Rutgers Undergraduate Geography Society

Brownbag Lunch Talk
Laura Schneider
April 11 - 12:00 noon

Global Futures Symposia
2006-2007

The Mast, the Matrix and the Mafia:
Synergistic Effects of El Niño and
Land Use Change on Bornean Ecosystems

Lisa M. Curran
Associate Professor of Tropical Resources and
Director of the Tropical Resources Institute
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Yale University

Thursday, April 26, 2007 at 4:00 P.M. (changed from April 5)
Lucy Stone Hall, Room B-115 (changed from College Hall, Livingston Student Center)
Livingston Campus

Coordinating Fellow: Professor Laura Schneider, department of Geography, SAS

NJ GIS Day!

JDEP's 20th Annual Mapping Contest is coming up on April 25, 2007 at the Trenton War Memorial from 10 AM-12 Noon. This is a special year for the GIS community in DEP, and to celebrate, we will be inviting former employees and friends of GIS from years gone by.

Chris Cappelli, National Sales Director for ESRI, Inc. will be a featured speaker at the event, and will be available to answer questions regarding GIS software, licenses, extensions and more.

This will be a whole day of fun, as the contest will be followed in the afternoon by a Cartography Workshop and Map Critique by Zehdreh Allen-Lafayette of the NJGS. Also, for those who are interested there will be an optional MAC URISA lunch (requires $10 registration: www.acteva/go/macurisa) at the War Memorial.

Of course, don't forget the contest! This year we have a new registration site for all maps to be entered into the competition. Please visit our new Mapping Contest Website <http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis/mapcon2007.htm> and click on 'Register' if you have a map or if you just plan to attend.

We have a new category this year for Best Interactive Mapping Application (registration deadline is April 3rd). The award will be given to the tool that represents a user-friendly interface while providing crucial information in a GIS format. Best of all, voting for this award will take place online at the Mapping Contest website for all those interested in participating. Voting will begin the second week of April, after all submissions have been entered. In the meantime, check back at http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis/mapcon2007.htm and click the 'View and Vote Internet Apps' to check out the applications in competition.

If you have any questions regarding the contest, please don't hesitate to contact Seth Hackman (609) 633-1262 at DEP-Bureau of GIS.

See you there, and good luck cartographers!

Download the official 20th Annual DEP Mapping Contest announcement flyer: http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis/MappingContests/mapcon2007/njdep_mc2007_flyer.pdf

San Francisco Skyline at Night

AAG Annual Meeting Features Jared Diamond and Rebecca Solnit

Four critically acclaimed authors, Jared Diamond, Rebecca Solnit, Barry
Lopez, and Milton Viorst, will address special sessions of the 2007 AAG
Annual Meeting held April 17-21 in San Francisco. Each author will be
available for questions following their presentations.

*Jared Diamond
*/Why Geography Matters, More Than Ever /- Tuesday, April 17
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of /Guns, Germs, and Steel/ will
address the opening session of the Annual Meeting. In his most recent
book, /Collapse/, Diamond examines how environmental issues impacted the
rise and fall of ancient civilizations and discusses how similar issues
may impact the modern world.

*Rebecca Solnit *and* Barry Lopez
*/The Language of Landscape - /Friday, April 20
Solnit, a Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellow,
wrote the best-selling /River of Shadows/ and /Wanderlust: A History of
Walking/. Lopez, a National Book Award honoree, recently published /Home
Ground: Language for an American Landscape/, in which 45 poets and
nature writers create more than 850 original definitions for geographic
and landscape terms.

*Milton Viorst*
/Iraq and the Middle East: Presentation and Discussion with Milton
Viorst - /Wednesday, April 18
Milton Viorst, former Middle East correspondent for /The New Yorker/, is
also the author of numerous books on the Middle East, including most
recently, /Storm from the East/.

The 2007 AAG Annual Meeting will feature more than 3,000 presentations
on the latest in geographic research and approximately 7,000 attendees
from around the world. For more information or to register, visit
www.aag.org
<http://emessaging.vertexcommunication.com/ct/ct.php?t=2382470&c=1004095043&m=m&type=1&h=A6556399A8196D9BC5F7B378597658DA>.

Sincerely,

Oscar Larson
meeting@aag.org <mailto:meeting@aag.org>

New Discounted Hotel Rooms for AAG Annual Meeting Available at Hotel Nikko

The AAG has arranged for more room discounts at the sophisticated Hotel Nikko for as little as $199 for single/double occupancy. The Nikko is conveniently located directly across the street from the Hilton Hotel, headquarters for the AAG Annual Meeting.

The Nikko also features world-class amenities in the heart of San Francisco's entertainment district, and will host several hundred of the AAG Meeting sessions.

Make your reservations at the Nikko by March 22 to lock in the special AAG rate. Call 800-248-3308 and mention group code SASGEO to reserve your room.

The 2007 AAG Annual Meeting will be held April 17–21, and will host more than 6,500 scholars and researchers from around the world. Visit www.aag.org to register or for more information.

AAG Expands Jobs in Geography Center at Annual Meeting

The Jobs in Geography (JIG) Center at the 2007 AAG Annual Meeting will
feature extensive information on careers in geography, professional
development, and employment opportunities.

Highlights include:

    * Large exhibit of available jobs in all sectors with opportunities
      to meet with prospective employers in academia and other sectors.

    * A career counseling session dedicated to identifying transferable
      skills and packaging them with a geographic edge. This session
      will be led by a professional career counselor who will also
      review strategies for writing effective resumes.

    * Options to submit your resume to the AAG 2007 Resume Bank
      Online Resume Submittal
      Resumes will be reviewed by prospective employers attending the
      2007 Annual Meeting.

    * Informational discussions/interviews with successful professional
      geographers to learn about their experiences, professions, and
      career paths.

    * Many career and professional development sessions and presentations