Senate Medal Winner, Jacob Nigro, and 4th year thesis supervisor, Patricia Ballamingie, at the June Convocation 2012

Jacob Nigro, an undergraduate student from the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies received a Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement – a remarkable achievement since it requires consistently stellar performance across all years of a degree program! In fact, Jacob’s academic record is impressive. With an outstanding cumulative GPA of 11.17, Jacob has received kudos for his efforts, including 7 awards and scholarships, and has maintained a consistent presence on the Dean’s List throughout his years at Carleton.

Jacob is an outstanding representative of this department, with a major in environmental studies, and a double minor in geography and geomatics! Jacob generated an exceptional 4th year thesis, Profiling Winter Cycling in Ottawa. His supervisor, Dr. Patricia Ballamingie, glows: “I have known Jacob since I first taught him in my first year seminar, back in 2008. He has been a joy to work with. The empirical data he collected on winter bicycle ridership trends was truly impressive! Moreover, he worked both independently and collaboratively, seamlessly combined both quantitative and qualitative methods, negotiated data collection with the City of Ottawa, cycling groups, and other academic researchers (including a professor at McGill, giving his own research greater context and relevance). When I made suggestions, he took them seriously, and followed up immediately. I find his willingness to take direction (when warranted) to be a mark of true intellectual maturity.”

Jacob also gained valuable experience through a practicum with the City of Ottawa’s Strategic Planning Unit, as well as work experience at the City of Ottawa’s Transit Services Department – both of which no doubt serve to inform his future professional endeavours.

Jacob looks back on his time in the department:

“When I entered the program at Carleton, I was very interested not only in understanding the physicality of how the natural world operates, but also in examining how our modern society affects it. Through my time in the program, I learnt how humans interact with the planet, from both scientific and sociological perspectives. More importantly, I found a space within the wide field of geography that I could inhabit: understanding how people interact with their built environments. I am very intrigued as to how different aspects of our urban form affect our behaviors, and how adjustments made to these forms can cultivate tangible changes, from an environmental and social perspective.

I would specifically like to thank my supervisor Patricia Ballamingie not only for her guidance with my thesis, but also for her general advice. I would also like to thank Jill Wigle for introducing me to the concepts of spatiality and planning. Finally, I would like to thank Dan Patterson for his endless help and support within the world of GIS.”

Jacob begins a Master of Science in Planning in the Department of Geography & Planning at the University of Toronto this fall.

PCI Excellence Award Winners, l-r - Doug King, Amanada Viveen, Will Parkinson, Blair Kennedy, Kevin Jones

The PCI Geomatics Inc. awards for 2010-11 were presented to Blair Kennedy, Will Parkinson, and Amanda Viveen in recognition of their excellent work and high academic achievements in GEOG 5803 and GEOM 4003.  Blair Kennedy is a two time recipient of the award, and is currently enrolled as a graduate student, working towards obtaining his PhD;  Will Parkinson is also enrolled in the graduate program –working towards completing a Master’s degree; and Amanda Viveen is finalizing her undergraduate degree – with a specialization in Remote Sensing and GIS. All three students have worked with PCI’s Geomatica software during the course of their academic careers. Geomatica is used to teach the fundamentals of Remote Sensing and is also used in research projects and thesis work.

Congratulations to Jessica Pelow for receiving a Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement.

Jessica reflects on her time at Carleton:

While I began my degree at Carleton in a program outside of the DGES, a single course in Geography that explored the physical environment inspired me to change my focus and enrol in the Environmental Studies program as well as pursue a minor in Geography by the end of my first year. As I advanced throughout my Environmental Studies degree, the courses helped me understand the complexity of social and physical landscapes, and most importantly, always related to current issues to make each lesson practical and meaningful.

The highlight of this endeavour was the flexibility to design my own degree, by choosing only the courses that were relevant to my future goals and receiving support from professors to select research topics that were consistent with my interests. This freedom to develop my own specialty in the Environmental Studies program has been invaluable, as I now have an appropriate skill set to tackle my career of choice.

In this picture Valerie Torontow [M.Sc.] is being presented with the Master Thesis Award of Excellence which is awarded for an outstanding dissertation in the Masters Program in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies.  Presenting the award on the left is Mike Brklacich, Chair of the Department and to the right Doug King, Graduate Studies Supervisor.  Congratulations Valerie.

Congratulations to the recipients of the Douglas Fullerton Award in Urban Studies for 2010-11.  Pictured from left to right are Joshua Jacobs, Evan Edwards, Michael Gale, Alyssa Bird and Seval Cicek.

Jessie & Wreford Watson winners are awarded annually to the most outstanding students entering final year of Honours Geography.

First prize: Samantha Piquette. Thesis title: Quantification of Greenhouse Gas Flux and Net Ecosystem Exchange in Variable Ecosystems in the Daring Lake, NWT Area

Second prize: Blair Kennedy.  Thesis title: Predicting potential occurrence of Phragmites australis in Long Point, Lake Erie.

Third prize: Diana Alexander. Thesis title: The Influence of Environmental Controls on Escherichia coli, Sandbanks Provincial Park, Lake Ontario