Traveling geographers back from winter break

So, it's the first day back to school for the spring semester.  The students walked to school in -17 F weather -- at least the moon and sun were out and there was no wind.  We also just learned that we have a new Dean for the college of Arts and Sciences – the news release is not even on the university's homepage yet but look for it there soon.

 Its been a winter of travel for geographers -- most of us stuck around the upper Midwest in places that rhyme (geographically speaking) with Michigan and Nebraska.  I gave a talk in Green Bay, for example, but others hit the big road: Ingolf Vogeler on one of his self-directed learning trips, this time three weeks in Hawai'i; Ari Anand with family in India; Harry Jol on a UWEC grant with students in New Zealand, and; Joe Hupy in Austria.

Joe was invited by the University of Vienna to deliver a lecture entitled, ‘Divergent pathways of landscape evolution due to the impact of explosive munitions.’ The talk was part of a lecture series on Anthrogeomorphology, with scholars from around the world invited to give talks in their fields of expertise. Joe and a pair of Canadians were the representative North Americans. In just a few days, Joe and his work generated quite a bit of interest.  For example, the chair of a research group that engages applied research involving slope failure in the Austrian Alps has become interested in using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAVs) in their work, and were intrigued with the work he has done using these devices. Look for collaborations with the University of Vienna in the future.

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