The Department of Geography is inviting all faculty, staff, and students to participate in this year’s National Geography Awareness Week and National GIS Day activities, November 17-23, 2013.
Events throughout the week include a weather forecasting competition sponsored by the Meteorology Club, the 2nd Annual Geography Bowl (Jeopardy!) and scholarship competition, Geographic Information Science industry exhibits and interactive displays at the Ohio Union, and a presentation by Derek Van Berkel and Honshuo Wang, post-doctoral students, conducting research as part of a larger project in the Appalachia Ohio region.
Calendar of Events
Sunday, November 17-Saturday, November 23
1st Annual Forecasting Challenge
Do you have what it takes to be a meteorologist? Enter this competition and forecast high and low temperatures, wind speed, and precipitation amounts for Port Columbus International Airport (KCMH) each day of Geography Awareness Week. The person who makes the best predictions throughout the week will receive a prize! This event is open to all students, faculty, and staff at Ohio State. The deadline to register is Friday, November 15. For more information and to enter the competition, contact Mike Groenke at groenke.2@osu.edu
Monday, November 18:
Undergraduate Geography Bowl Competition – Preliminary Rounds (5-8:30 pm, Derby Hall 1080)
Think you know what Geography is all about? Test your knowledge by competing in the second annual Geography Bowl Competition! Undergraduate students will compete in teams of five for the chance to win up to $1,750 in scholarship prizes! The first place team will walk away with $1,000! There will be multiple rounds of geography bowl trivia, and at the end of competition, the four highest scoring teams will advance to Thursday night’s semi-final and championship rounds. Email Brooke Raake, Academic Advisor in the Department of Geography, for more information and to register a team: raake.5@osu.edu.
*A maximum of three team members can be Geography, Atmospheric Sciences, or GIS majors!
Tuesday, November 19:
Undergraduate Geography Bowl Competition – Semi-final and Championship Rounds (7-8:30 pm, Derby Hall 1080)
The top four highest scoring teams from Monday’s tournament rounds will advance to the semi-final and championship rounds. Scholarship prizes for first ($1,000), second ($500), and third place ($250) will be awarded. This event is open to the public, and students are encouraged to cheer on their friends! Email Brooke Raake, Academic Advisor in the Department of Geography, for more information and to register a team: raake.5@osu.edu.
*A maximum of three team members can be Geography, Atmospheric Sciences, or GIS majors!
Wednesday, November 20:
National GIS Day (8 am-6 pm, Cartoon Room, Ohio Union)
Celebrate National GIS Day with interactive stations to explore mobile GIS apps for campus, industry displays from GeoAMPS and ESRI, displays for CURA, the GIS Club, and the Kirwan Institute, and a slide show presentation about GIS that will run continuously throughout the day. Also, the GIS Club will have its final meeting for the semester from 4-6pm in the same space as the rest of the GIS Day events. Refreshments will be provided.
*This event is sponsored by OSU’s Enterprise GIS Manager in conjunction with the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis and the GIS Club.
Friday, November 22:
Geography Colloquium Series: Derek Van Berkel & Hongshuo Wang, Post-Doctoral Fellows (3:30-5 pm, Derby Hall 1080)
Dr. Van Berkel and Dr. Wang are both conducting research as part of a larger project in the Appalachia Ohio region. Derek will present on his research, “Assessing the spatial heterogeneous variation in the use, management, and plans for the forests in Appalachian Ohio”. His presentation will be followed by Dr. Wang’s research titled, “Modeling forest responses to climatic variations in the Appalachian region.” There will be time for a Q&A discussion after both presentations. For more information or to view an abstract of one or both of these research projects, contact Brooke Raake at raake.5@osu.edu.
*The Geography Colloquium Series is funded in part through the John Nelson Endowment and the alumni, faculty, and friends of the Ohio State Geography endowment.
