K-State Geography and Geospatial Sciences Graduate Students

Jean Ribert Francois

The year 2024 was both intense and filled with a mix of wonders and challenges. Our family faced a difficult situation over the last summer when our youngest daughter had an accident, which required significant time and effort to secure care and make necessary adjustments.

Thankfully, everything is now under control. On a brighter note, we also experienced some excitement, particularly during the holiday season, when we spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve driving through downtown Manhattan and two neighboring cities to enjoy the beautiful light displays.

Academically, I made significant progress in my Ph.D. program at K-State. I had three papers published, including the first chapter of my dissertation. I finalized two additional projects, both now under review, including my second dissertation chapter. I also made substantial progress on my third dissertation chapter, which is now ready for submission to a journal. I successfully completed my two-year research grant funded by the North Central SARE program and participated in several outreach activities, particularly engaging with farmers and elementary students. More great news! I gained valuable initial teaching experience in an academic setting through my TA appointment this past fall. I am excited to begin this year, which I hope will be my final one in grad school.

Colleen Gura

Colleen Gura has been at Kansas State University as both a student and now a faculty member since 2014. She joined the Geology Department as a teaching assistant professor in August of 2021 while finishing her Ph.D. in Geography and Geospatial Science at K-State. She has a Master’s in Geology (2016) and a B.S. in Secondary Education, Earth Science (2004) also from K-State. Between her B.S. and Master’s, she spent 10 years teaching various science courses at Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, NC. At K-State, she teaches the introductory courses, is the undergraduate advisor, and is the GTA instructional mentor.

Her dissertation research centers around weathering processes and how they operate on both rock and soil. She is especially focused on the impacts of both physical and chemical weathering processes and their spatial variation on hillslope evolution, weathering rates, the associated rock layer fracture networks, and the geochemistry of weathered minerals.

 My father was in the US Army so we moved around a lot while I was growing up so Fayetteville, North Carolina is the closest thing I have to a hometown. It is where I finished high school and where I returned to teach when I taught high school.

Ifeoma Okonye

"I am from South-South Nigeria (Delta State) but grew up in Lagos State, a vibrant and diverse megacity in South-West Nigeria known for its economic significance and rich cultural heritage.

I am a second-year Master's student in the Department of Geography at Kansas State University and a Graduate Research Assistant at the Geographic Information Systems Spatial Analysis Laboratory (GISSAL).

My research focuses on spatial and temporal variations in Whooping Crane (Grus americana) stopover habitat preferences along the Kansas Migratory Flyway. Using remote sensing GIS, and machine learning techniques, I analyze habitat suitability and how it changes over space and time. My work is funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and I plan to complete my program by Spring 2025."

Michael Madin

I am a Ph.D. Candidate at the Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences at Kansas State University. I was raised in rural Sabonjida (a farming community) in Northern Ghana.

I find it is always a relentless passion and joy to conduct academic research in agrarian settings, particularly in my efforts to contribute toward solving the challenges I faced growing up.

My research focuses on climate variability, environmental justice, and agriculture and their intersections with social identities, community resilience, social justice, sustainability, and adaptations using interdisciplinary geospatial methods. I also have a secondary research interest in advancing research that addresses the impact of environmental challenges on natural resource security, particularly seed and food insecurity, using political ecology. I enjoy reading and playing soccer.

Neda Mohamadzadeh

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Geography and Environmental Studies at Kansas State University, where my research focuses on developing a high-resolution soil moisture dataset using satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques to enhance water resource management and wildfire prevention. Over the past two years, I have presented my research at prestigious conferences such as AAG and AGU and authored and co-authored peer-reviewed publications in leading remote sensing journals. During my Ph.D. program, I spent three months working in the Soil Water Lab, conducting laboratory experiments and fieldwork to deepen my understanding of soil physics, an essential component of my research. Additionally, as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for GIS courses, I help students develop technical expertise in spatial analysis and mentor undergraduate researchers through the Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) Fellowship.

I hold a bachelor's degree in Urbanism Engineering and a master’s in urban and Regional Planning. My passion for GIS and remote sensing began while working as an urban planner and GIS analyst in my home country, Iran, where I applied spatial analysis to support sustainable urban and regional planning. This experience motivated me to pursue advanced studies and refine my technical expertise. Throughout my Ph.D. program, I have taken specialized training and coursework to earn a Graduate GIS Certificate and gained hands-on experience as a GIS and Remote Sensing Analyst intern at INTERA Incorporated. In this role, I contributed to INTERA’s water resource management projects by conducting land cover analysis, soil moisture monitoring, and data analysis, leveraging Google Earth Engine, ArcGIS Pro, and Python programming. Through research, mentorship, and professional experience, I aim to apply geospatial techniques to support data-driven decision-making in environmental studies.

Ryan Nilsson

I’m Ryan Nilsson, a Master’s of Geography student here at Kansas State University. I moved to Kansas from Wellington, Florida. My research is focused on the spatial analysis of drone command and control centers for the purpose of logistics and emergency response.

I aim to show how taking into account geographical features can benefit the effective placement of these centers and increase a drone’s effectiveness.

Shreya Ohja

The year 2024 began on a strong note. In May 2024, I successfully developed and presented my research proposal to my committee. Under the guidance of my advisor, Dr. Audrey Joslin, I worked on building a DDRI proposal for conducting fieldwork. I recognize this as an invaluable experience that deepened my understanding about grant writing, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with Dr. Joslin.

After three years of dedicated work as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, I was extremely honored to receive the White Geography TA Excellence Award for the first time. It is one thing to be told that your research matters, but it is another to be formally recognized for it. Through the funds I received from the Steven Kale Fellowship and the Hartington Family Award, I was able to spend two weeks in Boulder, Colorado, during the summer to collect data for my project. Time in field is what I enjoy a lot and I tried my best to make the most of my visit. I got the chance to engage with several key informants and attended public events that were centered on educating residents about wildfire adaptation. A highlight of my field work was volunteering with a nonprofit organization to learn about natural ways of aiding wildfire resilience in the Rocky Mountain forests. This hands-on experience allowed me to work alongside ecologists to prepare a creek for beaver reintroduction in St. Vrain’s watershed, which supplies water to the city of Longmont in Boulder County, Colorado.

On a personal level, 2024 has been a whirlwind. My transition as a new military spouse has been rough, but I continue to embrace ‘being resilient’ as my best friend. I look forward to making significant progress in my research in 2025.

Michael Pegg

My name is Michael Pegg and I am currently a graduate student in the department of Geography at Kansas State. I am originally from St. Louis, but have moved around a lot since my father was in the military.

I did my undergrad here at K-State in Agricultural Technology Management. I fell in love with GIS and ArcGIS Pro during my undergrad, so that’s why I decided to pursue a masters degree in Geography. Currently my research is located in Ukraine working on how vegetation change has been affected by the war with Russia. We have been conducting a BFAST (Breaks for Additive Season and Trend) analysis of Ukraine from 2001-2023 and 2018-2023. This BFAST analysis uses MODIS EVI imagery to show if there is positive, stable, or negative vegetation change. I have also been working on developing a statistical model to see if explosions, temperature, precipitation, or soil type have been impacting the BFAST trend line.

Denise Reyes Chavez

I am from a country with strong coffee, and beautiful landscapes.

I am from the Pacific Ocean and the Andes.

I am from ‘La Perla’, the port city in Ecuador.

I am Denise, and I am missing home.

Research topics: Human-environmental interactions, public health, climate events, and adaptive capacity

What a year! It’s been a year full of lessons, and I know I’ll say the same thing about this year. This is my third year in the Ph.D. program. Last November, I became a candidate - something that truly took a village to accomplish. I’m deeply honored and grateful to have such amazing faculty in my corner who’ve guided me, especially as life has its way of doing its thing (Shoutout to Dr. Moley, Dr. Nelson, Dr. Paul, Dr. Bradford, Dr. Lin, Dr. Martin, and so many other mentors).

There’s still so much to do, and I’m excited to push my research forward. My dissertation focuses on assessing adaptive capacity, bringing in often overlooked aspects of human agency at the individual level. Beyond my dissertation, I’m also researching health inequities and disease prevalence.

On the career front, I’m working to network in the fields of natural hazards, and public health, as to better define the path I want to take once graduation comes my way. Personally, this year is about getting to know myself a little better. I sometimes feel like I’ve been caught in a hamster wheel, but now that I’m aware, I remind myself to stop, breathe, and reset. I’m focusing on being kind to myself and ensuring a better work-life balance.

So, as you go about your day, I hope you remember to do the same. Stop. Take a deep breath. Don’t forget to live.

Clay Robertson

I am a PhD candidate studying fluvial geomorphology with Dr. Abigail Langston. Specifically I use a combination of field work, chronological dating techniques, and flume experience to better understand the evolution of bedrock river valleys.

Caroline Ruto

Coming from Kenya, where I worked with pastoralist communities, I’ve always been curious about how people produce food in the most marginal areas and sustain their livelihoods.

Moving to the U.S. for my PhD has been an interesting journey, especially getting into the world of ranching in the Great Plains, which shares some similarities but also many differences with pastoral systems back home. Currently, I’m developing my dissertation with Dr. Audrey Joslin, which explores how climate variability influences prescribed burning and grazing practices in Kansas. I do hope to contribute to broader discussions on rangeland management globally.

Mostafa Sadeghnejad

My name is Mostafa Sadeghnejad, and I am a PhD student in Geography at Kansas State University. My research focuses on integrating machine learning, remote sensing, and GIS data for landslide susceptibility mapping.

Additionally, I am studying the role of soil development in landslide-prone regions using soil-landscape evolution models. This work aims to improve landslide prediction and enhance risk assessment by better understanding the interactions between soil, topography, and geomorphic processes.

Dominic Sankuba

My name is Dominic Sankuba, and I am from a small town called Chaang in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Born and raised in the Upper West Region, I have developed a strong sense of community and togetherness through my involvement in humanitarian organizations such as Rotary/Rotaract, where I have actively served as both a member and volunteer for several years.

 I am currently pursuing my master's degree in the Department of Geography & Geospatial Sciences, at Kansas State University with Dr. Moley as my major advisor. With growing concerns about climate variability, water availability, and plastic pollution, my research focuses on understanding farmer decision-making in southwestern Kansas regarding the adoption of new sustainable agricultural technologies, such as biodegradable mulch.  

I am committed to making a meaningful impact in my field and beyond through leadership, teaching, and research.

Outside of academics, I enjoy spending quality time with friends and family and staying active by running outdoors when the weather is crisp and sunny or challenging myself with intense workouts at the rec center.

Harsimran Singh Sodhi

I belong to royal historic city named “Patiala” located in state of Punjab (India). I moved here to pursue a Ph.D. in Geography, focusing my research on landslides and soil property estimation in Nepal Himalayas, and Collazzone (Italy).

Currently, as a 3 ^rd  year Ph.D. student, I am focusing on predicting path of landslides using GIS and statistical modelling. The past year has been productive for me, as I achieved my Ph.D. candidacy in December 2024. Moreover, I went to Italy in Summer 2024 for collecting soil samples and to study how landslides are affecting the soil physical properties. Additionally, I received significant recognition from my department, as I was awarded the prestigious Kale fellowship in 2024, which provided valuable support in my Ph.D. journey. I am excited to publish my first Ph.D. objective and participate in EGU conference this year which would be a major milestone in my career.

I am incredibly fortunate to have dedicated advisors Dr. Temme, and Dr. Goodin and my other committee members Dr. Hutchinson and Dr. Boulton (University of Plymouth), who are guiding and shaping my overall Ph.D. research. Moreover, I am blessed to have a great department which supported me in my entire Ph.D. journey.

Maryam Tahmasebi

My name is Maryam Tahmasebi, I am a graduate student in the Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences at Kansas State University.

My background is in landscape engineering, and I have a strong interest in geospatial analysis and environmental sustainability.

Max Wellbrock-Talley

Still in my first year in the graduate program, I feel as though I’m slowly but surely adjusting to the expectations of a master’s student. The Department’s faculty have been tremendously helpful in opening my mind to geographic thinking, developing a skillset in geospatial technology, and encouraging me to delve deeply into problems both near and far.

Thanks to their guidance, and especially that of my advisor Dr Smirnova, I have been awarded both an RSCAD grant and a Title VIII Fellowship from the Department of State, which will enable me to develop my Russian skills at the University of Indiana and conduct archival research at the Slavic Reference Library at Urbana-Champaign over the summer.

There, I hope to uncover historical context to the development of modern infrastructure projects in the Russian Federation and how discourse surrounding them can help us understand the negotiation of different actors’ sovereignty under an aggressive, authoritarian regime.