Smolksi Scholarship Visit

On September 30, members of Chet Smolski's family visited Bridgewater State College and had brunch with members of the Geography Department in the Davis Alumni Center.

Natalie Regan and Derek Ferris joined Dr. Domingo and Dr. Hayes-Bohanan in welcoming Lisa and Theresa Smolski to the campus on behalf of the department.

Dr. Chet Smolski, a graduate of the department, had a distinguished career as a geographer at Rhode Island College, but never forgot his roots at BSC.

Wishing to continue the tradition of excellence in geography at the college, the family has endowed an annual scholarship in the name of Chet and Theresa Smolksi. Students in good standing can apply for the award, beginning in the 2009-2010 academic year. Details of the scholarship will be publicized during the fall semester.

US-Brazil travel

The US-Brazil program sponsored by CAPES-FIPSE has brought a total of 11 Brazilian students to the BSC Geography Department -- and a dozen to our partners at Central Connecticut State -- over the past three years. Many of those students have taken the opportunity to explore other parts of the United States, just as U.S. participants have explored Brazil from the far south to the Amazon.

Recently, students and professors from BSC and CCSU attended the huge binational meeting of all US-Brazil programs in Washington, DC. Paulo Vela (right) turns out to be quite the photographer. He set his camera on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for this perfect shot!

It’s Geo-Fair Time Again! - Call for Judges

The 23th Annual Geography Fair will be held on Saturday November 21 2009 at the Burnell School at Bridgewater State College from 8:30 to 12.

We are seeking volunteers to serve as judges for the fair. Judges will be assigned a grade level and work in pairs to judge projects in various categories. Judges should arrive by 8:15 AM. Judging will begin at 9 AM and should be completed by 11:30.
Certificates of Excellence will be awarded in categories, such as Best Use of Themes, Best Maps, and so on.
This year’s Theme is Europe: Cultural and Physical Diversity

Contact Dr. Domingo with questions.

EarthView gathering

Just prior to Dr. Harm de Blij's exhilarating lecture on October 22, he joined department members and area teachers for a brief tour of EarthView, the department's 20-foot, inflatable globe classroom. As we expected, the energy was high as geography enthusiasts of all ages joined one of the world's foremost geographers in an exploration of this unique learning tool.

Dr. Hayes-Bohanan joined Brazilian exchange students and Dr. Francisco "Chico" Oliveira in pointing out the location of one of our partner institutions, the Universidad do Estado de Santa Catarina, on the beautiful island of Florianópolis. See the detail below for the island's location.

Following the lecture, Dr. de Blij posed with colleagues and students. From left are Dr. Paulo Soares of the Universidad Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Dr. de Blij, Julie Slys, and Ed Aucoin.

Cape Trek Coverage

Geography majors found themselves on the college home page recently, as the BSC NewsLog picked up the story of HumPhy -- the return of the department's traditional weekend field camp.

BSC WiFi Weather Network

Dr. Hellström and geography senior Derek Ferris have recently installed two automatic weather stations on campus that record measurements every half-hour and each station communicates through the BSC WiFi network.

Two stations provide daily, weekly (and eventually monthly) graphs of various weather variables on BSC Campus. The first two stations are on the Science Building Roof and near the rail in the Chapel Lot. Two more stations will be installed in coming weeks.

The system is measuring air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, precipitation, roof surface temperature, incoming solar radiation, soil moisture and soil temperature as part of on-going studies of the impact of urbanization on weather and hydrology at a local scale.

HUMPHY 2009

On October 9-11, geography students participated in Cape Trek 2009, the reinstatement of the traditional HumPhy (HUMan and PHYsical geography) field trip. We explored Cape Cod from the "shoulder" at the canal to the "fingertips" at Provincetown. We learned about tides, indigenous lands, the adaptation of plants, and identity. See Dr.Domingo's photos on Flickr.

Dr. Harm de Blij -- October 22, 2009

Class of 1942 Lecture Series
The Power of Place: Geographic Literacy and National Security
Geographer Extraordinaire

Thursday, October 22, 2009
7:00 – 8:30 PM


Moakley Center Auditorium
(refreshments served)


Where we start out--and where we grow up and live--still matters a lot. Harm de Blij sees continuing inequality, and differences between those who are privileged and those who are the world's poor. He draws on current research in human geography and demographics, as well as urban studies, to examine trends and to explain how the places where we live--and will live--will determine our future.

Author, professor and television personality Harm de Blij (pronounced duh Blay) for seven years was the popular Geography Editor on ABC's "Good Morning America.” In 1996 he joined NBC News as Geography Analyst, appearing mostly on MSNBC. He was writer of and commentator for the original PBS Series "The Power of Place." Dr. de Blij has published more than 30 books including scientific, educational, and trade titles, and over 100 articles. Currently, he is the John A. Hannah Professor of Geography at Michigan State University. He specializes in geopolitical and environmental issues, and has held named chairs at Georgetown University, Marshall University, and the Colorado School of Mines. He was appointed an Honorary Life Member of the National Geographic Society in 1994. His advocacy of Geography in the media and on the public lecture circuit has taken him to virtually all corners of the United States; his work in research, teaching, and television has spanned the globe.
For more information, contact Dr. Rob Hellström.

Coincidence? Maybe ...

Every time Dr. Hayes-Bohanan attends a cross-country meet with his daughter, the time keeper from the other school is a BSC geography graduate. So far, it has only happened twice, but 2-2 is pretty spooky.

Here 2002 graduate Sue Andrade records Paloma's time at the Mulcahey School in Taunton, where she is in her eighth year. Of course, Dr. Hayes-Boh was quick to pass on an EarthView post card, so we should be seeing more of Sue in the near future!

First Aerial Photograph

The world's first aerial photograph was taken on this date ... a few years back. Guess what year and what city, and then click to the EarthView blog for the answers and the.complete story.

Gray Seals -- HumPhy?

Whether we see the seals on our HumPhy trip or not, this article is a good example of the kind of complex geographical questions we will discuss during our Cape Trek 2009 HumPhy Field Camp.