Source: Richard Marston, 785-532-6727, rmarston@k-state.edu
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
NOTED GEOGRAPHER STEVE WALSH TO SPEAK AT K-STATE
MANHATTAN -- Steve Walsh, a professor of geography at the University of North Carolina, will present "Land Use Dynamics and Drivers of Change Along the Equator" at 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 28, in the K-State Student Union's Little Theater at Kansas State University.
The presentation is free and open to the public.
Walsh's recent research examines coupled human-natural systems and land use/cover dynamics in the frontier environment of the northern Ecuadorian Amazon, the Galapagos Islands and in the rural Nang Rong district of Thailand. This research recognizes that at local, regional and global scales, land use change is significantly altering land cover, perhaps at an accelerating pace. This transformation of the Earth's surface, particularly through deforestation, agricultural extensification, secondary forest succession and urbanization, is linked to a variety of scientific and policy issues articulated by such international organizations as the International Human Dimensions Program and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program.
Walsh is a respected scholar in the general areas of geographic information sciences, remote sensing and spatial analysis, particularly as applied to problems in understanding land use/land cover changes. His work earned Association of American Geographers Honors in 2001 for distinguished scholarship. This recognition is awarded only once or twice a year and involves a rigorous nomination and review process. He also received a 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Eastern Division of the Association of American Geographers.
Walsh has been the principal or co-principal investigator on more than 100 grants and contracts that total more than $20.5 million. The grants have been awarded by NASA, U.S. Geological Survey, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Mellon Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers and many more. The findings from his research have been published in 125 refereed journal articles.
In addition, Walsh is the author or co-author of 32 book chapters; the editor or co-editor of eight books and monographs; and has presented more than 200 papers and posters. He has served as an officer in the Association of American Geographers' remote sensing and geographic information systems specialty groups. He also has served on the editorial board of leading journals and is often used as a panelist by the National Science Foundation.