Graduate Students

APPER, LORNA lapperatucladotedu 

BARRANDA, ANTHONY DELARA hjarta@ucla.edu (Ph.D. Student, Geography, UCLA; M.A., Geography, Arizona State, 2003; B.A., Geography, University of Texas, 2001; B.A., Psychology, University of Texas, 2001) Subfield: Cultural and Historical Geography, Socio-political Geography, Urban geography/architecture - sense of place, public space, airport geographies, symbolic landscapes, architectural perception, social theory, geography of non-normative identity and citizenship

Bauch, Nicholas nbbauch@ucla.edu 2001, B.S. Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2005, M.S. Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Thesis "Food and Place: Consuming Parma, Italy"). My doctoral research synthesizes literatures in United States agricultural history, landscape studies, consumerism, and geographies of health. I identify most strongly with the subfield of environmental history, and as such attempt to show how changing conceptions of healthy foods and their representative landscapes help explain how Americans have conceived of, and related to the natural world through food and agriculture. Other related and non-related interests: film as a medium of geographical expression; science & technology studies; transportation; humanism; place; the body; Lagos, Nigeria.

CHEN, CHEN chenchen923@ucla.edu (M.A, Agricultural Economics, Renmin University of China, 2008 B.A, Agricultural Economics, Renmin University of China, 2005) Subfield: Regional Development, Migration, Contemporary China -

CHU, VENA vena.chu[at]gmail[dot]com (B.A. in Geography and Economics, UCLA 2006)

COOKE, ABIGAIL MONTAGUE cooke@ucla.edu 

DAVIES, DAVID RHYS  (Stanford University (B.A History); London School of Economics (M.Sc. Economic History); UCLA (PhD Candidate)) Subfield: Economic Geography, Urban Economic Growth, Regional Economic Development, Comparative Urbanisation, Political Economy, City Regions, Endogenous Growth, Evolutionary Economics, Patterns of Innovation and Technological Change, International Trade - Inventive Diversity and Economic Growth in Cities: An Ecology of US Patenting

FERNÁNDEZ, SARAH HAIDÉE sarhafe[at]yahoo[dot]com (Ph.D. Student, Geography, UCLA; M.A., Geography, UCLA, 2007; B.A., Latin American Studies [concentration in Ecology and the Environment], UCLA, 2002) Subfield: Political Ecology, Cultural Geography, Sustainable Development, Latin America -

FRICKER, GEOFFREY ANDREW africker[at]ucla[dot]edu (B.S. University of California Santa Barbara, Physical Geography, 2005 ) Subfield: Remote Sensing, LiDAR, Forest Structure -

FU, QIANG austinfu@ucla.edu ((B.S. Sun Yat-sen University, Geographic Information System, 2008) )

FUENTENEBRO, PABLO pfuentenebro@ucla.edu (PhD Candidate, UCLA Department of Geography. Licenciatura de Geografia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2005 Premio Nacional de Licenciatura Premio Extraordinario Fin de Carrera) Subfield: Cultural geography, Architecture, Political geography - Cultural regeneration and the new cultural economy Paris New program of libraries Place, memory and nostalgia. Architecture, urbanism and the creation of urban landscapes.

GARCIA-ELLIN, JUAN C jcgarcia@ucla.edu (PhD Candidate, UCLA (CPhil, 2008). MA-Geography SUNY-Binghamton, 2000. JD-Law University of Puerto Rico, 1996. BA-Geography University of Puerto Rico, 1993.) Subfield: Urban Geography, Population Geography, Domestic and International Migration, Ethnicity and Place, Geography of Popular Music. - Hispanic Migration in US urban areas. Differences in Hispanic/Latino population subgroups. Domestic and international migration patterns. Latin Music in the US.

GIORGI, ANA PAULA agiorgi@ucla.edu (PhD Candidate M.Sc. Water Resources and Applied Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo (2003) B.S. Biology, Universidade de São Paulo (2000)) Subfield: Biogeography, Ecological Niche Modeling, Reserve Design, Landscape Ecology - Dissertation research: "Utilizing remote sensing to identify priorities for restoration and connectivity in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil"

GOLDSTEIN, JENNIFER E jgoldstein@ucla.edu (M.A. expected 2009: Department of Geography, UCLA B.A. magna cum laude 2005, Theory and History of Architecture; Japanese Culture; Environmental Studies: Barnard College, Columbia University) Subfield: Cultural Geography, Political Ecology, Food and Agriculture, Africa - Agro-food systems; intersections between local food systems, regionalization and globalization; specialty coffee production in Rwanda; geographic indicator & eco-labeling initiatives; toxic waste landscapes & their representation; soil conservation and development

Grant, Andrew Nicholas angrant at ucla.edu (B.A. Geography, UW-Madison 2006 Certificate - Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies, UW-Madison 2006) Subfield: Cultural, Social, Humanist Geography; China, Tibet - 2008 Olympic Beijing Torch Relay and its symbolic implications for the various ethnic, national, and political groups involved. Feel free to contact me about the graduate program.

HAIGH, KATHARINE  (BA Geography, University of Cambridge, 2008 Starred First (*1) MA Geography (Honorary), University of Cambridge, 2010 expected ) Subfield: Cultural, political, historical -

HAMMOND, TIMUR WARNER timur.hammond@gmail.com (B.A. (2005) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) Interaction of landscape and identity; architecture, public space and religion; humanism, humanist thought; aesthetics and epistemology.

HOBBS, WILL whobbs@ucla.edu (1995: MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering (University of Sheffield) 2004: MSc Applied Meteorology (University of Reading)) Subfield: Climatology - Large scale climate dynamics, in particular atmosphere-ocean-sea ice interactions in the Southern Hemisphere. My Masters research involved the effect of large- and mega- volcanic eruptions on the climate system.

Howe, Nicolas C nhowe at ucla.edu (Ph.D. Candidate. M.A. 2003, Geography, UCLA; B.A. 1998, English, Columbia University ) Subfield: Cultural, political, and urban geography - Geographies of religion and law; American religious politics; conservative Christianity; secularism and secularization; environmental politics and history; landscape studies; nations and nationalism; social movements.

ILLES, LILIA I. lilles@ucla.edu ( PhD candidate, M.S. - Environmental Studies/Environmental Science.- CSUF, 2005 ) Subfield: Biogeography, Mammalogy - Habitat fragmentation and primate populations in island environments in Central America. Habitat conservation and reconciliation ecology in emerging nations Habitat and mammal persistence modeling

Koo, Hongkyo gotiger9@ucla.edu (Ph.D student, physical geography; MA: Geography, Seoul National Univ., 2001 BA: Geography, Seoul National Univ., 1999) shoreline changes in southern California

Le, Tuyen tl57[at]ucla[dot]edu (B.A. with High Honors (2006), Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin) Subfield: Political and cultural ecology, nature-society relations, ethno-/economic botany - Non-timber forest products and agroforestry in Southeast Asia

Levine, Paul Alexander paul.levine[at]ucla.edu (B.A. Brown University, 2000, Geology/Biology and Computer Music) Subfield: Hydroclimatology, biogeochemical cycles, remote sensing, disease vectors - My research interests are in land-atmosphere transfer processes and the synergy between the hydrologic and carbon biogeochemical cycles. I am currently investigating these phenomena in Cameroon, Central Africa, in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology who are researching the population genomics of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae.

Lyons, Evan A elyons@ucla.edu (B.S. Earth and Environmental Science, UC Irvine 2005) Subfield: Remote sensing, high latitude climate change... -

MAAS, REGAN M. rmmaas@ucla.edu (Doctoral Candidate; CPhil - UCLA, Geography, 2007; MA - CSU Northridge, Geography, 2004; BS - Iowa, Biology & Psychology, 1998 ) Subfield: Urban Health Systems, Hispanic Populations & Health-Related Movement, Spatial Statistics, GIS - Variations in Health across LA Urban Neighborhoods - Dissertation Research. Mental Health Service Availability for Minority Populations in California - UCLA Center on Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities.

MAIDA, BARBARA YABLON bymaida@ucla.edu (PhD candidate; MA, 2002: CSU Northridge, Geography [w/ distinction]; BS, 1992: CSU Northridge, Health Sciences [w/ Biology minor] ) Subfield: Cultural Geography, Historical Geography of North America, esp. with regard to medical topographies. -

Miller, Rick - rickmiller@ucla.edu (C.Phil, 2008, UCLA; M.Arch, 1997, SCI-Arc; B.A, 1992, Connecticut College) Subfield: nomadic/sedentary, domestic architecture, (sub)urban migration, mobile landscape, built culture, Inner Asia - The ger-districts, named for the traditional felt tents that still dominate the domestic landscape surrounding Ulaanbaatar, extend urban space yet retain connections to Mongolian pastoralism. How people build vernacular architecture to respond to both a settled environment and a nomadic heritage forms the basis of my research.

NARINS, TOM tnarins@ucla.edu (PhD Student - UCLA) Subfield: Political Geography, Biogeography - Interested in China's political and economic role in Latin America. Research also involves the environmental impacts of emerging relations between these two regions. Also interested in the geopolitics of entryways (seaports, canals, airports, rail lines) and their role in international relations & biogeography.

PAU, STEPHANIE paus@ucla.edu (PhD Candidate Geography (UCLA), M.A. Geography (UCLA), B.A. Environmental Studies (UCSB)) Subfield: Remote Sensing, Paleoecology, Biogeography - Dissertation Research: Species richness, composition and structure of Hawaiian dry forests and vegetation change since human arrival.

REISSER, WESLEY J. reisser@ucla.edu (PhD Candidate - UCLA (expected completion 2010); M.A. 2007 in Geography - The George Washington University; B.A. 2004 Summa Cum Laude in International Affairs & History, minors in Art History & Geography - The George Washington University) Subfield: Political Geography, History of Cartography, Geopolitics of Energy & Water, Borders & Peace Settlements, The Balkans & Eastern Europe, Israel-Palestinian Conflict -

RIVERS, NATASHA M. riversn@ucla.edu (PhD Candidate UCLA, Geography (C.Phil 2008); M.A. UCLA, Geography, 2007; B.A. University of Washington, Geography & American Ethnic Studies, 2005 ) Subfield: Demography, International Migration, Internal Migration, African Diaspora - I evaluate sub-Saharan African migration to and within the United States; racial vs. cultural identities; social, economic and political consequences of displacement of African immigrants from country of origin; human capital; quantitative & qualitative methods

SHAH, CHINTAN A. cashah@ucla.edu (B.E. (Computer Engineering), Bombay University, 2000; M.S. (Computer Science), Syracuse University, 2003; C.Phil. (Geography), UCLA, 2008. )

SILVER, MARIKO EVA mariko.silver@aya.yale.edu 

SMITH, JENN LEE jennlee.smith@gmail.com China; population geography

Stephenson, Scott stephenson@ucla.edu (B.A. Human Biology, Stanford University, 2003; M.A. Geography, UCLA, expected 2010) Subfield: climate change vulnerabilities, GIS -

STONE, LINDSAY MORGAN stonelm@ucla.edu (B.A., International Affairs, summa cum laude , University of Colorado - Boulder, 2007 ) Subfield: Political, Historical, and Cultural Geography - Critical Geopolitics, Religious Geopolitics, Nationalism, Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, Russian Geopolitical Thought

STURM, TRISTAN tsturm@ucla.edu (PhD Candidate: UCLA in Geography. MA (2006): Carleton University in Geography and Environmental Studies. BA (2003) Honours w/ Distinction: University of Victoria in Geography and Political Science. ) Critical Geopolitics; American evangelicals; US-Israel relations; Property Insurance and Disasters; Political Geography;

SULLIVAN, ROB sulli@ucla.edu (B.A. in Philosophy, UCLA (Magna Cum Laude) 2007.) Subfield: Cultural Geography, Philosophy of Place. - Speech Acts and Knowledge, Ontological Instability of Place, Imaginary Lands.

TERPKOSH, TRAVIS CHARLES islandtrees@gmail.com (M.A. in Geography, UCLA, 2007 B.A. in Geography/Environmental Studies, UCLA, 2006 ) Subfield: Tropical Island Ecology/Conservation, Tropical Vegetation, Remote Sensing, Island Biogeography, South Pacific - My masters research examines the biogeography, floristic diversity, and conservation status of tropical dry forests in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

TINGSTAD, ABBIE HILARY abbie1@ucla.edu Subfield: Paleoclimatology, Biogeography, Policy, Geomorphology - My research interests involve reconstructing drought in the Western United States (the Uinta Mountains and the Green River in Utah specifically) and water resource management. The methods I use to reconstruct drought are dendrochronology (tree-rings) and the remains of diatoms (environmentally sensitive algae) that have collected over thousands of years in lake sediments. The primary aims of this research are to establish how major water source areas in the Western U.S. (such as northeastern Utah) have been affected by warmer temperatures in the past as well as ascertain the duration and intensity of droughts that may be expected in the future.

WANG, JIDA gdbruins@ucla.edu (Ph.D.(2008-present), Geography, University of California, Los Angeles. M.S.(2006-2008), Geo-Spatial Information Science, Environmental and Resource Engineering, State University of New York-ESF, Syracuse, New York, USA. B.M.(2002-2006), Environmental Economics and Managements, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, China. ) Subfield: Remote Sensing, GIS and environmental studies - Ph.D.: An exploration of integrating Remote Sensing, Geo-spatial Information, hydrological modeling, and environmental economics into hydrosphere studies, such as surface freshwater resources and other indicators of climate change. Master of Science: Developing a Multi-Thread Spatial Autocorrelation (MuTSA) Model: A Case Study of Urban Growth for Denver, Colorado. Bachelor of Managements: Construction of an Indicator System of Environmental Assessment, in Precision Agriculture, China

Wilford, Justin G. jwilford@ucla.edu (M.A. Arizona State University, Political Science, 2003 Thesis: Deliberative Democracy and the City: Rethinking Space as a Source of Political and Communicative Practice; B.A. Arizona State University, Psychology, 2000 ) Subfield: Geography of Religion, Cultural Geography, Urban Geography - Spatial strategies of contemporary evangelism, urban geography of megachurches, cultural geography of suburbia and postsuburbia

Yabe, Mariko mariyabe at ucla dot edu 

ZAVAR, ELYSE MARIE ezavar@ucla.edu (B.A. Geology, College of Wooster)

Zuhlsdorf, Christine Marie czuhlsdorf@gmail.com (B.A. Geography Environmental Studies, UCLA 2007)