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Department of Geography

Faculty working on Nature, Society and Sustainability

Karen Bakker Karen Bakker, Professor
Nature-society theory, political ecology

B.A.Sc., McMaster University; D. Phil (1999) Oxford University

"I work at the intersection of economic and environmental geography. My primary research interests span political economy, political ecology, environmental studies, development studies, and resource and environmental management. I conduct research in both the 'developing' and 'developed' world, and consequently have an interest in debates over postcolonialism and development. My theoretical interests currently focus on the debate over the use of markets and market instruments in environmental management (the 'neoliberal nature' debate). My primary research focus for the past few years has been on water governance in the context of neoliberalism (water privatization, decentralization of water management). I am also developing new research projects on the geography of food, and on resilience. I would particularly welcome students working in these latter two areas."

 

Dr. Bakker holds the Canada Research Chair in Political Ecology.

 

Website: www.geog.ubc.ca/~bakker

Website: www.watergovernance.ca

Email Contact: karen.bakker@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-6702

Room Number: GEOG 142

Simon Donner Simon Donner, Associate Professor
Societal response to climate change

B.A.Sc., McMaster University; M.E.M., Duke University; Ph.D. (2002), University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Why does climate matter? This question is the basis of a broad program of modelling and field research examining how changes in the climate over time affect biogeochemical cycling and the function of marine ecosystems like coral reefs. This research provides insight into the causes and effects of human-induced climate change, the efficacy of policy and mitigation options, and the consequences for human welfare. Current areas of research include the climate change and coral reefs in the central equatorial Pacific; the obstacles to public education about climate change; the effect of climate and agriculture on nutrient loading to large river systems; and trade-offs between food, feed and fuel production."

 

Website: www.simondonner.com/

Website: www.geog.ubc.ca/~sdonner

Email Contact: simon.donner@ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-6959

Room Number: GEOG 133

Matthew Evenden Matthew Evenden, Associate Professor
Environmental history, water history

B.A. Honours, Queen's University; M.A., Ph.D. (2000), York University

"My research lies in environmental history and water history, with a regional specialization in Canada, particularly Alberta and British Columbia. I serve as a co-leader of the Canadian Water History Project (with Stphane Castonguay, UQTR), and an executive leader of the Network in Canadian History and Environment. The politics of large rivers lies at the core of my research program. How have rivers been contested by different social and cultural groups? How have rivers been perceived and understood? And how have political economies shaped and been shaped by rivers and the resources drawn from them? I have explored these questions in a book on the environmental history of the Fraser River, Fish versus Power, published by Cambridge University Press (2004), which received a Clio prize from the Canadian Historical Association. Recently I completed a co-authored book exploring the overlapping uses of and claims to the Bow River in Alberta, The River Returns (McGill-Queens UP) with colleagues, Christopher Armstrong and H.V. Nelles. I am currently working on a book-length manuscript, Mobilizing Rivers, which analyzes the development of hydro-electricity in Canada during the Second World War."

 

Website: blogs.ubc.ca/waterhistory

Website: niche-canada.org/water_history

Email Contact: matthew.evenden@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-6407

Room Number: GEOG 251

Cole Harris Cole Harris, Professor Emeritus
Society, Space, and Environment

B.A., UBC; M.S., Ph.D. (1964), University of Wisconsin

"Research interests focus on European settlement in early Canada and on geographies of colonialism in early British Columbia."

 

Honours: Order of Canada; Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada; LL.D. honoris causa, York University

Email Contact: cole.harris@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-3537

Room Number: GEOG 241

Sally Hermansen Sally Hermansen, Senior Instructor
Spatial history

B.A. Honours, M.A. 1984, Queen's University

"My main area of interest is Geographic Data Visualization, and I teach courses in Cartography, Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing. I work on collaborative research projects that use GIS to visualize environmental history and I undertake research on the evolution of the teaching of cartography in academia, and the learning of spatial concepts by children. I teach an introductory course on geography (Vancouver and its Region) and specialized project courses on sustainability when the opportunity arises."

 

Website: www.geog.ubc.ca/~sallyh

Email Contact: sally.hermansen@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-5970

Room Number: GEOG 144

Brian Klinkenberg Brian Klinkenberg, Professor
Disease modelling

B.Sc., University of Toronto; M.Sc., Ph.D. (1988), University of Western Ontario

"My work focuses on advanced spatial analysis in the physical, health and social sciences, and in the intersection of these areas (e.g., medical biogeography and Geographic Information Science). This includes a focus on both theoretical investigations and innovative applications of GIScience in subject areas where space and place are considered important explanatory elements (e.g. wildlife use of landscape in the Serengeti). My students and I explore such areas as neighbourhood theory and error and accuracy in GIS, modeling, and visualization. This includes the use of spatial analysis in landscape classification, biogeography, medical biogeography, environmental geography, human-ecosystem interactions and conservation biology. Biodiversity informatics is a current interest, as is exploring the social aspects of GIScience and Geospatial technologies, the reflexivities between technology and society. The thread that links this research is the understanding and insight that advanced spatial analysis brings to research and theoretical problems--often unveiling subtleties that would otherwise be overlooked."

 

Dr. Klinkenberg is currently the editor and project coordinator of E-Flora BC / E-Fauna BC.

 

Website: www.geog.ubc.ca/~brian

Website: www.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/eflora/

Website: www.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/efauna/

Email Contact: brian.klinkenberg@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-3534

Room Number: GEOG 209

Lab Number: GEOG 210J

Michele Koppes Michele Koppes, Assistant Professor
Human impacts on the landscape

B.A. Honours, Williams College; M.Sc., Ph.D. (2007) University of Washington

"My research focuses on glacier processes, glaciated landscapes and landscape response to climate change, from the long term (the Quaternary Era) to recent change (i.e. in the past century). I am fascinated with rates of geomorphic change, particularly the effects of humans on the landscape and how we compare to other natural geomorphic agents such as glaciers and rivers. Some of my current research projects are focusing on quantifying glacier change, landscape response, and the effects of climate change on melt water resources in Alaska, southern Patagonia, Antarctica, and the northwestern Himalayas."

 

Website: www.geog.ubc.ca/~koppes

Email Contact: michele.koppes@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-4896

Room Number: GEOG 141

John Robinson John Robinson, Professor
History and philosophy of environmental thought

B.A., University of Toronto; M.E.S., York University; Ph.D. (1981), University of Toronto

"My research is centred around developing the research program for the CIRS project (www.cirs.ubc.ca); sustainable energy systems; sustainable building systems; the interaction among climate change mitigation, adaptation and sustainability; gaming and simulation tools; futures studies; the intersection of lay and expert knowledge; participatory integrated assessment; business and sustainability issues; and generally the points of interaction among sustainability, climate change, socio-technical change, behaviour change, modeling and simulation, and community engagement processes. All my research has been on industrialized country applications."

 

Website: www.johnrobinson.ires.ubc.ca

Email Contact: john.robinson@ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-9188

Room Number: 2260 West Mall, room 2351

Juanita Sundberg Juanita Sundberg, Associate Professor
Cultural politics of conservation, post-human ontologies

B.A., Trinity University; M.A., Ph.D. (1999), University of Texas, Austin

"My current project examines the environmental dimensions of United States' border security policies in the US-Mexico borderlands, with a specific focus on protected areas like national wildlife refuges."

 

Website: juanitasundberg.wordpress.com

Email Contact: juanita.sundberg@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-3535

Room Number: GEOG 125

Graeme Wynn Graeme Wynn, Professor
Environmental and historical geography

B.A. Honours, University of Sheffield; M.A., Ph.D. (1974), University of Toronto

Former Head of the Department (1996-2002; 2005-2009). Former Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts, UBC (1990-1996).

 

Honours: Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada

Email Contact: graeme.wynn@geog.ubc.ca

Office Phone: 604-822-6226

Room Number: GEOG 236

 

Department of Geography - Faculty of Arts - The University of British Columbia
1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Phone: 604-822-2663 Fax: 604-822-6150
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