A key element of the mission of the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University—and an objective of many researchers across the University—is to better understand our environment and the issues and processes that bring about change.
Researchers in our Department of Geography primarily study patterns of climates, landforms, vegetation, soils, water and people. They use many tools and techniques in their work including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and online mapping such as Google Earth. They partner and collaborate with researchers at other institutions and local, state, and federal government agencies.
For Timothy Assal, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Geography, all these tools and techniques come together in the multi-institutional projects on which he works. His most recent project, “Vulnerability of lower-ecotone aspen forests to altered fire regimes and climate dynamics in the northern Great Basin” (a three-year $299,842 total award with $89,600 going to Kent State) is funded by the Northwest Climate Adaption Science Center. This collaboration includes the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Boise, Idaho, Utah State University, and the United States Bureau of Land Management. The Great Basin includes parts of Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and Utah.