Dr. Xuwei Chen wins top dissertation award

Dr. Xuwei Chen, who received a Ph.D. in Geographic Information Science from Texas State in 2006, has won the 2007 J. Warren Nystrom Dissertation Award, presented by the Association of American Geographers at its annual meeting. The Nystrom Award is presented each year for an outstanding geography dissertation written during the previous year. Chen’s dissertation was titled “Microsimulation of Hurricane Evacuation Strategies of Galveston Island.” Her advisor was Dr. Ben Zhan, Professor of Geography and Director of the Texas Center for Geographic Information Science at Texas State.

Chen was one of the first two students to graduate from Texas State’s Ph.D. program in Geographic Information Science. She has been working as a post-doctoral research fellow in the Texas Center for GIScience during the past year and will assume a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Geography at Northern Illinois University in August.

Chen’s award marks the second time that a graduate of the Geography Ph.D. program has won the Nystrom Award. In 2005, Dr. Lynn Resler (Ph.D. in Environmental Geography, 2004) won the award. Resler’s advisor was Dr. David Butler, Professor of Geography and Graduate Program Coordinator, and Resler is currently Assistant Professor of Geography at Virginia Tech University. Dr. Philip Suckling, Chair of the Department of Geography, said that approximately 60 doctoral programs in geography are offered nationwide. “The fact that graduates of Texas State’s Geography program have won the best dissertation award in two of the past three years is a great testament to the high quality of our Ph.D. program,” Suckling said.