NIU Today

NIU anthropologist Dan Gebo revealed last semester that he likes to bring some college-level “Show and Tell” into his classroom. Turns out he’s not alone. David Changnon, a Distinguished Teaching Professor and Board of Trustees Professor from the Department of Geography, is on the same page. “Many – maybe most – students have little familiarity...

An accomplished scientist and able administrator with a strong record of publications and grants will step into the role of interim vice president for Research and Graduate Studies at NIU. Lesley Rigg, associate dean for research and graduate affairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, steps in the role permanently held by Lisa...

The Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford is preparing to launch a permanent dinosaur exhibit that has ties to a number of past NIU student researchers. The exhibit, “Homer’s Odyssey: From the Badlands to Burpee,” features the museum’s new teenage Triceratops. It will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 29. The exhibit will...

Now that scientists have convincing evidence that water helped shape the surface of Mars, Northern Illinois University geography professor Wei Luo is setting out to answer another important question: Just how much water was there? “With more and more observations from satellites orbiting Mars and rovers on its surface, researchers have very convincing evidence pointing...

It’s amazing what you can learn if you only look close enough. Take tree cores, for instance. Senior undergraduate student Mary Moses can tell a lot by examining them. “I am looking at tree cores and examining their radial growth patterns in order to see how the invasive species Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) and various...

The Society of Woman Geographers has selected Shannon McCarragher, a Ph.D. student in geography at Northern Illinois University, as a Pruitt National Fellow. The international society encourages geographical research and supports fellowship programs that provide aid to outstanding women graduate students in geography and its allied fields. McCarragher’s fellowship will provide her with $11,000 in...

As the recipient of the Richard E. Dahlberg and Elizabeth J. Schwantes scholarships, Heather Jurs knows full well the impact a scholarship can have on a student’s experience. “These scholarships have made a huge difference in my education,” says Jurs, a senior geography major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “They have allowed me...

Andreas Glatz, who recently joined the NIU Department of Physics through a joint appointment with Argonne National Laboratory, has won a $4 million grant over the next five years to develop and apply novel methods of optimizing superconductors for power distribution and other energy applications. Glatz is leading a team that includes seven other scientists...

The NIU Department of Geography invites the university community Wednesday, Nov. 14, to GIS Night. The event is part of global GIS Day activities, where thousands of users of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) showcase real-world applications of this exciting technology to schools, businesses and the general public. Visitors to Room 115 of Davis Hall from...

The NIU Department of Geography is hosting the annual meeting of the West Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers. This year’s meeting will be held jointly with the East Lakes Division. The meeting begins with an evening reception on Thursday, Oct. 25, and concludes with afternoon field trips on Saturday, Oct. 27. “Based...

The heat wave in the Chicago region early this month would likely have been even more deadly if not for lessons learned from the lethal hot spell of 1995, according to NIU Board of Trustees Professor David Changnon. Changnon, a professor of meteorology in the Department of Geography who conducted research on the infamous ’95...

NIU’s Department of Geography and Advanced Geospatial Laboratory will host its fourth annual “GIS Night” from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, Davis Hall Room 114. The event is free and open to the public. GIS Night is part of an international program that promotes Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and...