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Geographers are adventurers

Mark Bjelland — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:24:05 +0000

13 Geography students spent January 2009 on a January term course led by Dr. Bjelland entitled “City Planning in the United Kingdom.” Four of those students were geography majors and the rest came from fields such as political science, management, education, and environmental studies. In looking back through trip photos, Dr. Bjelland noticed that the four students who took a January swim in the English Channel all happened to be geography majors. There must be something crazy and adventurous in being a geography major.

: January swim in England.

: Lulworth Cove, England

GIS Day

Anna Versluis — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:47:55 +0000

Today is GIS day–Geographic Information Science/Systems/Studies day, that is. The Geography Club is hosting GIS demos in the Campus Center. Stop by and check it out! Don’t worry, that bearded guy only looks crazy. . .

Geographers are Adventurers

Mark Bjelland — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:58:20 +0000

January swim in England.

Lulworth Cove, England

Dr. Douglas: Pioneer of Service-Learning at Gustavus

Anna Versluis — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:15:22 +0000

Geography Professor Bob Douglas has long been a proponent of service-learning. His World Regional Geography students participate in tutoring for English-language learners who have immigrated to Minnesota from around the world. Prof. Douglas was featured in this Gustavian Weekly article. “You don’t have to go to Africa to study Somali culture or Sudanese culture or to gain insight into what’s going on,” Douglas says. “There’s a whole local way of learning about foreign cultures in a service learning capacity.”

Geography Club: Trivia tonight!

Anna Versluis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:49:43 +0000

Join the Geography Club for trivia today, Nov 10, from 5-7 pm in the Map Library of Nobel Hall. Come for food, fun and fascinating facts!

Infrared Photography Helps Students Understand Satellite Images

Mark Bjelland — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:23:36 +0000

Geography students sometimes struggle to understand infrared images which are increasingly used in satellite imagery. Mark Bjelland has a Sony cybershot camera modified for infrared photography and took the pictures shown here on September day. Digital cameras are sensitive to near infrared and come equipped with a hot mirror to remove the infrared. It was converted for IR use by removing the hot mirror and adding a filter that only allows 50% of the visible light to enter. Vegetation appears bright white in infrared photos because actively growing plants are highly reflective of near infrared radiation.

Infrared photograph of Old Main at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Mark Bjelland’s new book is out!

Anna Versluis — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:52:50 +0000

Prof. Mark Bjelland’s new Human Geography textbook has been published and is now available! Congratulations, Mark!

Prof. Bjelland at professional meeting

Anna Versluis — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:21:49 +0000

Dr. Mark Bjelland is in Denver, Colorado attending the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. He is presenting a research paper titled “Urban Change and Congregational Diversity: A Study of Lutherans in Minneapolis.”

Nobel Conference Banquet

Anna Versluis — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:06:12 +0000

Geographers attended Dr. Will Graf's talk on rivers, dams and wildlife at this year's Nobel Conference Banquet at Gustavus. From left to right: Anna Versluis (Geography Professor), Mark Bjellend (Chair of the Nobel Conference, Chair of the Geography Department), Andrew Byron (Senior Geography Major), Will Graf (Nobel Conference Speaker, Endowed Professor at the University of South Carolina), and Matt Lindholm (Senior Geography Major).

Dr. Robert Moline Speaks at Augustana 60th Anniversary Symposium

Mark Bjelland — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:06:32 +0000

Dr. Robert Moline will present a talk, “The Colorado River: Many Uses, Major Problems,” at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois on Friday October 16th. The Augustana College Geography Department is celebrating their 60th anniversary with a two-day symposium featuring their alumni as speakers on topics including water resources, environmental and urban planning, business geography, geographic education, climate change and geographic names.