Category: Student Research

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Seniors study Keene microclimates

Four Keene GORP seniors are studying the effects of landcover on temperature variations throughout the Keene valley, to understand impact of different surfaces on diurnal patterns.  Their work entails measuring weather conditions at several sites across the region.  In October, they installed a rooftop weather station on the Science Building, with the weather station interface prominently displayed on the second floor.  Wind speed, pressure, dew point and moisture conditions are collected on a real-time basis and used for anlysis.  Pictured here are (right to left): Zane Atwood, Jason LaPanne, Alex Sabido, and Nick Young.

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Research reveals varied perspectives on sustainability practices on campus, in city.

SustainabilityWebsiteSeniors Hannah Elliot, Jason Cyr, Charlie Stoll and Tommy Todd spent the fall of 2014 surveying students, local residents, and business owners about their everyday practices regarding recycling and resource conservation. Their results were shared at the 2015 Academic Excellence Conference at Keene State, and the 2015 AAG Conference in Chicago. One of the highlights of their work is a map of sustainability features on the Keene State campus which will be published and distributed later this year. The map will also be available as an online interactive map through the department’s Community GIS Center.  The final report can be found on the student work page.

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Senior students assess the Ashuelot Rail Trail and explore the potential for bike commuting in the Monadnock Region

ART_imageWith guidance from Southwest Region Planning Commission, senior students assessed the Ashuelot Rail Trail, which leads from the Keene State College campus all the way to the Connecticut River in Hinsdale, NH.  Using GPS and GIS, students mapped trail conditions and created a final map of ‘ride-ability’ along the 22 mile route.  They also surveyed riders, walkers and other community members about their commuting habits.  The results are available as a final report on our Student Work page.

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Students Study Bike Tourism and Trail Conditions from Keene to Walpole

Web_Pic_CRTNIn the fall of 2014, four senior geography students embarked on a semester-long effort to assess the condition of the Cheshire Rail Trail North, a former railroad right of way that now forms the foundation of a nearly 18-mile long rail-trail from downtown Keene to Walpole, NH.  With support from Southwest Region Planning Commission, the students discovered that the most well-maintained portions are within Keene, but some of the most scenic sections are found along the Connecticut River valley, many miles to the north and west. Read more about their project and others on our Student Work page.

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Keene State Geography Lights Up Tampa

AirQuality_PosterFifteen Geography seniors and four faculty members recently attended the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers.  Held this year in Tampa, Florida, this is the premier conference of our discipline, attended by thousands of academic and professional geographers and scientists from a variety of disciplines.

Keene State was one of the best represented BikePath_Awarddepartments among the hundreds attending, as our students made six presentations over four days.  One group of seniors, Brian Cote, Brian Jones, Michael Harpool and Abby Martelle, received the award for Best Undergraduate Paper Award from the Regional Development and Planning Group, for their project “The Ultimate Commute: An Assessment of Bike Path Conditions in Keene, NH.”

Faculty members Lara Bryant, Chris Cusack and Chris Brehme presented their latest research results during paper sessions, and emeritus professor Klaus Bayr presented a poster with alums Chris Dunn and Adam Riffle describing Dr. Bayr’s ongoing glacier research.
It was not all work Dinnerand no play in Tampa.  Most of the group took in an NHL Hockey game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.  On Wednesday evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner of pizza and cold drinks following our extensive self-guided tour of downtown Tampa.  Thursday allowed for some relaxHockey_Gameing hours poolside at the conference hotel.

The Annual AAG Meeting has become a rite of passage for our graduating seniors as most look forward to the final weeks of their undergraduate college experience.  This year’s juniors should already be looking forward to AAG 2015 in Chicago!