Graduate Students
Graduate students funded by assistantships through the Center for Geospatial Analytics enjoy office space in the center and contribute invaluably to its cutting-edge research programs.
Current Students
Claudia Alberico
Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Ph.D. student
Advisor: Aaron Hipp
Research: Using spatial analytics to understand children’s use of public spaces and health outcomes
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Reza Amindarbari
Design Ph.D. student
Advisor: Perver Baran
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Laura Belica
Forestry and Environmental Resources Ph.D. student
Advisor: Stacy Nelson
Research: Developing process-based open science methods to monitor and model the impacts of forest change on stream temperatures
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Megan Coffer
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Helena Mitasova
Research: Creating metrics to assess the frequency of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in inland lakes using satellite remote sensing
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Devon Gaydos
Forestry and Environmental Resources Ph.D. student
Advisor: Ross Meentemeyer
Research: Developing participatory models to engage stakeholders in controlling the spread of infectious disease
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Ladan Ghahramani
Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Ph.D. student
Advisor: Aaron Hipp
Research: Planning a socially sustainable tourism in urban parks through fostering inclusiveness and positive local-tourist interaction
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Umesh Gupta
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Co-advisors: Raju Vatsavai and Ross Meentemeyer
Research: Specialized AI and deep learning framework for dynamic spatial-temporal models in landscape forecasting, detection and advance prediction
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Byron Ifediora
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Bethany Cutts
Research: Understanding how communities recover from disasters by measuring social cohesion and social vulnerability factors
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Nicole Inglis
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Jelena Vukomanovic
Research: Developing decision support tools for fire management teams in National Parks
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Kimia Karimi
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Dan Obenour
Research: Modeling watersheds and water quality to assess eutrophication trends under historical and projected scenarios
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Nicholas Kruskamp
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Co-advisors: Ross Meentemeyer and Josh Gray
Research: Combining geospatial technologies and ecological modeling to understand the effects of emerging infectious diseases on forest ecosystems
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Zekun Lin
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Co-advisors: Ross Meentemeyer and Adam Terando
Research: Estimating population density and land cover changes under urban growth, urbanization and climate change scenarios
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Vishnu Mahesh Vivek Nanda
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Co-advisors: Perver Baran and Laura Tateosian
Research: Geospatial data visualization and big data analytics for sustainable development
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Venkata Matli
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Dan Obenour
Research: Developing geostatistical models to study large-scale aquatic systems (e.g., modeling hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico) with limited available in situ data.
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Jason Matney
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Co-advisors: Stacy Nelson and Stacy Supak
Research: Natural resource management agency recommendations addressing gaps between current and future geospatial data administration strategies
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Garrett Millar
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Helena Mitasova
Research: Developing and evaluating geovisualization technologies for the support of spatial thinking, learning, decision making, and problem solving
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Kellyn Montgomery
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Helena Mitasova
Research: Geospatial data analytics for managing agricultural crop stressors at multiple scales
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Shannon Ricci
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Del Bohnenstiehl
Research: Developing automated processing techniques to analyze passive acoustic data collected in marine environments
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Margaret van Bakergem
Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Ph.D. student
Advisor: Aaron Hipp
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Ruixue Wang
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Advisor: Aaron Hipp
Research: Developing and evaluating new methods in the application of geospatial analysis for the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation (COR) Branch of the National Park Service (NPS)
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Corey White
Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student
Co-advisors: Ross Meentemeyer and Helena Mitasova
Research: Developing a serious game (TomorrowNow) using participatory modeling to inform decisions in smart and connected communities
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News From Our Students More News
Partnership with Wake County a New Think (and Do) Tank for Harnessing Spatial Data
Vishnu Mahesh Vivek Nanda splits his time between NC State and the Wake County Innovation Center / GeoLab as part of an innovative partnership with Wake County government.
Getting in Touch to Stop an Epidemic
Devon Gaydos is using tangible user interfaces designed by the Center for Geospatial Analytics to help Oregon stakeholders fight infectious forest disease.
Ghost Forests: More Than Halloween Scenes
Lindsey Smart's blog post for NC Sea Grant details her research into the haunting cause of ghost forests along the NC coast.
A Passion for Teaching and the Future of GIS
Jason Matney has taught hundreds of students as a graduate teaching assistant and course instructor. His work developing web mapping applications for the National Park Service also earned him the title of NC State's 2019 EDC Student of the Year.
Where a Great Idea Can Take You
Ashwin Shashidharan interned with the world’s top GIS software company and continues to gain recognition for his award-winning research in computer science.
The Designer in All of Us
Payam Tabrizian firmly believes that designing landscapes shouldn’t be limited to the professionals. His research bridges design and the geospatial and cognitive sciences.