19 Dr. Tao Hu has completed his second year in the department. One of his achievements is the development of a new online course titled ‘Web GIS: Principles, Applications, and Trends.’ Over the past year, Dr. Hu has published eight papers in prestigious GIS journals, including IJGIS, JAG, and IJDE. Remarkably, two of his publications were among the top 1% of ESI highly-cited papers in 2022 and another received the Best Paper award in the journal of Annals of GIS. Dr. Hu has also played an active role in academic conferences. He organized a session titled 'Geospatial Big Data for Public Health' and presented his work at the AAG 2023 Annual conference in Denver. In the summer of 2022, he was awarded a grant from the Rural Renewal Initiative (RRI). This funding will support his work to improve healthcare access in rural Oklahoma through optimizing mobile wellness unit locations. Additionally, he has submitted proposals to the OCAST health program and NSF to continue his research efforts. Lastly, Dr. Hu happily shared that he is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his second daughter in June. Dr. Thomas LaVanchy continues to regain momentum on his water research in South Africa following the COVID pandemic interruption to international travel. This included two successful trips to Cape Town to meet with collaborators, extend academic networks, and reconnaissance field data to support grant proposals (see pictures below). He is delighted now to be collaborating with Dr. Kevin Winter of the University of Cape Town on a project that evaluates the efficacy of nature-based solutions to improve water security and contribute to economic stability and social justice. He was able to submit two proposals to the NSF and continue to explore funding opportunities to support student involvement in my water research that aims to improve the human condition. He published an article in The Professional Geographer and celebrated a successful defense by MS student Stephanie Grace of her creative project “Designing a Water Sustainability Course for Secondary Education.” He also enjoyed serving as second reader on the senior honors thesis of Global Studies major Lydia Blew. In addition to his normal teaching rotation, he offered a split-level (undergraduate and graduate) class on “Water Resources and Sustainability.” He also served as Chapter Advisor for Gamma Theta Upsilon Geography Honor Society. Touring University of Western Cape’s hydrogeology department with Dr. Thokozani Kanyerere (Photo by Mike Kerwin). Hiking a micro-watershed near Betty’s Bay, South Africa (photo by James Kerwin). Helping Dr. Kevin Winter and students build test sites for wastewater sludge reuse at The Water Hub (photo by Thomas LaVanchy).
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