Dr. Christine Jocoy Earns President’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement!
Congratulations to Dr. Christine Jocoy for her well-deserved recognition earning the President’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement!
Dr. Jocoy and Dr. House-Peters published in Nature Climate Action
Jocoy, C., M. Nagel, and L. House-Peters (2025) The Promise and Perils of Transformative Urban Climate Policy in German and American Cities. Nature Climate Action.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-025-00242-5
Dr. Ocón honored for work in indigenous communities
Dr. Ocón was honored on September 28, 2024 at the annual California Native Nations LandBack Day by the Office of Mayor Karen Bass with the City of Los Angeles for his work in the Climate Vulnerability Assessment Community Partners Program. Dr. Ocón’s service focuses on building educational and professional pathways for Indigenous and Latine students, connecting them to CSULB and opportunities to engage directly with the land, supporting environmental regeneration and stewardship. “..It’s a privilege to contribute to efforts that uplift Gabrielino-Shoshone, and other regional Indigenous, knowledge…” [Photo of a hawk blessing our kiyh] [Photo of Dr. Ocón receiving a certificate from the City of LA].
Dr. Sara O’Connor kicks off International Book Tour at CSULB!
Dr. Sara O’Connor’s timely new book – Civic Activism in Authoritarian Space Urban Development Interventions in Kazakhstan – was released March 31, 2025! Dr. O’Connor kicks off an International Speaking Tour at CSULB on April 9 12:00-1:00 PM Library 305.
Julia Dowell, M.A. Featured by AAG!
Julia Dowell, a graduate of our Master of Arts program (and winner of the College of Liberal Arts 2022 Best Thesis Award) is prominently featured by the Association of American Geographers (AAG). Julia was selected to be a featured “profile of geographers”. Read about her successes!
Bridging the urban-rural divide: CSULB Geography and the River Ridge Institute
April 27-28, 2024: Students from Porterville College joined students from the Geography Department at Cal State Long Beach for an experimental restoration planting on the pasture of River Ridge Ranch.
Community college students got to meet and hang out with four-year students from “The Big City” as they collected, bundled, and prepared cottonwood and willow branches for rooting and planting. This is part of the River Ridge Institute’s “Taste of College” program that is designed to debunk the mystery of higher education for community college students in the San Joaquin Valley and explore the opportunities that are available to local youth. At the same time, urban students from CSULB got to rough it and get their hands dirty on the ranch.
Dr. Hyowon Ban introduces the Metaverse at Spring 2023 Colloquium
On April 24th, Dr. Hyowon Ban treated Geography students and faculty to her colloquium titled Practice of Geography Research and Teaching in the Metaverse. To find out more about this virtual environment that parallels the physical world, please check out Dr. Ban’s PowerPoint presentation.
Cameron Mayer MA earns Best Masters Thesis Award!
Congratulations to Cameron Mayer for being selected as the College of Liberal Arts best Masters Thesis 2023! His thesis: New West Tension and Threatened Species Protection: The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Debate in the Morongo Basin, California was chaired by Dr. Monica Argandona, with Dr. Paul Laris and Dr. Lily House-Peters as readers.
The Best masters Thesis is a very competitive and prestigious award in the College of Liberal Arts. Geography has had four winners since 2018.
2023: Cameron Mayer – New West Tension and Threatened Species Protection: The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Debate in the Morongo Basin, California
2022: Julia Rose Dowell – Taking the Temperature of Climate Change in Long Beach: Concerns and Responses of Long Beach Residents Regarding Extreme Heat and Health Impacts
2021: Andrew Siwabessy – Geologic mapping of Terra Cimmeria, Mars, and resultant implications for the Martian plate tectonics hypotheses
2018: Rebecca Jacobs – Determinants of Fire Intensity in a Mesic West Africa Savanna: A Statistical Analysis of Fire Characteristics
MSGISci Grad Anshu Pallav Is Designing Solutions for Climate Change
When Climathon
, a 24-hour global climate change challenge, came to Long Beach in October 2017, CSULB grad Anshu Pallav was more than ready to contribute. The annual event invites innovators in major cities worldwide to help humanity achieve zero fossil fuel emissions in the next 30 years. Having just earned his Master of Science in Geographic Information Science (MSGISci) degree, Pallav presented his idea for a local solution that stemmed directly from his experience in the program. For more information about Anshu’s contribution to this event, please see the CPIE News web site.
MSGISci Students Angelina Carballo and Alondra Garcia Place as Finalists in SCAG Competition
The Geography Department and the CSULB Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) are pleased to congratulate graduate students Angelina Carballo and Alondra Garcia whose GIS presentations earned them finalist ranking in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) student showcase. The SCAG student showcase is hosted by SCAG’s annual Regional Conference General Assembly and exhibits sustainability GIS story maps selected through a competitive application process. Carballo’s presentation titled “Visualizing Sustainable Transportation Choices” placed second in the completion and seeks to teach high school students about geographic information systems (GIS) and sustainable methods to commute to school. Garcia’s presentation titled “The Role of GIS in Protecting Cultural Resources” focuses on the preservation of California’s archaeological sites as part of sustainable transportation planning.
At CITT, both Carballo and Garcia contribute their GIS skills to a number of research projects including the Southern Regional workforce Development Needs Assessment for the Transportation
, the Supply Chain and Gap Analysis for the CSU Consortium, and the Caltrans Freight Academies. The 2020 student showcase marks the fourth year in a row in which a CITT research assistant has been named a finalist and the third year in a row in which a research assistant has had a top-three placement.