (CAS Instrument Machine Shop) and exists in Dr. Bennett’s lab. The flume, which can mimic real aquatic environments, has assisted Dr. Bennett and his team in the research of soil erosion to how marine mussels engineer riverbeds.
Yingjie Hu, Associate Professor
Congratulations to Yingjie Hu for being named awardee of the 2024 . The award is given to an individual who has made a particularly outstanding research contribution to geographic information science.
This may include outstanding peer-reviewed research work, or series of works, though other modes of expression will be considered, including patents, software packages, and non-refereed publications. This award is not for lifetime achievement, but for a single contribution or a series of research works that are seminal and have significant impacts on Geographic Information Science community, made at any time prior to the award year.
Meredith Palmer, Assistant Professor
Congratulations to Dr. Meredith Palmer on being named one of the 2025-26 Humanities Institute Faculty Fellows. “A keystone HI program, the Humanities Institute supports faculty research excellence through the Faculty Fellowship program.
HI offers fellowships for the University at Buffalo tenured and tenure-stream faculty engaged in humanistic research. These year-long residential fellowships provide the Fellow with one semester of course release, allowing the Fellow to focus primarily on a major research project and to participate actively in HI programs.”
Marion Werner, Professor
We congratulate Dr. Marion Werner as awardee of in the Gender Institute. Based on letters from faculty, students and staff, Dr. Werner was one of two awardees for her outstanding achievements in promoting the professional potential of her colleagues and students.
Dr. Werner has advised graduate students and early career scholars, and since 2023 has seen four PhD students through the completion of their programs. Her achievements include authoring “Global Displacements: The Making of Uneven Development in the Caribbean” and co-editor of “The Doreen Massey Reader and Doreen Massey: Critical Dialogues”. She is also co-founder of the Pesticide Research Network, and co-director of and early career program called the “Antipode Institute for Geographies of Justice.”
Enki Yoo, Professor
UBNow and The Science of the Total Environment featured Dr. Enki Yoo, lead author of the “Differential Effects of Air Pollution Exposure on Mental Health: Historical Redlining in New York State.” The study will present conclusive evidence of mental health problems in redlined neighborhoods which bear the brunt of air pollution.
With a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, 30 air monitors were installed throughout Buffalo’s East side. Dr. Yoo, in collaboration with Oregon Health and Science University, will analyze the data that the monitors are expected to provide. They presume more accurate data than those that were provided in the predictive models in the current study.
Festus O. Adegbola, a Ph.D. candidate in Geography (Earth Systems Science) at the University at Buffalo, has been awarded the highly competitive NASA Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) Fellowship. His project, “Remote Sensing for Conservation: Linking Habitat Functional Diversity with Avian Species Richness,” uses imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR to model how plant functional traits and fire regimes influence bird diversity in South Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region—advancing scalable tools for biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning.
The NASA FINESST Fellowship supports graduate student research aligned with NASA’s Earth Science Division. With an acceptance rate of just over 10%, this award is one of the most competitive graduate fellowships in the country and is conducted under a Dual-Anonymous Peer Review process. The fellowship provides $50,000 per year for up to three years, covering tuition, travel, and research expenses.
Festus’s selection reflects his exceptional academic achievements, leadership, and innovative research at the intersection of biodiversity, climate change, and remote sensing.
Research Focus: Remote Sensing for Conservation
Festus’s project, “Remote Sensing for Conservation: Linking Habitat Functional Diversity with Avian Species Richness,” uses imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR data from NASA’s BioSCape and EMIT missions to study biodiversity in the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of South Africa—a global biodiversity hotspot.
His research aims to:
- Quantify how plant functional traits influence bird species richness and abundance.
- Assess how fire regimes affect habitat stability and avian diversity.
- Develop predictive models to guide conservation planning and identify biodiversity hotspots.
This work will enhance NASA’s capacity to monitor ecological change and inform global conservation strategies.
Festus holds a B.Sc. in Wildlife Management (First Class Honors) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and an M.Sc. in Geographic Information Science from the University at Buffalo. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. under the mentorship of Dr. Adam M. Wilson, principal investigator of NASA’s BioSCape campaign.
His research experience spans NASA-funded biodiversity missions, acoustic ecology, and citizen science data analysis. He has co-authored peer-reviewed publications and contributed to a NASA-archived dataset recognized as a global benchmark in ecological acoustics.
Festus has presented at major conferences including AGU, AAG, and EnviroCon. He has also served as an instructor, GIS analyst, and project manager for conservation initiatives across West Africa.
Congratulations to Shawnie Sun for earning the Best Implementation Award for her shared project with Partnership for the Public Good. Shawnie was recognized as part of the Social Impact Fellows work for addressing complex social challenges.
Through UB's Social Impact Fellow program, Shawnie worked with Partnership for the Public Good (PPG), a well-known local think tank in Buffalo. As part of a cross-professional team of four, she researched and planned for a criminal justice program piloted on the East Side of Buffalo called the Community Responder Team (CRT). This program aims to address issues like over-policing and underserved neighborhoods, as well as their other social and health needs. CRTs (consisting of crisis responders, health professionals, peer specialists/community members, EMTs, etc.) are designed to respond to non-criminal, crisis-related, community-based needs with compassionate services. While this model is still experimental, it has already been implemented in around 20 cities across the US (including Denver, CO, Eugene, OR, Durham, NC, etc.). However, given its community-centered approach, it's crucial to tailor the model to best suit Buffalo and Erie County. Our tasks included developing comprehensive plans for launching the pilot in Buffalo, engaging stakeholders, and sustainable fundraising and logistics.
Qingqing, a fourth-year PhD candidate, will join James Madison University with a tenure-track appointment as an Assistant Professor in the School of Integrated Sciences and as a member of the cross-colleges Environmental Data Science group in Fall 2025.
Here are her recent accomplishments:
Publications:
Awards:
- AAG Environmental Perception and Behavioral Geography Specialty Group Travel Award
- AAG Applied Geography Specialty Group Annual Award: Multi-sensory Experiences: The Connection Between the Smell and Vision in Understanding Urban Environments.
- 2024 NSF-funded Travel Awards of AAG Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure Workshop
- 2024 GSA Conference Funding Awards/Support, University at Buffalo
- 2023 NSF-funded Travel Awards of I-GUIDE Summer School Program, UCAR
- 2023 Hugh W. Calkins Award, Department of Geography, University at Buffalo
- 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award, Department of Geography, University at Buffalo
- 2023 Quantitative Finance Women’s Mentorship Program, Morgan Stanley
Events:
- Invited to present my project at UB’s 19th Annual Celebration of Student Academic Excellence Student Showcase
- Finalist in UB’s 1st Art of Research competition
Services:
- UCGIS Membership Committee
- WiGIS Outreach Committee
Third year student, Boyu Wang, has shared his most recent publications.
Xunhuan Li earned the Best Student Paper Award from AAG’s Economic Geography group and was recognized with a travel award. His work explores poverty alleviation and sustainability in China.
Publications:
Awards:
- Gary Gaile Travel Award, 2024, Development Geography Specialty Group, AAG.
- Best Student Paper Award by the Economic Geography Specialty Group, AAG 2025
- Student Travel Award by the China Geography Specialty Group, AAG 2025
Dr. Bertolas was named Wayne State’s Professor of the Year—his third time receiving the honor. A big congrats to Randy!
John played a role in launching Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites. He’s a technical product manager for broadband systems and a proud UB alumnus.
Joel is now a full professor at Bentley University. He’s led 25 study abroad programs and visited every county in the U.S. His research continues to focus on trade, tourism, and economic development.
Joel graduated from UB with his PhD in 1999 (international trade and commerce) under McConnell, MacPherson, and Bagchi-Sen. He has achieved twenty-five years in the Global Studies Department at Bentley University and is now a full Professor. He is one of three geographers in a department mainly composed of political scientists, but still holds on to his roots in our discipline.
Prof. Deichmann has taught full-time in the Global Studies Department at Bentley University since 1999. He teaches GLS101: Globalization, GLS 110: Global Regions, GLS 270: Contemporary Europe, and GLS 325: Global Tourism. Since 2001, he has led 25 international study courses to Central and Eastern Europe (Germany, Poland, Czechia, Croatia, Bosnia) and elsewhere (Panama and Ghana) and assisted with programs in South Africa, Chile, Turkey, and China. His research is on foreign direct investment (FDI), international tourism, and economic convergence with a regional focus of Central and Eastern Europe. In 2014, he finished his 20-year quest to visit all 3143 counties in the USA.
Prof. Deichmann authored a travel book entitled Passion for Place: Embracing Global Wanderlust, which was published in 2015. He also edited/co-authored FDI in former Yugoslavia: A Comparative Economic Geography 25 Years Later (2021). He has also published more than thirty articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Comparative Economic Studies, Eastern European Economics, Journal of Business and Economic Studies, Applied Economics, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, and Journal of Tourism Studies.
His wife, Karen, is a Division HR Manager for Parker Precision Fluidics. They have three kids: Charlie (27), Izzy (25), and James (23), all Bentley graduates. Their hobbies include travel, music, movies, jogging, camping and hiking with Larry Mullen Jr., the family’s Anatolian Shepherd. Joel and his family remain avid Buffalo Bills fans and season ticket holders, and they manage to attend 4-5 games per season, either in Buffalo or elsewhere.
UB alumni Yanjia Cao, Chen-Chieh Feng, Jiue-An Yang, and Michael Widener connected at the International Medical Geography Symposium in Atlanta.
Xiang "Cosine" Ye accepted a lecturer position at Nanjing Normal University. Congratulations, Cosine!
Asal recently presented a webinar with the UB Alumni Association. She’s CEO of CyRoot Corporation and has an impressive career in cybersecurity and national defense, including time with the U.S. Air Force and Department of State.
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