We proudly present the 2019 Early Career Alumni Achievement Award to Kory Konsoer (PhD, 2014), assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University. Kory began teaching at LSU the same year he graduated from Illinois and has already garnered considerable scholarly recognition in the field of river science.

Kory has published in major journals, including Geomorphology and the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Water Resources Research; and has presented at conferences in the U.S. and abroad. His new research program examines interactions among flow, vegetation, and bank morphology and how these interactions cause meandering rivers to migrate across floodplains over time – a fundamental mechanism by which these rivers shape and reshape Earth’s landscapes.

As a PhD student, Kory studied the dynamics of meandering rivers with advisor Bruce Rhoads. Together they participated in a National Science Foundation (NSF) project led by Professor Jim Best, for which Kory received an additional NSF doctoral dissertation research award. Kory also started looking beyond Earth’s surface, studying river confluences and channel form in reduced-gravity environments, including Mars. He has since published articles based on this research.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award, and certain that without the excellent education, training, and scientific research opportunities I received from Dr. Rhoads, Dr. Best, and other great geography faculty, my career path would be much different than what it is right now.

At Illinois, I was taught how to think critically about Earth’s dynamic surface processes and trained in state-of-the-art field surveying techniques, which opened my eyes to new research possibilities that drive my curiosity about rivers to this day. I am also very thankful that my experiences at Illinois allowed for interdisciplinary collaborations with faculty in geology and civil engineering, especially Drs. Gary Parker and Marcelo Garcia,” said Konsoer.

Dr. Kory Konsoer is an emerging scholar producing work of exceptional creativity and we are excited to welcome him back to campus to accept this award and present during our Friday colloquium series.