Student Research
All MSGA students complete a 6-credit capstone project, designed to show that they can carry out a significant independent research project. Below is a list of projects completed since the program started, organized by year and noting the advisor.
Students are encouraged to publish their capstone papers at Eagle Scholar, UMW’s repository of research.
Some students have also published interactive maps:
Jessica Towell: Web GIS for the Planning and Operations of Search and Rescue
DJ Berry: Explore Montpelier – LiDAR Feature and Raster Relief Models
| Name | Title | Advisor | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chritton, S. Drew | Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Analysis in Small Water Bodies using Multispectral Remotely Sensed Imagery: A case study of Lake Anna, Virginia | Marco Millones | 2022 |
| Marisa Payne | A Python-based ArcGIS Toolbox for modeling the effects of climate change on birds: an application on the Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) | Brian Rizzo | 2022 |
| Snell, Gillian | The Utility of Spatialized Qualitative Data in Exploring LGBTQ+ Perceptions of Safety at the University of Mary Washington | Stephen Hanna | 2021 |
| Alessi, Marissa | River Dredge Detection | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Dail, Sarah | Vulnerability to Naphthalene Exposure in the United States | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Disla, Carlos | Do Factors that Influence the Loss of Wetland Area in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Mirror those Driving Global Wetland Decline? | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Fennell, Emily | Analysing Aerosols and Severe Weather Event Occurrences across the Contiguous United States | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Gostelow, Blake | The Impact of Population Change on Recruitment and Sampling in Volunteer GIS: A Study Using the Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Lee, Christopher | Predictive Modeling of Utilities Assets | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Savaria, Eric | Linking Irrigation to Landslides in Franklin County, Washington | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Waggoner, Amanda | The Geography of Black Racial Narratives in Media in Washington, D.C.: A Comparison of The Prince of Popville and The Washington Post | Marco Millones | 2021 |
| Kean, Kaitlin | Climate Ecosystem Modeling through Machine Learning | Brian Rizzo | 2021 |
| Lehane, Matthew | Spatiotemporal Analysis of Transit Accessibility in Fredericksburg, Virginia | Ping Yin | 2021 |
| Towell, Jessica | Web GIS for the Planning and Operations of Search and Rescue Missions | Ping Yin | 2021 |
| Chandler, Jordan | Evaluation of Spatial Accessibility to Community Resources in order to Promote Successful Integration into Permanent Housing After Homelessness | Ping Yin | 2021 |
| Williams, Susan | Narrowing the Search for Clandestine Graves and Surface Depositions Using Site Suitability Geospatial Analysis | Stephen Hanna | 2020 |
| Ryan, Michael | Utilization of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Vegetation Assessments: A Comparison of Per-Pixel and Object-Based Classification Methods | Marco Millones | 2020 |
| Gatens, Will | Spatiotemporal Forecasting Analysis of Violent Events in Syria – Integrating statistical software with GIS to forecast future Violent Events in Syria | Brian Rizzo | 2020 |
| Maple, Rob | Creating Management Efficiencies with Web-based Geographic Information Systems on the Fredericksburg, Virginia Trails | Ping Yin | 2020 |
| Schaffer, Steve | A comparison between potential and actual measures of spatial accessibility to primary health care and an investigation of the socioeconomic impact on their discrepancy | Ping Yin | 2020 |
| Cleary, Summers | GIS and field-based methods modeling the distribution of the worm-eating warbler: applied methods for enhanced natural resource conservation management | Stephen Hanna | 2019 |
| Davis, E-B | Geovisualizing the religious terrain of Fredericksburg, VA | Stephen Hanna | 2019 |
| Bentley, John | Land Cover and Elevation Change Due to Mountaintop Removal Mining in the Hobet 21 Coal Mine, West Virginia | Marco Millones | 2019 |
| Berry, DJ | Analysis of LIDAR to Visualize and Understand the Archaeological Landscape of James Madison’s Montpelier | Marco Millones | 2019 |
| Kristensen, Simon | Analyzing Spatial Patterns of Growth in American Cities Using Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Data | Marco Millones | 2019 |
| Phoebus, Laura | An Evaluation of Land Cover Change in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Using Landscape Metrics and Landscape Pattern Analysis | Marco Millones | 2019 |
| Gregory, Meredith | Climate Ecosystem Modeling | Brian Rizzo | 2019 |
| Cate, Colin | Using geospatial analysis to assess healthcare accessibility and facility crowdedness within the Kutupalong-Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s bazar, Bangladesh | Ping Yin | 2019 |
| Lafleur, Richard | Gravesite Preservation: The Design and Implementation of a Web-based Geographic Information System for Cemeteries | Ping Yin | 2019 |
| Safarik, Justin | A Spatiotemporal Assessment of Anthropogenic Influence on the Yamuna River in Delhi, India | Ping Yin | 2019 |
| Hooks, Kristine | The Geographic Distribution of Recent Benthic Foraminifera off the North American Atlantic Coast: A Web-based Geovisualization | Stephen Hanna | 2018 |
| McPhail, Peter | Conceptualizing the counterinsurgency: a historical GIS of the Marines in the Dominican Republic from 1917-1919 | Stephen Hanna | 2018 |
| Keplinger, Katie | Using Modis Fire Detections as a Means for Tracking Boko Haram Village Burnings | Marco Millones | 2018 |
| Snyder, Jacob | Multitemporal Analysis of the Urban Heat Island Effect in Phoenix, AZ | Marco Millones | 2018 |
| Bergstresser, Sarah | Application of least-cost path analysis for a U.S. Route 29 bypass around Charlottesville, Virginia | Brian Rizzo | 2018 |
| Slyer, Gelisa | A Spatial Analysis of crime in Washington DC from 2008-2015: | Brian Rizzo | 2018 |
| Bernhardt, Gerard | Is Broadband Access Predicted by Demographics | Brian Rizzo | 2018 |
| Petroff, Christopher | Creating Efficiencies with Geographic Information Systems at Stafford Regional Airport | Brian Rizzo | 2018 |
| Seay, Stephanie | Exploration of Urban Greenness and Low Birth Weight in Atlanta, Georgia | Ping Yin | 2018 |
| Chadduck, Colin | Study of Night Time Lights: Continental United States, 2003-2013 | Jackie Gallagher | 2017 |
| Dawes, Nathan | Visualizing Historic Mount Vernon: A Geospatial Landscape | Marco Millones | 2017 |
| Rabatin, Paul | Situational Awareness Visualization Emergency Management Environment | Brian Rizzo | 2017 |
| Rodenberg, Clare | The Holdridge Life Zone System Testing the Sensitivity of a Climate-Vegetation Model | Brian Rizzo | 2017 |
| Larsen, Carl | A Qualitative Study of Socioeconomic Mapping Values and Preferences by Different Organizations in Norfolk, Virginia | Stephen Hanna | 2016 |
| Moulton, Chris | Modeling Relative Past and Future Sea-level in the Potomac Estuary through CO-OPS Tidal Station-Centered Spatiotemporal Analysis | Brian Rizzo | 2016 |
| Johnson, Andrew | Spatial Analysis of Real Estate Valuation in the City of Fredericksburg | Brian Rizzo | 2016 |
| Lowzik, Jocelyn | Geospatial Analysis of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative’s (REC) Power Outage Events | Ping Yin | 2016 |
| Wheaton, Kelley | Analyzing Spatio-temporal Patterns of Birth Weight in Georgia: Demographic and Environmental Associations and Epidemiological Modelling | Ping Yin | 2016 |
| Young, Bryce | A GIS Roadmap for Strategic Conservation in the George Washington Planning District | Ping Yin | 2016 |