Geography and GIS

An SIUE-led research team is taking a statewide look at what lingers in the tap—measuring and mapping potential contaminants in Illinois drinking water using advanced chemical and geospatial analysis. The initiative, “Sustaining Illinois through Safe Drinking Water for All: A Detailed Chemical and Geospatial Analysis of Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Contaminates in Drinking Water Across Illinois” brings together faculty and students from Southern Illinois University Edwardsvi...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has announced the 2025 recipients of the Seed Grants for Transitional and Exploratory Projects (STEP), a prestigious internal funding initiative that supports faculty members pursuing bold, early-stage research and creative activity. Eleven scholars representing a wide range of disciplines were selected for their innovative proposals, each offering new directions for scholarship, discovery or practice.

Funded through the Office of Research and Projects,...

Recently, URCA student and third year environmental science major Emma Prott spent time on the Rio Grande along with Adriana Martinez, PhD, Full Professor in Geography & GIS and Environmental Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Martinez is continuing her research along the Texas border, and enlisted the assistance of Prott who joined Martinez during the November holiday break. Prott is currently Martinez’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) assist...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s surveying and geomatics program has raised $520,000 to market their program to high school students. The four-year bachelor’s program is new to SIUE and is a collaboration between the School of Engineering (SOE) and the Department of Geography and Geographic Information Sciences.

This program has a strong advisory board comprised of corporate and professional leaders in the field.  The degree program is the only one of its kind with...

The American Association of Geographers (AAG) held its 2024 elections and winning one of two open seats on the six-member National Council is Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Adriana E. Martinez, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Geography and Geographic Information Sciences (GIS), and in the Department of Environmental Sciences.

In her role on the AAG national board, Martinez will serve a three-year term with the overall goals of the association to advance geograph...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville extreme weather expert Alan W. Black, PhD, assistant professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Geography and Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) is hosting storm spotter training in Morris University Center (MUC) Mississippi/Illinois Room, Wednesday, February 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free parking will be available in Lot B starting at 6pm. The event is free and open to the public.  

“Spotter training is ...

Along the Rio Grande located at the United States-Mexico border sits Eagle Pass, Tx, hometown of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Adriana Martinez, PhD. Martinez, an associate professor in geography and environmental sciences, has spent years researching the impact of border security, and most recently, the effectiveness of large buoys installed on the river by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. As Martinez captured in a photograph on her recent research trip, migrants traveling t...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Adriana E. Martinez, PhD, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Departments of Geography and Geographic Information Sciences and Environmental Sciences, participated in the River-based ImmersiVe Education & Research (RIVER) Field Studies Network river rendezvous this summer along the San Juan River in southern Utah.

“The RIVER Rendezvous was a great opportunity to further develop my skills regarding field education...

Geography students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville enhanced their knowledge of meteorology and climatology with a unique learning experience through storm chasing. Students and faculty traveled over 3,000 miles in six days tracking and chasing storms in Oklahoma and Texas as part of the GEOG 429 Storm Chasing and Assessment field course.

“The course consists of several days of classroom instruction on severe weather forecasting and storm spotting, and then the field compone...

When College of Arts and Sciences senior Samantha Gallatin, of Machesney Park, came to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, she wanted to become a secondary education biology teacher.

After joining the GEOPATHS Scholars Program, however, her interests shifted toward geography, and she became inspired in pursuing a career as a researcher and professor at the collegiate level. The GEOPATHS Scholars Program is funded by the National Science Foundation and is designed to increase awareness of...