Geography Program Faculty
The faculty within the Geography Program have a depth and breadth of expertise that covers the United States, Alaska and the Circumpolar North. The faculty are committed to student success through teaching and research that prepare geographers to address the many challenges we now face in a globalized society, particularly from a northern perspective. Particular focus is given to the unique challenges found in Alaska.
For more information, contact the Martha Westphal.
Cary de Wit
Associate Professor of Geography,
Department Chair, Geography
Email: cwdewit@alaska.edu
Research Interests:
cultural geography, North American regional cultures, rural cultures, perceptual geography, and sense of place. Recent research interests are popular perceptions of Alaska and the expression of frontier ideology in Alaskan politics, culture, and landscape.
John Bailey
Assistant Research Professor, Exploring the Virtual Earth
Email: john.bailey@alaska.edu
Research Interests:
physical volcanology, geomorphology, application of geospatial tools, including remote sensing and Google Earth. Use of innovative technologies to promote understanding of the forms and processes of the world around us.
More information about John Bailey...
Kenneth A. Barrick
Associate Professor of Geography
Email: kabarrick@alaska.edu
Research Interests:
physical geography, environmental studies, natural resource management, nonmarket economic valuation (especially for wilderness areas), nutrient status and allocation in Rocky Mountain tree species, plant responses to extreme wind and oceanic salt spray, impacts of geothermal energy development on geysers and hot springs
Keith W. Cunningham
Research Assistant Professor of Geography/Remote Sensing
Email: wcunningham@alaska.edu
Research Interests:
light detection and ranging (LiDAR), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), geospatial modeling, carbon/biomass estimation, carbon trading market audit and assurance.
Current Research Programs:
- Remote sensing for biomass estimation
- Audit and assurance of carbon trading markets
- Feature extraction from LiDAR & SAR
- Unmanned aerial systems for remote sensing
Dan Mann
Assistant Professor of Geography
Email: dhmann@alaska.edu
Research Interests:
forest ecology, ice-age climate change, and the interactions between prehistoric humans and changing climate.
Current Research Programs:
- Studies of environmental change at the end of the last ice age on the North Slope
- Human impacts on island ecosystems in the South Pacific
- Fire history in Interior Alaska; rock-dwelling microbes in Antarctica
- Glacial history around the Gunnison Basin, Colorado
- Human adaptations to global change in the Makalu region of Nepal
- Fluvial responses to climate change during the Holocene on the Southern High Plains
Dave Verbyla
Professor of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Natural Resources
Email: dlverbyla@alaska.edu
Research Interests:
GIS technology for resource inventory and climate change studies, integrating remote sensing and GIS for regional analysis, support for spatial analysis using GIS
Current Research Programs:
Alaska land cover change, MODIS products evaluation, bonanaza creek long term ecological research (LTER)