The annual Geography Undergraduate Research Symposium, organized by Undergraduate Advisor Julian Barr, this year featured six papers in two sessions and 11 team presentations! Showcasing topics as varied as "Participatory Mapping for Community Engagement and Empowerment" and “Pasco Park Equity,” students from geography and other majors presented the results of projects that took as little as one quarter and as much as a full year to complete. Many participants had developed their research in the spring quarter GEOG 469 GIS Workshop or as part of the 2018-2019 Honors in Geography program. Attendees were also treated to a pizza lunch and the official launch of the 2019 edition of Plenum Journal of Undergraduate Geography.
One presenter, Aldrin Carbonell, shares that "[p]resenting in the symposium was a great experience." Nathaniel Aune also commented on the "pride" of "present[ing] the results of hours of development and research to a group of people who would appreciate the challenges we’ve faced, acknowledge the significance of our findings, and ask challenging questions that would motivate us towards continual improvement. The symposium may well have been the highlight of my experience [in] UW’s Department of Geography." Wendy Wei, too, was glad for the opportunity offered by her team's project "to work with such talented classmates and gain real world experience!"
The quality across the board was excellent, with strong presentations throughout, making the judges' final decision difficult! Below please find the award winners and honorable mentions:
Paper Presentation Award: Brian Liu, “The Economic Integration of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China: Investigating Spatial Changes of Foreign Direct Investment in Coastal China.” Symposium judges noted Brian’s clear and concise presentation on his work and the strength of his research overall.
Paper Presentation Honorable Mention: Carly Baker, “Relational Geographies of One Health.”
Group Project Award: Nathaniel Aune, Matt Seungju, Gordon DeLap and Hayden Hong, “YES 2 SCS.” Symposium judges noted the group's excellent use of databases and strong, compelling maps.
Group Honorable Mention: Aldrin Carbonell, David Lee, Johnny Nguyen and Wendy Wei, “South King County Foodbanks.”