Associate Professor Tom Cova has been featured in an Los Angeles Times article about wildfire hazards in Mission Canyon outside Santa Barbara, CA.  The article discusses his research on evacuating wildfire-prone neighborhoods.  He notes that planning regulations around the country pay little attention to the number of people who will have to use exit roads in a wildfire.  The American West is studded with these "scenic firetraps," and in most of these areas the likelihood of an extreme fire is increasing.  

LA Times article

Welcome new faculty!

Here we grow again!  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)  Mitchell Power is joining our faculty as Assistant Professor of Geography and Curator of the Garrett Herbarium, Utah Museum of Natural History.  Dr. Power earned the PhD in geography from University of Oregon in 2006.  His research and teaching interests include Historical Biogeography, Fire, Paleoecology and Paleoclimatology.  He comes to U-Geography from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate and co-leader of the Global Palaeofire Working Group.

More information about Mitch

Faculty position available: Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Geography

The Department of Geography at the University of Utah invite applications for a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Geography beginning 1 July 2009. We seek a geographer with a research emphasis that complements department strengths in one (or more) of the following areas: i) medical geography; ii) transportation; iii) human-environment interactions, including human dimensions of climate change; or, iv) hazards. Also desirable are technical strengths in GIS, cartography and/or spatial analysis. 

Submit a letter of application including research and teaching interests, vitae, teaching evaluations (if available) and the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of three referees by 29 September 2008. Applications received after the deadline may be considered until the position is filled. The University of Utah is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, encourages applications from women and minorities, and provides reasonable accommodations for the known disabilities of applicants and employees. The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students from diverse backgrounds, and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education for historically underrepresented students.

Apply: Harvey J. Miller, Chair, University of Utah / Department of Geography / 260 S Central Campus Drive, Room 270 / Salt Lake City UT 84112-9155.

More information 

Tim Edgar wins ASUU teaching award

Geography graduate student Tim Edgar is a recipient of the 2008 Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU) Student Choice Teaching Award.  This is a unique, student-driven award for outstanding instructors at the University of Utah: students nominate instructors and select the winners.

Congratulations, Tim, for this much-deserved recognition!

Laura Siebeneck receives AAG award

U-geography graduate student Laura Siebeneck recently received the 2008 Jeanne X. Kasperson award from the Hazards Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers. In April, Laura will join four other students in a special session in Boston at the annual AAG meeting where she’ll present her paper entitled, “Assessment of the return-entry process of Hurricane Rita.”

Congratulations Laura!

U-geography: Best Grad Students in the Land! 

Tom Painter "Nature of Things" lecture

Assistant Professor Tom Painter will be delivering a lecture entitled "When Mountains and Deserts Collide" as part of the Utah Museum of Natural History's Nature of Things 2008 lecture series.  

His lecture will examine snow in the West and how changes in the climate will impact mountain snowpack, hydrology and the western U.S. economy.

The lecture will take place Thursday, January 17, 2008, 7:00 p.m. at The City Library, Main Auditorium

More information

Larry Coats in Science

Adjunct Assistant Professor Larry Coats is featured in Science magazine for his work in Range Creek Canyon, Utah.  Larry is using his paleoecology and rock climbing skills to explore Fremont cliff dwellings in Range Creek for clues about their collapse and disappearance, possibly due to drought.

Science article