Courses I Currently Teach
SSCI 265: The Water Planet
An exploration of earth’s water, ranging from water properties, chemistry, and pollution, to groundwater dynamics, watershed processes, and oceanic-atmospheric circulation. Implications for past and future societies. Lecture and laboratory.
SSCI 397: Spatial Sciences Internship
Intensive experience in local public agency, private firm, or nonprofit agency engaged in applied geospatial analysis, modeling and mapping work.
SSCI 578: The Practice of Geospatial Leadership
The geospatial value proposition and the qualities and skills leaders will need to help their geospatial information management groups and organizations achieve success.
SSCI 600: The Geography of Life and Death
Meaning and significance of place and role of social, natural, and built environments in disease occurrence in different places and populations.
SSCI 601b: Population, Health and Place Research Practicum
The use of population science, public health, and spatial science theory and practice to advance our understanding of one or more aspects of human well-being.
Post-Doctoral Fellows & Visiting Scholars Directed
2021-2022 Meijie Chen, School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
2019-2021 Shanshan Liu, School of Architecture, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, China
2018-2019 Dr. Leilei Duan, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
2018-2019 Lili Zhang, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
2015-2017 Dr. Loraine A. Escobedo, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
2015-2017 Dr. Noli Brazil, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
2012-2015 Dr. KyoHyouk Kim, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
2011-2012 Dr. Yumin Chen, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (Visiting Scholar, Center for Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China)
2007-2008 Dr. Jingfen Sheng, Department of Geography, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
2006-2007 Dr. Zaria Tatalovich, Department of Geography, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
2004-2005 Dr. Rania Bou Kheir, Department of Geography, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (Visiting Fulbright Scholar; Research Scientist, National Center for Remote Sensing, Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research, Beirut, Lebanon)
1992-1993 Dr. Victor Wu, Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana
Dissertations & Theses Directed
Current
Avery Rose Everhart, Population, Health and Place Ph.D. Program, University of Southern California. Dissertation title: Contested care, contingent community: Placing US transgender health care in the global context through a rights-based approach to health. (Co-advisor with Dr. Laura Ferguson, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California).
Leo Lerner, Population, Health and Place Ph.D. Program, University of Southern California. Dissertation title: To what extent can wicked problems of health and place be addressed through clumsy solutions? Three experiments in redistributing networks of knowledge production. (Co-advisor with Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California).
Cari Porter, M.S. Geographic Information Science and Technology Program, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Place-based flood vulnerability in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region.
Mengya Xu, Population, Health and Place Ph.D. Program, University of Southern California. Dissertation title: Availability, diversity, and structure of the retail food environment and associated disparities in Los Angeles County. (Co-advisor with Dr. Kayla de la Haye, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California).
Yan Xu, Population, Health and Place Ph.D. Program, University of Southern California. Dissertation title: Personal PM2.5 exposure assessment of low-income Hispanic pregnant women in Los Angeles. (Co-advisor with Dr. Rima Habre, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California).
Li Yi, Population, Health and Place Ph.D. Program, University of Southern California. Dissertation title: Investigating daily effects of activity space-based built environment exposures on energy-balance behaviors in low-income Hispanic women of childbearing age. (Co-advisor with Dr. Genevieve Dunton, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California).
2021
Cirenia Torres, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Assessing the connectivity for the jaguar (Panthera onca) in the United States-Mexico border ecoregions using species distribution modeling and factorial least cost path analysis
Devin Thomas, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Designing a flood early warning system web mapping application for the Atlanta Metropolitan Area (Co-advisor with Dr. Jennifer Bernstein, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California).
Andre McClure, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Suitable locations for affordable housing to accommodate low income residents in the Cities of Bakersfield, Los Angeles, and Palmdale, California (Co-advisor with Dr. Jennifer Bernstein, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California).
John Smith, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Multi-criteria site selection for innovative wind turbine adoption in an urban environment (Co-advisor with Dr. Jennifer Bernstein, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California).
Drew Vagen, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Site suitability analysis for implementing tidal technology in southern California (Co-advisor with Dr. Jennifer Bernstein, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California).
2019
Jason Martin, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Environmental niche modeling to predict the spread of Spanish broom in the Angeles National Forest.
Monicque Lee, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Defining neighborhood for health research in Arizona.
2018
Monika Burchette, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Improving wetland determination utilizing unmanned aerial systems.
James Potter, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Collecting and managing VGI infrastructure assessment in support of stability operations.
Brandon Brooks, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Student engagement capabilities in mobile GIS: A framework for mobile GIS education.
Christine Placencia, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Spatial analysis of vision services of Kaiser Permanente members.
2017
Quentina Borgic, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Stone tool raw material distribution and predictability study in southern Illinois.
Shannon Prescott, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Using geospatial technology to establish marsh bird monitoring sites for a pilot study in Maine in accordance with the National Marsh Bird Monitoring Program.
Charles M. Hall, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Examining data sources and classification methods used in food access studies: Investigating volunteered geographic information as an adjunct to traditional data.
Steven Warner, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: A geographical assessment of the Santa Monica Mountains North Area Community Standards District Vineyard Ordinance.
Shanna Bressie, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Spatial patterns of food accessibility across Lane County, Oregon in 2015-2016.
2016
Christian Alvez, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Modeling prehistoric paths in Bronze Age northeastern England.
Brendan Blee, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Creating a geodatabase and web map application to visualize drone legislation in the State of Maryland.
Krista McPherson, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Assessing the impact of a web-based GIS application to promote earthquake preparation on the University of Southern California University Park camp.
Bennett Gaumitz, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Precision agriculture and GIS: Evaluating the use of yield maps combined with LiDAR data.
Alex Schild, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Archaeological least cost path modeling: A behavioral study of Bronze Age travel routes across the Amanus Mountains, Turkey.
Nathan Nowak, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Species distribution modeling of sperm whale habitat within the central Gulf of Alaska utilizing passive acoustic modeling.
Brian McDonald, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Dasymetric mapping of building stocks within HAZUS-FL.
Colin Mattison, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Does the Bay area have a social center? Delimiting the postmodern urban center of the San Francisco Bay area.
Joanne Seo, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: An evaluation of Esri’s Tapestry Segmentation product in three southern California communities: Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica, and Venice Beach.
Valerie Anderson, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Historical ecology of the Split Oak forest in east central Florida.
2015
Valerie Anderson, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Historical ecology of the Split Oak forest in east central Florida.
Audra Smolek, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Spatial distribution of the greater sage grouse (Centrocerus urophasianus) in the Powder River basin, northeastern Wyoming.
Wayne Chien, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Geospatial analysis of the Round Fire: Adapting the dNBR to the Sierra Nevada region of California.
David Staffel, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis title: Cartography for visualizing anthropogenic threats: A semiotic approach to communicating threat information in 3D spatial models.
Annabel Lee Enriquez, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: A contributory web-based application for documenting historic places: French colonial era art deco architecture in Hanoi.
Kaveh Shahabi, Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Scalable evacuation routing in dynamic environments.
Kathy Ulloa, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Exploring the relationship between urban forests and ethnicity in West Covina using GIS and object-based image analysis.
Jenni Dorsey-Spitz, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Modeling contamination of groundwater on Mountain Home, Idaho using the DRASTIC method.
Charles Hanley, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Using VHR multispectral imagery and object-based extraction to discover vernal meadows through vegetative persistence at Fort Ord, California.
Reina Kahn, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Geospatial analysis of unintended casualties during combat training, Fort Drum, New York.
Chad Johnson, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Site location suitability analysis for a smart grid network.
2014
Evan Lue, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California
Dissertation Title: Defining the Geospatial Needs of an Ubiquitous Disaster Relief Organization
Jennifer Johnson, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
Thesis Title: Firing Ranges and Social Capital: Spatial Analysis of Social Capital in Houston, Texas
Andrew Isner, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
Thesis Title: Habitat Suitability Modeling of Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) in Gila National Forest, New Mexico
Trinka Gillis, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
Thesis Title: Use of Remotely Sensed Imagery to Map Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthora Ramorum) in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Joshua Harrell, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
Thesis Title: An Evaluation of Soil Sampling Methods in Support of Precision Agriculture in Northeastern North Carolina
Elisabeth Sedano, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Consuming Landscape, Consuming Machine: State, Capital, and Outdoor Advertising in Los Angeles
Amanda Laur, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
Thesis Title: Modeling the Spatio-Temporal Variability of Solar Radiation on Buildings: A Case Study of Lewis Hall
2013
Amanda Gray, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
Thesis Title: Spatial Delineation of Market Areas: A Proposed Approach
Trang VoPham, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
Thesis Title: Integrating Landsat and California Pesticide Exposure Estimation at Aggregated Spatial Scales: Accuracy Assessment of Rurality
2012
Parisa Ghaemi, Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Generalized Optimal Location Planning
Stephen Gervais, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Out-of-School Suspensions by Home Neighborhood: A Spatial Analysis of Student Suspensions in the San Bernardino City Unified School District
Jeffry Harrison, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Onshore Wind Power Systems (ONSWPS): A GIS-Based Tool for Preliminary Site-Suitability Analysis
Holly MacGillivray, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Spatiotemporal Patterns of Salt and Nutrient Contamination in Los Angeles County’s Groundwater Basins
Su Jin Lee, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Effects of Home Modifications and Municipal Policies on Green Cover in Los Angeles County
2011
Kevin Kelly, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Different Geographic Representations of Middle America
Thao Nyugen, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Uncertainty in Geomorphometry
2010
Teri L Mooney, M.S., Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Predicting Hydromantes Shastae Occurrences in Shasta County, California
Daniel W. Goldberg, Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Spatial Approaches to Reducing Error in Geocoded Data
Christina Q. Li, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Neighborhood Greenspace’s Impact on Residential Property Values: Assessing the Role of Spatial Effects
2007
Jingfen Sheng, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Evaluating Hydroclimatic Systems across Large Metropolitan Regions
Chona E. Sister, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Park and Open Space Resources in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Region: Who Gets What, Where?
2006
Zaria Tatalovich, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Spatio-Temporal Modeling of Risk
2005
Graeme Aggett, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Advanced Geospatial Technologies Applied to Gravel Bed River Mapping and Modeling
Yongxin X. Deng, Ph.D., Geography, University of Southern California. Dissertation Title: Evaluating Input Data for DEM-based Environmental Analysis and Classification
2004
Christine S. Lam, M.S., Geography, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Comparison of Flow Routing Algorithms Used in Geographic Information Systems
2002
Julie R. Eurek, M.S., Geography, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Modeling Recreational Boat Traffic on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
2001
Yan Xu, M.A., Geography, University of Southern California. Thesis Title: Spatial Predictions of Population Growth and Habitat Change in the Santa Monica Mountain Area, California
1999
Linda E. Gillett, M.S., Geography, Montana State University
Thesis Title: The Use of NDVI to Characterize Drought in the Northern Great Plains, 1988-1993
1998
Ute Langner, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: GIS-based Crop Yield and Soil Productivity Modeling
1996
Jonathan M. Wheatley, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: Using Terrain Attributes to Assist Remote Sensing Vegetation Mapping of Northern
Sara T. Stillman, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: A Comparison of Three Automated Precipitation Simulation Models: ANUSPLIN, MTCLIM-3D, and PRISM
Philip L. Repetto, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation: Estimation at the Landscape Scale Using GIS
1995
Damian J. Spangrud, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: Sensitivity of Selected Soil and Terrain Attributes to Variations in the Number and Pattern of Input Data
1994
Douglas L. Wittren, M.S., Geography, Montana State University, Thesis Title: A Viewshed Information System for Mountain Resort Areas
Wendi A. Urie, M.S., Geography, Montana State University, Thesis Title: Environmental Factors Influencing Recreational Trail Condition
1993
Janelle K. Jersey, M.S., Soil Science, Montana State University. Thesis Title: Assessing the Vegetation and Hydrologic Characteristics of a Semi-arid Environment Using Geographic Information Systems and Terrain-based Models (Co-Advisor with J.S. Jacobsen)
1991
Joseph P. Seney, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: Erosional Impact of Hikers, Horses, Off-Road Bicycles, and Motorcycles on Mountain Trails
1990
John C. Pings, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: Spatial Variability of Soil Redistribution Processes in a Small Agricultural Watershed
1989
Kristen E. S. Gerhart, M.S., Geography, Montana State University. Thesis Title: Evaluating the Performance of the Soil Productivity Index Model in Cascade County, Montana
1988
John H. Ruth, M.S., Geology, Montana State University. Thesis Title: An Assessment of Streambank Erosion along the North Fork Flathead River