Rogues and Friends of Davey Jones' Locker

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Spring 2003: The first large crew of rogues	Can you spell G-I-S??	2005 Departmental Pumpkin-Carving Contest Winner	2006 Pumpkin-Carving Contest Winner
Spring 2004, wearing official lab shirts	Spring 2007: Pirates of the Willamette Valley	Spring 2007	DJL Pirate-in-Training

Current Students (listed chronologically by "arrival")
Click on their picture for their web site or email

Debbie Reusser

Debbie entered our Geography Ph.D. program in the fall of '05 and joined in the Davey Jones Locker group in February'06. She is minoring in Ecosystem Informatics (via the OSU IGERT Fellowship Program) and Computer Science. Debbie is already an established research geographer for the USGS having worked on the National Atlas, and continues to work full-time for them at the USGS-Western Fisheries Science Center, based at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, OR. Her dissertation proposal is entitled Oceans Apart: Using Biogeographic Patterns To Predict Estuarine Invasions and she was advanced to Ph.D. candidacy in November of 2007. Debbie is hoping to defend her dissertation near the end of summer 2009.

Dylan Keon

Dylan Keon entered our Geography doctoral program in the Fall 2006! Already famous as OSU's resident expert on Minnesota Mapserver and open source GIS, he continues his full-time employment as the GIS coordinator of the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering (NACSE), housed in the Kelley Engineering Center here at OSU. Dylan's dissertation topic (successfully defended on November 21, 2007) is Representation, Analysis, and Automated Visualization of Multivariate Spatiotemporal Data. He is also pursuing a graduate certificate in geographic information science. One of Dylan's little girls, Anna, is pictured at the top of this page. In 2008 Dylan was awarded a research grant from the Northwest Academic Computing Consortium for his dissertation-related project Web-based Educational Tools for Understanding Climate Variability. He was successfully advanced to Ph.D. candidacy on May 22, 2009!

Former Students

Michelle Kinzel, M.S., 2009
Thesis Title: Using Educational Tools and Integrative Experiences
via Geovisualizations that Incorporate Spatial Thinking, Real World Science
and Ocean Literacy Standards in the Classroom: A Case Study Examined

Michelle has moved back to her "hometown" of San Diego and hopes to find employment there as a community college instructor or GIS education specialist.

Kyle Hogrefe, M.S., 2008
Thesis Title: Derivation of Near-shore Bathymetry from Multispectral Satellite Imagery
Used in a Coastal Terrain Model for the Topographic Analysis of
Human Influence on Coral Reefs

Kyle is continuing on in the lab as a post-graduate researcher, doing contract work for the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
within their Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

Tiffany Vance, Ph.D., 2007
Dissertation Title: If You Build It, Will They Come? Evolution Towards the Application of
Multi-Dimensional GIS to Fisheries Oceanography

Tiffany continues to be a full-time database programmer and research scientist at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) in Seattle, with continued interests in marine GIS, web mapping, 3-D visualization, and history of science.
She pursued her Ph.D. part-time while working full-time at the AFSC.

Deidre Sullivan, M.S., 2007
Research Paper Title: Developing a Plan for the National Coordination of Geospatial
Technology Education: A Community College Perspective

Deidre continues to be the Director of the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center
in Monterey, CA, as well as an instructor at Monterey Peninsula College (MPC).
She pursued her degree part-time will working full-time at MATE/MPC.

David Bradford, M.S., 2007
Research Paper Title: A Geospatial Data Catalog and Metadata Management Tools
for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Western Ecology Division

Upon graduation David continued his interests in geographic information science and agent-based modelling, and secured a position with the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife. Sadly, David passed away on February 13, 2009.

Jed Roberts, M.S., 2007
Thesis Title: The Marine Geomorphology of American Samoa:
Shapes and Distributions of Deep Sea Volcanics

Jed is now a Geospatial Data Coordinator for the Oregon Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) in Portland. He is responsible for managing their digital map and information libraries, providing web tools for presentation to the public, and working with geologic models for landslide susceptibility, watershed hydrologies, tsunami inundation, and eventually, seamless terrain models that will include near-shore multibeam bathymetry. Jed still hopes to publish his thesis in Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Geosystems (aka "G-Cubed").

Brett Lord-Castillo, M.S., 2007
Thesis Title: Arc Marine as a Spatial Data Infrastructure:
A Marine Data Model Case Study in Whale Tracking by Satellite Telemetry

Brett was hired in the summer of 2007 by the St. Louis County (Missouri) Police Department,
Office of Emergency Management, as an Information Systems Designer and GIS Programmer. In the spring of 2008, Brett played a crucial role in flood relief efforts, during that disaster that hit Missouri.

Steve McClung, M.S., 2005
Thesis Title: Lahar Hazard Mapping of Mount Shasta, California:
A GIS-based Delineation of Potential Inundation Zones in Mud and Whitney Creek Basins

Upon graduating from OSU, Steve worked as an intern with the Alaska Satellite Facility, housed at the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He now works for an environmental internet consulting/development company called EEI (Engineering and Environmental Internet Solutions, LLC) in Fairbanks, AK. The company specializes in remote geosciences data collection and online visualization (online met station monitoring), as well as development of web applications for organizations such as the American Water Resources Association and a number of other organizations in the environmental engineering world. Steve still also maintains his own design/development company, New Summit Design, as well as a home travel agency, YTB Travel Network.

Peter Bower, M.S., 2005
Research Paper Title: Using an Internet Map Server and Coastal Remote Sensing for Education

Pete was a student assistant at the 2005 ESRI User Conference (pictured to far right of Jack Dangermond).
After finishing at OSU he moved to Portland and to work as a GIS and LIDAR analyst for Watershed Sciences, Inc.. He now works as a mapping specialist for EnXco, a wind power generation company in Portland, OR.

Colin Cooper, M.S., 2005
Research Paper Title: Building and Sharing Spatial Metaphors for the
Catalogue of Oregon Marine and Coastal Information (COMCI)

Colin has risen the ranks to project manager with Watershed Sciences, Inc. in Corvallis.

Keldah Hedstrom, M.S., 2005
Thesis Title: Introducing Geographic Information Systems to
Grass Seed Growers in the Willamette Valley of Oregon

After graduation Keldah secured a position as a GIS analyst with
Ranch Resources, LLC in Sheridan, MT.
She has recently returned "home" to Oregon and is now resource conservationist doing
planning and GIS with the Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District.

Chad Keith, M.S., 2004
Thesis Title: GIS Modeling of Potential Marine Protected Areas in the
Northwest Atlantic via Biological and Socioeconomic Parameters

Chad has returned to his full-time position as a research assistant at the NOAA NMFS
Northeast Fisheries Science Center headquarters in Woods Hole, MA.

Chris Zanger, M.S., 2004
Thesis Title: "Modeling the Environmental Protection Agency's Level IV Ecoregions
within the Klamath Mountains of Southern Oregon and Northern California:
A Geographic Information System Approach"

Chris was a summer 2004 intern at ESRI headquarters in Redlands, CA. After graduating he was hired as a GIS analyst with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Prineville District Office, central Oregon, and then became a research assistant and instructor at Southern Oregon University. He worked as a GIS Specialist with the National Park Service's Inventory and Monitoring Program with a focus on the "Klamath Network," as well as a GIS instructor at Southern Oregon University. Chris is now a Fire Research Analyst with The Nature Conservancy in Bend, Oregon.

Emily Larkin, M.S., 2004 (email)
Thesis Title: "Geographic Information Systems for Coral Reef Conservation,
Capacity Building, and Public Education in American Samoa"

Emily recently finished a stint as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow with the NOAA National Ocean Service in Silver Spring, MD,
and is continuing on there as a full time researcher.
Sea Grant Press Release (2/17/05)

Peter Martin, M.S., 2004
Thesis Title: "Spatial Interpolation in Other Dimensions"

After graduating Pete continued working as a sea-going science support privateer (electronics technician, among other talents), contracting with MicroSeismic, Inc., Raytheon Polar Services Company, Antarctic Support Associates, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. at the Spatial Information Research Centre of the University of Otago in New Zealand, on a New Zealand International Doctoral Research (NZIDR) scholarship.

Alyssa Aaby, M.S., 2004
Thesis Title: "Testing the ArcGIS Marine Data Model:
Using Spatial Information to Examine Habitat Utilization Patterns of
Reef Fish along the West Coast of Hawaii"

Alli is a seafloor mapping and GIS specialist with the Department of Geology & Geophysics. She was also a presenter and a Student Assistant at the 2004 ESRI User Conference.

Emily Lundblad Hirsch, M.S., 2004
Thesis Title: "The Development and Application of Benthic Classifications for Coral Reef
Ecosystems Below 30 m Depth using Multibeam Bathymetry: Tutuila, American Samoa"

Upon graduation Emily took a post as GIS specialist with the Benthic Habitat Mapping Group of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, NOAA NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu. She is now a senior analyst with Geospatial Consulting Group International.

Curt Whitmire, M.S., 2003
Thesis Title: "Integration of High-Resolution Multibeam Sonar Imagery with Observational Data
from Submersibles to Classify and Map Benthic Habitats at Heceta Bank, Oregon"
co-advised and funded by Bob Embley, NOAA PMEL Vents Group

Curt is as an information technology specialist in the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division of the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. He is involved in designing trawl surveys, analyzing spatial data for enhancement of the essential fish habitat database, and analyzing a variety of data for the assessment of groundfish resources off the West Coast.

Kuuipo Walsh, M.S., 2002
Research Paper Title: "Developing 'Humane' Interfaces to Data Clearinghouses for
Improving the Delivery of Spatial Information to Marine Resource Managers"

Kuuipo is a GIS analyst with the Institute for Natural Resources on the OSU campus.

Liz O'Dea, M.S., 2002
Thesis Title: "Integrating GIS and Community Mapping into Secondary Science Education:
A Web GIS Approach"

Liz has recently returned to the U.S. after several years in IRELAND as a GIS specialist with the Coastal & Marine Resources Centre (CMRC) in Cork, where she led the development of the Marine Irish Digital Atlas. CMRC and MIDA remain close collaborators with DJL. She is now a GIS analyst/programmer with state of Washington Department of Ecology GIS Technical Services Unit. Part of her duties involve further development of the Washington Coastal Atlas.

Gillien Duvall, M.S., 2000
Research Paper Title: "Metadata for the Oregon Coast Geospatial Clearinghouse:
Concept, Implementation, and Maintenance"

Formerly on staff with Oregon Geospatial Enterprise Office,
Gillien is now a GIS specialist with the Enhanced 911 Program within Oregon Emergency Management.

Michelle Wargo Rub, M.S., 2000
Research Paper Title: "A Novel Landscape Ecology Approach for Determining
Microhabitat Correlations and Faunal Patchiness in Extreme Environments:
Pilot Study for the Southern East Pacific Rise at 17-18° S"

Now working as a data analyst in the Conservation Biology division of the
NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.

David Revell, M.S., 2000
Thesis Title: "Using Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing
to Support Community-Based Coastal Hazards Planning in
the Netarts Littoral Cell, Oregon"
co-advised and funded by Jim Good, OSU Marine Resource Mgmt. Program

Now a senior associate in coastal management with Philip Williams & Associates, Ltd. in San Francisco.
Dave was formerly a staffer with Oregon Surfrider and a NOAA Coastal Management Fellow,
focusing on Oregon coastal and ocean policy. After finishing his degree at OSU, he went on to complete a Ph.D. in coastal geology at
UC-Santa Cruz under Dr. Gary Griggs.

Kelly Chapin Palacios, M.S., 2000
Thesis Title: "The Potential of Dynamic Segmentation for Aquatic Ecosystem Management:
Pacific Lamprey Decline in the Native Lands of the
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians"

Formerly a researcher for the Conservation Biology Institute in Corvallis, and now the Spatial Projects Coordinator for the National Marine Protected Areas Center Sciences Institute in Monterey, California.

Nicole Nasby Lucas, M.S., 2000
Thesis Title: "Integration of Submersible Transect Data and
High-Resolution Sonar Imagery for a Habitat-Based
Groundfish Assessment of Heceta Bank, Oregon"

Nicole is a research biologist for the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research near San Diego.

Brian Ward, M.S., 2000
Research Paper Title: "The Implementation of Two Distributed Databases
of Water-Related Information"

Brian is a GIS analyst with CH2M-Hill in Colorado.

Jennifer Engels, Honors B.A. in International Studies in Geology
Honors B.S. in Geology, 1999
Thesis Title: "The Challenges of Relocation: The Effects of Internal and
External Migration on Vietnamese Families"

Recently obtained her doctorate in Marine Geology and Geophysics with Dr. Margo Edwards of the Hawai'i Mapping Research Group, University of Hawai'i School of Earth Ocean Science & Technology (SOEST).

Hamilton Smillie, M.S., 1998, (email)
Thesis Title: "The Role of GIS in Bringing Science to Coastal Management
and Better Data Management to Science"

Hamilton is a coastal resource management analyst and program officer at the NOAA Coastal Services Center.

Chuck Schonder, M.S., 1998
Thesis Title: "Geographic Information System Implementation for
Coastal Management on Small Islands,
With a Case Study on Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands"

Hired October '98 by the State of Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources
as an environmental scientist within their Coastal Management Program
(Division of Soil & Water Conservation). He is now working in Santa Barbara
as an environmental educator, private consultant, and outdoor guide.

Brendan Sylvander, M.S., 1998
Thesis Title: "The Southeast Indian Ridge:
H₂0 Contents of MORB Glasses and Chemical Effects of Propagating Rifts"

This marine geologist-extraordinaire tried his hand at
GIS projects for the OSU Research Forest and as a GIS analyst
and webmaster for Alsea Geospatial.
He then worked as a GIS specialist for the Wisconsin State Department of Commerce.
Brendan now works for the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service in the Seattle area.

Larissa Lubomudrov, M.S., 1997
Thesis Title: "Application of Scientific Information
in Marine Resource Management: Three Case Studies"

Entered the doctoral program of the School of Natural Resources & Environment, University of Michigan, fall 1998, went on to work for Michigan Sea Grant, and may now be with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, MI.

Rogues and Friends of Davey Jones' Locker

Current Students (listed chronologically by "arrival") Click on their picture for their web site or email

Former Students

Current Students (listed chronologically by "arrival")
Click on their picture for their web site or email