Achievement

IGERT trainee Timothy Baird (Geography) successfully defended his dissertation, “Conservation as disturbance: development, diversification, and social networks near Tarangire National Park, Northern Tanzania,” in January 2012; Baird begins an assistant professorship in Geography at VA Tech beginning in fall 2012. Also during this period, Laura Brewington (Geography) successfully defended her dissertation; she now serves as an environmental consultant for WildAid, an international NGO in the Galapagos Islands. Ashley Carse (Anthropology), Veronica Escamilla (Geography), and Jane Messina (Geography) also successfully defended their dissertations during this period and accepted postdoctoral positions at Whittier College, the UNC School of Medicine, and Oxford University, respectively. Kim Engie (Geography), Kelly Houck (Anthropology), Sophia Giebultowicz (Geography), and Jennifer Winston (Geography) successfully defended dissertation proposals during this reporting period.