Dr. Timothy Hawthorne to Visit Kalamazoo Valley This Week

Noted scientist Dr. Timothy L. Hawthorne will address Kalamazoo Valley Community College students and the general public during a visit to Kalamazoo on September 12. He'll host a student discussion from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and a public lecture from 4 to 4:50 p.m. in the World Works Gallery at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

Dr. Hawthorne is an assistant professor of geographic information systems (GIS) in the Department of Sociology at the University of Central Florida. He was recently awarded the UCF Reach for the Stars Award for his collaborative work with students, post-docs, and community partners in Citizen Science GIS. His presentation is part of a joint collaboration with Dr. Adam Mathews from the Department of Geography at Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo Valley as part of a grant from the Visiting Geographical Scientist Program through the American Association of Geographers.

Dr. Hawthorne is respected worldwide for his community-based research using participatory GIS as well as other technology such as drones to gather data. His research focuses on using modern technology and relating it to human-environment interaction. He will be talking about the growing importance of citizen science in the field of geography. The talk will be as jargon-free as possible, and it will emphasize the role of everyday citizens in science. It will talk about maps, apps, and drones for good. It will celebrate what's possible with science and what can happen when people from diverse walks of life come together around a common cause. It is open to all disciplines.

When Citizen Science GIS begins work in a new environment the organization goes in believing that the folks living in these communities will know more than we do, Hawthorne said.

Back home in Florida, Dr. Hawthorne's research group is building the nation’s first GeoBus. It’s a 40-foot bus decked out with all kinds of gear to make it a mobile geospatial technology lab. It will visit schools in Florida to cultivate an explorer mindset in over 20,000 children each year.