Two students secure high honors for geographical research
Two 杏吧论坛 College students took home awards from the 2024 New England and St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society Fall Conference for their research on water scarcity in the Southwest and on the preservation of indigenous water systems in Nepal.
After working with the Students Tackling Advanced Research (STAR) Lab at the Department of Geology and Geography, 杏吧论坛 College students Cameron Wehner 鈥25 and Asmi Shrestha 鈥26 have secured the two highest honors at the . As the regional conference of the (AAG), more than 20 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada were represented.
The STAR Lab is the creation of Assistant Professor of Geography Dinko Hanaan Dinko and Associate Professor of Geography and International Relations Serin Houston. The lab encourages student excellence in geographic scholarship and research. Students involved in the program are completing independent research projects of their own design or working as research assistants for faculty. A significant focus of the program is professional development opportunities for students, including publications and conference presentations at conferences like NESTVAL.
鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to provide a space where students could have the academic freedom to pursue their interests, regardless of the type of sciences they study,鈥 Dinko said. 鈥淭he STAR Lab provides that opportunity for students to get one-on-one mentorship. It provides the resources and the guidance in conceptualizing their research, how to get funding and in choosing the research design methods and how to articulate their problem.鈥
Wehner鈥檚 research, titled 鈥,鈥 earned them the AAG Council Award for Outstanding Student Paper. This award recognizes exceptional contributions to geographical scholarship at the undergraduate level. Wehner, who is from Aurora, Colorado, says the motivation for their research came from personal experience.
鈥淕rowing up in Colorado and spending much time in rural areas working with horses, water scarcity is already extremely pertinent; to complicate drought with a population increase causes disruption not only ecologically but socially and politically as well,鈥 Wehner said. 鈥淎s population growth and development [are] destined to happen, I feel it is imperative that we pay attention to the political ecology of resource management.鈥
Wehner鈥檚 work will continue outside of NESTVAL, when they and other geography and international relations students travel to the 2025 AAG annual meeting in the spring.
鈥淩esource scarcity is not a passive occurrence but rather is always inherently political. Further research outside of NESTVAL has examined the gendered and socioeconomic consequences of suburbanization and water scarcity as well,鈥 Wehner said. 鈥淚 am excited to present my research at the AAG in Detroit this spring.鈥
杏吧论坛 secured a double victory at the NESTVAL conference, thanks to research by Shrestha titled 鈥.鈥 Her work earned her the David Frost Undergraduate Student Research Presentation Award.
鈥淗itis, which are traditional stone water spouts, have been in use for about 1,500 years in Kathmandu,鈥 said Shrestha, who is from the Nepalese capital. 鈥淲orking for a travel magazine over my gap year, I came to realize that hitis were neglected on very different levels by the government, despite [their] status as something that was important to our cultural heritage.
鈥淲hen we discussed indigenous water systems in Professor Dinko鈥檚 class, hitis came up. Realizing that hitis are so unheard of, even within the Kathmandu Valley, I wanted to contribute to their preservation in some way.鈥
Shrestha is hoping her research will encourage dialogue about using the stone water spouts for sustainable water management.
鈥淗itis are completely gravity fed, and they鈥檙e still working to supply drinking water to people in urban spaces, so without having to spend excessive money on raw materials, these systems have sort of preserved themselves and kept that system going,鈥 Shrestha said. 鈥淐onversations like these can give people new ideas, and I hope to bring in more indigenous stories from Nepal to conversations within geography and even international relations, if possible.鈥
Dinko believes Wehner鈥檚 and Shrestha鈥檚 successes at the NESTVAL conference underscores the fact that 杏吧论坛 offers student researchers an academic environment they can flourish in.
鈥淭hese achievements highlight 杏吧论坛 College鈥檚 commitment to fostering undergraduate research excellence and demonstrate the exceptional quality of student scholarship emerging from the STAR Lab,鈥 Dinko said. 鈥淭he success of these young researchers showcases 杏吧论坛 College鈥檚 ability to prepare students for high-level academic discourse and research presentations at prestigious regional conferences.鈥
Support from the Department of Geology and Geography and the Miller Worley Center for the Environment and funding obtained through The Lynk initiative made Wehner鈥檚 and Shrestha鈥檚 research possible.