Department News

Through a recently-awarded National Science Foundation grant, Associate Professor Rui Li will join principal investigator Associate Professor Jonathon Little of SUNY Monroe Community College in Germany this summer, where the pair will visit two universities of applied sciences. The visit will allow Li and Little to bring geospatial industry-integrated training experiences to their specific GIS curriculum.

Banks, a lecturer in the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability, shares a preview of his new book "The City Authentic: How the Attention Economy Builds Urban America.”

Select UAlbany faculty and staff were honored with the President’s Excellence Awards, which recognize dedication, service, and excellence beyond the call of duty in several categories. Congratulations to Department Chair Youqin Huang for receiving the President’s Excellence Award in Research and Creative Activities. Provost Carol Kim presented the awards after the president’s Spring University Address in the Campus Center West Auditorium.

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement has named Mitchell Givens, a student majoring in our Urban Studies and Planning program, as a recipient of the Situation Prize for Research – Community, Cause and Advocacy.

The Graduate School's 5th annual Three Minute Thesis competition featured student research on wide-ranging topics — from forest-saving forensics and a local invasive insect to social media hashtags and student mental health.

Ms. Kathe's MS thesis evaluates the impact of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect, on the water quality of New York City's water supply system. The insect has caused damage to forests and agriculture in the Northeast, and Ms. Kathe's proposed research framework identifies areas where the insect is most likely to affect water quality. Her study recommends management strategies to reduce the insect's impact, particularly in the New Croton, Kensico, and Diverting reservoirs within the Croton Watershed.

Their study will utilize methods from forensic spectroscopy and soil science to test the effectiveness of mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy as an extension of conventional minirhizotrons for recording root growth.

A deadly fire in China’s Xinjiang region last month triggered outcry against the nation’s stringent COVID policies, resulting in mass protests unseen in the country since 1989. Youqin Huang, a professor in University at Albany’s Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability, explains the significance of these protests.