AREAS OF GRADUATE SPECIALIZATION

We offer four fields of specialization: Environmental and Resource Management, Environmental Science, Geomatics and Human Geography. No doubt in all disciplines, but especially in one like Geography which consciously espouses the integration of sub-areas, it is no easy matter to categorize individual faculty by fields of specialization. The approach taken below is to place faculty into the field which best describes their primary research interests. Each faculty member is normally identified only once as "core", but may appear elsewhere in the category of "other." We believe that this classification best represents the true strengths of the Program in the different fields, while also demonstrating the breadth and depth of experience on which students can draw.

Environmental and Resource Management

Core Faculty: Armitage, Deadman, Doberstein, Hanna, B. Mitchell, Parker, D. Scott, Slocombe, Wall, Wandel (10 faculty)

Other Faculty: Andrey, Byrne, Carmichael, Cukier, DeLoe, Doherty, J. Kay Guelke, Imort, Wolfe (9 faculty)
A wide range of topics are well supported by faculty interests. These include policy formulation and evaluation, sustainable development, and environmental management (Armitage, Deadman, Doberstein, Hanna, B. Mitchell, Slocombe); conservation (Armitage, Doberstein, B. Mitchell); water resources (Doberstein, B. Mitchell, Wolfe); energy resources (Doherty, Parker); protected areas (Doberstein, Hanna, D. Scott, Slocombe); and provincial and national parks (Byrne, D. Scott, Slocombe, Wall, Wolfe); recreation (Carmichael, Deadman, D. Scott, Wall); tourism (Carmichael, Cukier, D. Scott, McBoyle, Wall); climate change impacts and environmental and social adaptation (Andrey, Armitage, McBoyle, Parker, D. Scott); environmental impact assessment (Armitage, Doberstein, Hanna); and natural and human-induced hazards (Andrey, Doberstein, Doherty).

Environmental Science

Core faculty: Byrne, Duguay, English, Hamilton, LeDrew, Macrae, Petrone, Price, Quinton, Saunderson, Slocombe, Stone, Warner, Wolfe (14 faculty)

Other faculty: Brenning, Kelly, , Saini, D. Scott (4 faculty)
This field is concerned with ecosystem characteristics and processes and the movement of mass (materials, water, carbon and nutrients) and energy among the hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. Faculty are interested in coastal geomorphology (Byrne, Irvine) glacial and glacio-fluvial geomorphology (Saunderson), as well as ecosystem science and management (Slocombe). Both field studies and modelling occur in the areas of hydrology and water chemistry (English, Price, Quinton, Saunderson, Stone, Warner, Wolfe). There are major strengths in cold regions research (English, Petrone, Warner, Wolfe) in cryosphere research (Brenning, Duguay, Kelly), and in wetland studies (English, Petrone, Price, Quinton, Stone, Warner, Wolfe). In climatology there is an emphasis on climatic change and its effects (D. Scott, Duguay, Hamilton, LeDrew, Wolfe). Applied aspects of physical geography are emphasized (Byrne, Hamilton, Price, Stone, Warner, Wolfe).

Geomatics

Core Faculty: Boots, Brenning, Deadman, Dudycha, Feick, B. Hall, Li, Kelly, LeDrew, Roberts, Sharpe (11 faculty)

Other faculty: Byrne, Doherty, Hamilton, Price (4 faculty)

Sixteen faculty provide coverage of all facets of spatial data handling from acquisition by remote sensing (Byrne, Irvine, Kelly, LeDrew, Li), aerial photography (Byrne, Irvine), and global positioning systems (Byrne, Doherty); through storage, manipulation, display and modelling by geographic information systems (Boots, Brenning, Byrne, Deadman, Dudycha, Feick, B. Hall, Li, Sharpe) and cartography (Dudycha). In addition, there is research on spatial pattern analysis and spatial applications of multivariate statistical procedures (Boots, Brenning, Doherty, Dudycha, Roberts), spatial optimization and spatial data models (Roberts), decision support systems (Hall, Feick), and computer modelling and simulation (Deadman, Li).

Human Geography

Core Faculty: Andrey, Bunting, Bates, Blay-Palmer,Carmichael, Cukier, Decker, Doherty, Imort, C. Mitchell, Parker, S. Scott, Sharpe, Vinodrai, Wall, Walton-Roberts (16 faculty)

Other faculty: Byrne, Dudycha, Feick, B. Hall, D. Scott, Hanna (6 faculty)

Faculty in the field of Human Geography offer a broad and interdisciplinary program that can be characterised by its investigation of a wide range of human/society dynamics and methodologies, as well as geographic thought and education. Specialisations include: the changing urban form of the Canadian city (Bunting), spatial behaviour and human activity patterns (Doherty), transportation and road safety (Andrey, Doherty), immigration and population (Walton-Roberts), ethnicity, gender and cultural transformation (Bates, Walton-Roberts), geographies of health and disease (Decker), urban planning and governance (Bunting), and historical heritage and landscape studies (Decker). Other specialisations include international economic development (S. Scott), global trade and energy (Parker), local labour markets and changing work arrangements (Andrey, Bates), local and community economic development (Parker, Sharpe), development and socioeconomic implications (Bates, C. Mitchell), tourism planning, marketing and management (Carmichael, Cukier, Wall), casino tourism, resident attitudes toward tourism, wine tourism (Carmichael), the history of geographic and environmental thought (Decker, Imort), and geographic methodologies, geographic education (Andrey, Byrne, Sharpe).

Faculty in Human Geography have interests in several world regions (Canada, Caribbean, SE Asia, Latin America, China, Europe), and conduct research that involves all specialisations and intersects with other fields in the program (i.e. Environmental and Resource Management, Environmental Science, and Geomatics).