Aisling Reynolds-Feighan graduated from University College, Dublin (UCD) with a BA in economics and geography in 1985. She earned an MA in economics the following year and then joined our department as a PhD student in Fall 1989.  She was an exceptional student; at the conclusion of her departmental Prelim Exam, Art Getis and Jim Huff both commented on how impressive she was with Art wistfully hoping all our students could be so well-prepared.

Eric Shook  is an associate professor in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Society and Director of the GeoCommons at the University of Minnesota. We welcomed Eric back to campus on November 8th, 2024 to accept the award and present his research during Friday colloquium with a talk entitled "Broadening Geospatial Computing: Innovation Meets Education". Eric also got to spend time with former advisor Shaowen Wang and students in the Cyberinfrastructure & Geospatial Information (CIGI) Lab. Eric’s research combines geographic...