Continuing Faculty
Avery Everhart
I am a transdisciplinary socio-spatial scientist with particular interests in health geography, demography, informatics, and community-based participatory research. My work centers transgender and gender diverse lives as they are lived in various geopolitical and socio-legal contexts.
Avi Lewis
location_onGEOG 129A
I am a documentary filmmaker and educator, with more than 30 years of experience in journalism and storytelling from the front lines of social movements. More recently, I have been deeply involved in the emergent frame of the Green New Deal.
Desirée Valadares
Desirée Valadares
She / Her / Hers
Assistant Professor | Affiliated Faculty, Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies (ACAM)
location_onGEOG 252
My research and teaching focus on the cultural memory and infrastructural imaginaries of the Second World War in western Canada and the non-contiguous US
Elvin Wyly
Wyly analyzes the co-evolution of capitalist market processes and state policy in reproducing urban social relations and inequalities. Recent studies blend critical theory and multivariate quantification to examine inequalities in housing finance, gentrification, and the circulation of conspiracy theories in and beyond Trump's America....Read more
Geraldine Pratt
My research focuses on transnational migration, labour precarity, and new geographies of dementia care. I hold the Canada Research Chair in Transnationalism and Precarious Labour.
Jamie Peck
phone604 822 0894
location_onGEOG 134
I am an economic geographer and institutional political economist with interests in capitalist transformations, urban and regional restructuring, and statecraft. My work explores how ostensibly 'global' processes are (re)made through localized sites, distanciated networks, and grounded practices.
Jemima Nomunume Baada
I am an interdisciplinary climate-migration scholar, and my research and teaching are at the intersections of gender, climate change, migration, health and development equity.
ON LEAVE
Until December 18, 2024
Jennifer Williams
phone604 827 1592
location_onGEOG 241
I conduct research to understand how evolution and ecology interact to change population dynamics and species interactions in space and time. Much of my work is focused on plants in temperate savannas and grasslands, and the herbivores that eat them.
Jessica Dempsey
phone604 822 3246
location_onGEOG 127A
My research and teaching focus on environmental politics. In geography this often goes under the label of political ecology, which considers how environmental politics is shaped by and shapes economics, science, culture, history, gender, racism, colonialism, social movements and more.
ON LEAVE
Until December 15, 2024
Jessica Wang
emailjessica.wang@ubc.ca
location_onGEOG 140E
My research addresses the historical entanglements between science, knowledge, and power.
Jim Glassman
For my latest research and publications, please visit:
http://blogs.ubc.ca/glassman
Juanita Sundberg
phone604 822 3535
location_onGEOG 125
I bring the insights of feminist political ecology and the sensibilities of an ethnographer to bear on nature conservation, border security, and militarization.
Kate Hale
My research goals include characterizing snowpack, climate, and ecohydrologic variability to identify drivers of water availability in alpine and Arctic watersheds. I aim to develop collaborative approaches with diverse stakeholder groups to inform water management and develop strategies for conserv...Read more
Loch Brown
Loch's interests lies primarily in the theory and practice of political ecology, with a focus on global human-environmental systems and the use of emerging technologies in environmental and geographic education.
ON LEAVE
Until June 30, 2025
Luke Bergmann
Luke Bergmann
ON LEAVE
Until June 30, 2025
Associate Professor
emailluke.bergmann@ubc.ca
phone604 822 5612
location_onGEOG 215C
I am the Canada Research Chair in GIS, Geospatial Big Data and Digital Geohumanities and an Associate Professor here in the Department of Geography. I hold a B.Sc. in Physics from Duke University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Minnesota. Before joining UBC Geography, I pre...Read more
Marwan Hassan
My research covers a wide range of topics in geomorphology and hydrology. Model development has been a very important component of my research, with considerable experimental flume work used to complement field data.
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
Marysa Laguë
My research focuses on understanding how terrestrial processes impact the atmosphere and surface climate from the scale of a single plant to the scale of a planet, by modulating fluxes of water and energy between the land and the atmosphere.
ON LEAVE
Until December 31, 2025
Matthew Evenden
phone604 822 6407
location_onGEOG 251
My research lies in environmental history and water history and focuses on the history and politics of large rivers, including controversies over dams, fisheries, as well as water supply and quality.
McKenzie Kuhn
My research explores the consequences of climate change on boreal-Arctic ecosystems. Our lab’s key research goals include improving estimates of northern ecosystem greenhouse gas exchange and understanding the role of natural and human disturbances on terrestrial and freshwater biogeochemistry.
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
Merje Kuus
My research examines the making of expert knowledge in national and transnational regulatory institutions. I focus on diplomatic and geopolitical practices in Europe and the Arctic, but my broader interest lies in knowledge and power in bureaucratic settings.
Michael Fabris
As an Indigenous Geographer, my research focuses on processes of dispossession in settler colonial contexts, and the Indigenous social movements that seek to challenge these processes by reasserting Indigenous land and water relationships through their own forms of governance and legal jurisdiction....Read more
ON LEAVE
Until June 30, 2025
Michele Koppes
My research and teaching explores the intersections of glaciers, mountains, and the people who dwell within them, and how they are responding to ongoing climate change.
Mohammed Rafi Arefin
My research is focused on urban environmental politics. I draw on scholarship in infrastructural geographies, urban political ecology and environmental justice, geographical political economy, science and technology studies, and discard studies to explore the politics of urban waste and sanitation.
Naomi Klein
location_onGEOG 143
My research and teaching take place at the intersection of crisis and political transformation. I look at the ways that large-scale shocks, from economic crises to ecological disasters to terror attacks, act as catalysts and accelerators for broad-based social change.
Naomi Schwartz
Our lab's research addresses questions about the causes and consequences of disturbance and extreme events in tropical forest landscapes.
Nina Hewitt
My research explores vegetation dynamics with a focus on the impacts of human activities, particularly ecosystem fragmentation, altered disturbance regimes, biological invasions and climate change.
Peter James Hudson
Deploying the methodologies and literatures of Black Studies, political economy, and history, my research examines the long histories of Black dispossession under capitalism, and of Black resistance to capitalist dispossession.
Philippe Le Billon
My research explores tensions between environmental sustainability, development, and security issues. I investigate socio-environmental conflicts around extractive industries, ocean sustainability, the green transition, and the climate crisis.
Priti Narayan
My research and teaching interests center around urban processes and politics, particularly in India. I am currently the Director of the Centre for India and South Asian Research (CISAR).
Sally Hermansen
Sally Hermansen
Professor of Teaching
Research Area
Digital Geographies, Geospatial Analysis, GISMy main area of interest is Geographic Data Visualization, and I teach courses in Cartography, Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing.
Research Area
Digital Geographies, Geospatial Analysis, GIS
Simon Donner
emailsimon.donner@ubc.ca
phone604 822 6959
location_onGEOG 133
Research Area
Climate: Science, Change, ActionI am a climate scientist focused on helping the world prevent and prepare for climate change. My research program lies primarily at the intersection of climate change science, marine science, and policy.
Research Area
Climate: Science, Change, Action
ON LEAVE
Until December 31, 2024
Siobhán Wittig McPhee
Siobhán Wittig McPhee
ON LEAVE
Until December 31, 2024
Associate Professor of Teaching
phone604 827 2078
location_onGEOG 124
My role as an educator in the Educational Leadership Stream at UBC, is one of being a facilitator for students learning. I view my role as an academic and an educator to encourage students and to equip them with the tools they need for their success both academically and more broadly.
Tianjia Liu
emailtianjia.liu@ubc.ca
location_onGEOG 242B
My research focuses on natural disasters, climate extremes, and human-environment interactions, with an emphasis on fires, air quality, and public health.
Trevor Barnes
I have been mainly pursuing various themes in the history of twentieth-century geography. This includes the role of American geographers in the Cold War, geography's Vietnam War protestors and the history of North American radical geography.
Sessional Lecturers
Audrey Pearson
Audrey Pearson
Sessional Lecturer (Term 1)
location_onGEOG 117
Old-growth forests, coastal temperate rain forest systems both ecological and cultural, natural and logging disturbances, ecosystem recovery, ecological restoration, restoration of riparian, estuary systems and salmon habitat, traditional knowledge, science communication, creating sustainable societ...Read more
Carla Urquhart
Pursuing a PhD degree
Research Area: Ecology and Evolution; Range Dynamics; Ecological Modelling
Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Williams
Degrees: BA in Geography (Environment and Sustainability) and Mathematics -- UBC
Entry Date: May 2020
Chris Meulbroek
Chris Meulbroek
Sessional Lecturer (Term 2)
I am a Ph.D. candidate with research interests in geographical political economy, development studies, social histories of economic thought, and trans-regional relations between East Asia and North America.
Corrine Armistead
Corrine Armistead
Sessional Lecturer (Term 1)
emailarmistec@mail.ubc.ca
Pursuing a PhD, supervised by Dr. Luke Bergmann and Dr. Karen Bakker.
Dawn Mooney
emaildawn.mooney@ubc.ca
location_onGEOG 121
Research Area
Digital Geographies, Geospatial Analysis, GISI teach cartography and work as a cartographer and data visualizer at the UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research. I am interested in methods of effective visual communication of health data and in using mapping to explore, communicate and address geographic disparities in health.
Research Area
Digital Geographies, Geospatial Analysis, GIS
Heather Chappells
location_onGEOG 117
My research and teaching are interdisciplinary in focus, connecting ideas from geography, environmental science, history and sociology to address the sustainable management of energy and water systems from a community to a global scale.
Hojjatollah Yazdanpanah
Hojjatollah Yazdanpanah
Sessional Lecturer (Term 1)
location_onGEOG 121
Iain Stewart
Iain Stewart
Sessional Lecturer (Term 2)
Research Area
Climate: Science, Change, ActionIain D. Stewart is a researcher and lecturer in urban climatology and climate-sensitive urban design. He is currently a Fellow of the Global Cities Institute at the University of Toronto and a Visiting Scholar at Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Iain also serves as Associate Editor for the jou...Read more
Research Area
Climate: Science, Change, Action
Joseph Daniels
Joseph Daniels
Sessional Lecturer (Term 2)
location_onGEOG 117
María Cervantes-Macías
location_onGEOG 126, Urban Studies Lab
María Esther Cervantes is a PhD candidate in Geography at the UBC. María is currently at Yale University as a Fox International Fellow. Her dissertation focuses on highly skilled Mexican immigration to the Pacific Northwest and the intersections between social class, education and migration.
Micheal Jerowsky
emailmike.jerowsky@ubc.ca
location_onGEOG 117
Mike is a PhD candidate whose research interests include GIS, digital geographies, environmental education, and technology. He is interested in how unequal access to greenspace can impact the environmental education of youth, and how new media can help to overcome these educational deficits.
Rachel Phillips
Rachel Phillips
she/her
Pursuing a doctor of philosophy degree
Supervisor: Jamie Peck
Degrees: BA, Urban Studies, University of Toronto; MA, Human Geography, University of Toronto
Entry Date: 2020
Expected Graduation Date: 2025
Research Statement: My work examines how law and other forms of state power shape...Read more
Rachel Brydolf-Horwitz
Supervisor(s): Geraldine Pratt and Elvin Wyly
Postdoctoral Fellows
David Adams
David Adams
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
emaildavid.adams@ubc.ca
phone604 822 9105
location_onGEOG 127
Research Area
Water, Ice, LandscapesPursuing a Universitas 21 Joint PhD between the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Melbourne (UoM), supervised by Dr. Brett Eaton.
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
Visiting Scholars
Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza
Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza
Visiting Associate Professor
location_onGEOG 231
Visiting from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, August 1, 2024 to October 31, 2024.
Elizaabeth Shapiro-Garza is Human-Environment Geographer whose research explores the ways in which human communities interact with environmental initiatives and approaches meant...Read more
Mingxiao Liu
Mingxiao Liu
Visiting Associate Professor (North China University of Water Resources and Electric)
location_onGEOG 247
Visiting from North China University of Water Resources and Electric from December 31, 2023- December 31, 2024
My research interest is to improve better understanding of sediment transport and alluvial river evolution through experiments, field investigation and numerical simulation....Read more
Associate Members
Andre Zimmermann
André Zimmermann is a professional geoscientist who conducts studies on sediment transport and river systems. He works for Northwest Hydraulic Consultants on a variety of river and coastal projects for clients that include municipal, provincial and federal governments, individual land owners, hydro...Read more
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
David Clements
David Clements
Affiliate Professor
emailclements@twu.ca
David R. Clements (Ph.D., Queen’s University) is a Professor of Biology and Assistant Dean of Science at Trinity Western University (TWU) in Canada. He researches invasive weed biology in BC, and other parts of the world such as China and Australia, and has published extensively. He has served as ...Read more
Georg Jost
Georg Jost
Adjunct Professor
I am a hydrologist and work as a forecaster at BC Hydro. My daily bread and butter job is to forecast inflows for most of the reservoirs in our Province from an hourly to annual time scales.
Glen Coulthard
Glen Coulthard
Associate Member (First Nations & Indigenous Studies)
phone604 822 2880
location_onBUCH E-263
Glen Coulthard (PhD – University of Victoria) is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and an associate professor in the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program and the Department of Political Science. Glen has written and published numerous articles and chapters in the areas of Indi...Read more
John Paul Catungal
John Paul Catungal
Associate Member (Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice)
emailcatungal@mail.ubc.ca
phone604 822 9148
location_onSOWK 140
Dr. JP Catungal is Assistant Professor of Critical Racial and Ethnic Studies in the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. A queer, first-generation Filipino-Canadian settler living in unceded Coast Salish territories, JP is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in the nexus of cri...Read more
Kavita Philip
Kavita Philip
Associate Member (English Language and Literatures)
emailkavita.philip@ubc.ca
Kuni Kamizaki
Kuni Kamizaki
Associate Member (School of Community and Regional Planning)
emailkuni.kamizaki@ubc.ca
Kuni Kamizaki is an assistant professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP). Kuni’s research adopts a multi-scalar approach to urban transformation in global cities, with an emphasis on issues of displacement and housing inequality, as well as community-led alternatives for so...Read more
Leila Harris
Leila Harris
Associate Member (Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability)
emaillharris@ires.ubc.ca
Co Director, Program on Water Governance
Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability
Professor, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice
Leila M Harris is a Professor in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and also in the Instit...Read more
Lori Daniels
Lori Daniels
Associate Member (Forestry)
emaillori.daniels@ubc.ca
phone604 822 3442
location_onFSC 3020
Lori Daniels is a professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences.
My research strives to advance fundamental scientific knowledge on forest dynamics, which is imperative for conserving and managing contemporary forests and adapting to global environmental change. My research char...Read more
Minelle Mahtani
Minelle Mahtani
Associate Member (Institute for Social Justice) | Senior Advisor, Provost for Racialized Faculty
phone604 827 3915
location_onBUCH Tower 1008
Brenda and David McLean Chair in Canadian Studies 2021 - 23
Senior Advisor to the Provost on Racialized Faculty
Minelle Mahtani is an Associate Professor at The Social Justice Institute, University of British Columbia. She has written “Mixed Race Amnesia: Resisting the Romanticiz...Read more
Nicholas Coops
Dr. Nicholas Coops is a faculty member in the Department of Forest Resources Management at UBC, and holds a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in remote sensing. He is also an affiliate faculty member of Oregon State University. Dr. Coops obtained his PhD from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in...Read more
Richard McCleary
Richard McCleary
Adjunct Professor
I am an aquatic ecologist and geomorphologist employed by the provincial government in Kamloops. My interests are in land use and water use effects on the ecological functions of streams. I enjoy helping to team graduate students with challenging issues for their research.
Tara Cookson
Tara Cookson
Associate Member (School of Public Policy and Global Affairs)
emailtcookson@mail.ubc.ca
Tara Patricia Cookson is Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Gender, Development, and Global Public Policy at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and an Associate Member of the Geography Department.
Tom Koch
Tom Koch
Adjunct Professor
emailtom.koch@geog.ubc.ca
As an adjunct professor of geography with a multidisciplinary PHD in geography, ethics/philosophy and medicine I continue to work in three allied fields. First, issues of medical geography and the means by which epidemic and endemic diseases are understood spatially, primarily through mapping. This ...Read more
Emeriti
Alf Siemens
My research interests focus on pre-Hispanic wetland agriculture; cultural-historical geography of Mesoamerican tropical lowlands; and the recent impact of agricultural globalization. I am currently working on an environmental history of the Candelaria River Basin in southwestern Campeche, Mexico, fr...Read more
Brett Eaton
I am a fluvial geomorphologist interested in how rivers respond to land use and environmental changes.
Brian Klinkenberg
My work focuses on advanced spatial analysis in the physical, health and social sciences, and in the intersection of these areas (e.g., medical biogeography and Geographic Information Science).
Dan Hiebert
Dan Hiebert
Professor Emeritus
emaildan.hiebert@ubc.ca
phone604 822 2663
Research Area
Cities, Economies, Transnational FlowsIn retirement I continue to be interested in international migration. At the broadest scale, this involves trying to understand how policy and regulatory systems shape migration, and also how people become mobile, with or without the consent of states.
Research Area
Cities, Economies, Transnational Flows
Dan Moore
Dan Moore
Professor Emeritus
emaildan.moore@ubc.ca
phone604 822 3538
location_onGEOG 246
Research Area
Water, Ice, LandscapesMy research focuses on the influence of climate variability and change, in conjunction with forest and glacier dynamics, on hydrological processes and the patterns of streamflow and water quality.
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
David Edgington
David Edgington
Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 2663
Research Area
Cities, Economies, Transnational FlowsResearch Interest:
Geography of Japan and the Pacific Rim
Geography of International Trade, Overseas Investment and Multinational Corporations
Disaster Research in the Pacific Rim
Multiculturalism and Local Governments
David Edgington has degrees from the University of London (BSc Estate Mana...Read more
Research Area
Cities, Economies, Transnational Flows
David Ley
David Ley
Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 2663
I have undertaken a number of projects on immigration to Canadian cities, including: immigration, housing and labour markets; offsetting immigration and domestic migration in world cities; immigration and poverty; immigrant churches as service hubs; multiculturalism and the governance of diversity. ...Read more
David McClung
David McClung
Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 3537
location_onGEOG 231
Research Area
Water, Ice, LandscapesSnow and avalanche mechanics, avalanche dynamics and engineering, avalanche prediction and forecasting.
Dr. McClung holds the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Snow and Avalanche Science, supported by NSERC, Forest Renewal BC, Canadian Mountain Holidays, and UBC. The research program covers aval...Read more
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
Derek Gregory
Derek Gregory
Peter Wall Distinguished Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 2663
My research has two interconnected themes. Most generally, I am interested in the spatial modalities of late modern war, where military violence, occupation and peace bleed into one another. My focus for these investigations is the Middle East, specifically Iraq and Israel/Palestine, but I also cons...Read more
Graeme Wynn
Graeme Wynn
Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 2663
An environmental-historian/ historical geographer, I have wide-ranging research interests in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Southern Africa. My UBC career included stints as Department Head, Associate Dean, and Principal of the UBC Emeritus College. I edited 2 major journals and a UBCPress series, and still lead various organizations....Read more
Greg Henry
I have been working to understand the consequences of environmental change, driven by the changing climate, on Arctic tundra ecosystems through long-term observations and field experiments. Studies of plant growth, phenology and reproduction, biodiversity responses, biotic interactions, evolutionary...Read more
Ian McKendry
My long-term research goals have been primarily directed at understanding meteorological phenomena that develop in regions of complex, urbanized terrain.
Margaret North
Margaret North
Senior Instructor Emerita
phone604 822 2663
Research interests focus on vegetation change along the Peace River.
Michael Bovis
Research interests focus on hillslope geomorphology, and in particular mass movement phenomena in the Western Cordillera.
Former Head of the Department (2002-2005).
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
Michael Church
My research interests focus on the morphodynamics of rivers at all scales from steepland streams to large rivers. I am engaged in long-term studies of sediment transport and stability in Fraser River. Sediment transport is also studied in an experimental program conducted in the stream dynamics labo...Read more
Research Area
Water, Ice, Landscapes
Olav Slaymaker
Olav Slaymaker
Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 2663
I study changing landscapes at local, regional and global scales, with emphasis on mountain environments. My current focus is on protected areas in Canada, with recent book chapters on protected areas in western (2017) and eastern Canada (2020).
Richard Copley
Research interests focus on astronomical influences on the location and layout of sacred sites in the Sinitic world.
Robert North
Robert North
Associate Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 2663
Research interests focus on the changing economic geography of the ex-Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Former Associate Head of the Department (1998-2001)
Terence McGee
I am enjoying retirement in Victoria and spending time with my wife, Lori and my grandchildren . I can be reached through email and would love to hear from previous students and colleagues.
Former Director of the Institute of Asian Research, UBC (1978-1992; July 1995 - December 1998)....Read more
Tim Oke
Research interests focus on urban climate and the energy and water balances of cities.
Former Head of the Department (1991-1996).
Honours: Order of Canada; Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada
In Memoriam
Cole Harris (1936 - 2022)
Cole Harris (1936 - 2022)
Professor Emeritus | In Memoriam
phone604 822 2663
Research interests focus on European settlement in early Canada and on geographies of colonialism in early British Columbia.
John Chapman (1923-2015)
John Chapman (1923-2015)
Professor Emeritus | In Memoriam
phone604 822 2663
Research interests focus on the energy Industry in BC.
Former Head of the Department (1968-1974)
John Stager (1928-2018)
John Stager (1928-2018)
Professor Emeritus | In Memoriam
phone604 822 2663
Research interests focus on geography of the Arctic; human adaptation to, and impact upon, the Canadian North.
Karen Bakker (1971-2023)
phone604 822 2663
location_onGEOG 217 Main Office
Karen’s primary research interests spanned political economy, political ecology, environmental studies, STS, and digital geographies. Her most recent research focused on the implications of digital technologies for environmental governance.
Ken Denike (1939-2024)
Ken Denike (1939-2024)
Assistant Professor Emeritus
phone604 822 2663
Much of my early research focused on the trade off between equity and efficiency of delivery of public and private economic activity most notably in transportation and education.
Ross Mackay (1915-2014)
Ross Mackay (1915-2014)
Professor Emeritus | In Memoriam
phone604 822 2663
Research interests focus on arctic permafrost and geomorphology. Dr. Mackay maintains an active research program along the western Arctic coast of Canada.