CURRENT
Scott Fitzgerald
GRADUATES
Claire Gilbert
MS, July 2020
Expertise areas: remote sensing, landscape ecology, GIS, UAS
Claire completed her B.S. Majors in Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Geography, concentrating in Conservation and Resource Management, Minor in Climate Change at Western Michigan University in December 2017. As a student athlete for WMU’s track and field team she began her M.S. in the following semester. Her research interest includes GIS and remote sensing application for landscape ecology, sustainable agriculture, outdoor recreation, and conservation and management. Her thesis looks at interdunal wetlands in Ludington State Park, and examines the relationships between vegetation structures, macroinvertebrates, wetland ponds, and sand mobility. The project involves UAV aerial imagery, Structure from Motion (SfM), and object based image analysis (OBIA) to obtain a digital surface model (DSM) and grouped segments of wetland ponds and vegetation. Another notable project from her undergraduate career is using GIS to implement and revitalize Kalamazoo’s River Water Trail starting in Marshall, MI and extending to West Michigan’s coast in Saugatuck, MI.
Kevin Haynes
MS, June 2020
Expertise areas: urban geography, GIScience, post-colonialism
Kevin completed his Masters of Public Administration at Western Michigan University focusing on program evaluation methodology in 2018. He became fascinated with utilizing geospatial technology as a tool for program evaluation which led him to geography. As an undergraduate, he majored in Philosophy of Applied and Professional Ethics, Cum Laude, minor in Global Political Studies from Western Michigan University. Kevin’s general research interests include Urban Geography, Indian Post-Colonialism, and GIScience. He spent several years living and studying in Hyderabad, India. Broadly conceived, his research explores how colonial preconditions led to different postcolonial urban trends and challenges in South India. His MS thesis uses pixel-based remote sensing and historical-geographic analysis to understand how and why an emerging information technology sector has effected urban morphology in Hyderabad, India.
Thesis title: The Urban Morphology of Hyderabad, India: A Historical Geographic Analysis
Matthew Haffner [OSU]
PhD, May 2018
Expertise areas: urban geography, GIScience, volunteered geographic information
Matt completed his M.S. in Geography at Oklahoma State University in 2014. As an undergraduate he majored in Geography and Mathematics, completing a B.S.Ed. at Pittsburg State University in 2012. His general research interests included Urban Geography, GIScience, and the Geoweb, and his dissertation research focuses on using geolocated Twitter data to study various socio-spatial processes. He investigates the demographics and motivations of location-based social media users and also shows patterns of disparity in the United States' urban areas using data from Twitter supplemented with data from the U.S. Census. To do this, Matt uses all free, open source tools such as Bash, Python, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, and QGIS.
Dissertation title: Assessing the validity of location-based social media in the study of social processes
Dissertation publications
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Haffner, M., A.J. Mathews, E. Fekete, and G.A. Finchum. 2017. Location-based social media behavior and perception: views of university students. Geographical Review 108(2): 203-224. doi:10.1111/gere.12250
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Haffner, M. 2018. A spatial analysis of non‐English Twitter activity in Houston, TX. Transactions in GIS 22(4): 913-929. doi:10.1111/tgis.12335
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Haffner, M. 2018. A place-based analysis of #BlackLivesMatter and counter-protest content on Twitter. GeoJournal doi:10.1007/s10708-018-9919-7
Emily Ellis [OSU]
MS, May 2017
Expertise areas: GIScience, GIS and remote sensing applications, lidar
Emily completed her B.S. in Geography, Minor in Soil Science, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate from Oklahoma State in December of 2015. She began working on her M.S. the following semester. Her research interests include GIS and remote sensing applications, natural resource management, land cover/land use change, and precision agriculture. Her thesis focuses on the use of object based analysis (OBIA) with aerial imagery fused with lidar to detect urban vegetation change. Other notable projects have included work with the Geography Undergraduate Mentor’s Program, where she worked with Dr. Mathews to publish an article investigating new GIS-based methods for assessing tornado siren coverage.
Thesis title: An optimal object-based approach to identify urban vegetation and assess change: a study of Oklahoma City, 2006-2013
Thesis publication
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Ellis, E.A. and A.J. Mathews. 2018. Object-based delineation of urban tree canopy: assessing change in Oklahoma City, 2006–2013. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. doi:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2018.08.006.
