Alana Wilson: I completed my Ph.D. in Geography at CU Boulder in December 2017, having done hydrochemistry and cryosphere related research with Mark Williams and Noah Molotch, and with Jennifer Fluri supporting a social science component to my water work. The combination of cryosphere-related research and an increasingly long period of time living without owning a car (since 2004 and counting) meant I spent a lot of time thinking about transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Over the years in Boulder I lived in housing co-ops and used Colorado Carshare when needed. My personal passion shifted in the direction of sustainable transportation as one of our best collective opportunities for rapid reductions of GHG emissions. So, after graduating I approached a group I had gotten to know well over the years - campus staff working on transportation – and asked for a job. They graciously funded me as a post-doc in the Program in Environmental Design (ENVD) working on sustainable campus transportation. My efforts included teaching planning studios and supporting transportation and facilities staff with two successful grant applications to fund CU’s first four electric Buff Buses, which you should be seeing soon!!

Through campus-based work I connected with transportation researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. I joined the lab as a post-doc in December 2018 and have stayed on as a researcher. NREL is best known for wind and solar research and development, but there is an increasingly large group working on many aspects of transportation – from the chemistry of batteries to behavioral science. While the shift from physical geography to transportation research may seem like a big leap, being a geographer was very strategic for me. I have been able to apply the same skills – research design, quantitative analysis, and managing research projects - to different subject areas. 

At NREL, I work with social scientists and engineers to provide geospatial and statistical analyses, with particular attention to energy efficient transportation modes such as transit, bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, and cargo bikes. My team also provides analysis support to the national network of Clean Cities Coalitions. We also work a bit behind the scenes supporting a variety of external partners on sustainable and equitable mobility shifts. A few current ones include the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (the largest municipal utility in the U.S. and aiming to be carbon-free by 2035) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (which is currently implementing an $85 million Clean Transportation Prize Program). I love that geography enabled me to be nimble in seizing these opportunities and prepared me well for an interdisciplinary research career.

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CHARIS graduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder, Alice Hill and Alana Wilson, conducted physical hydrologic field methods training and data collection in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, in summer 2016. The objective of the water sampling field methods is to use the unique chemistry signatures of different source waters to estimate how much snowmelt and glacier melt each contribute to river discharge.

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The Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder congratulates the winners the following Graduate Student Awards. These awards were recognized at our Spring Commencement Ceremony on May 6, 2016.

Gilbert F. White Doctoral Fellowship for 2016-2017 - Theodore Barnhart and Yang Yang

Adam Kolff Memorial Research Fellowship for MA Students - Gretchen Lang and Adam Mahood

Jennifer Dinaburg Memorial Research Fellowship for PhD Students - Robert Andrus, Angela Cunningham, Shae Frydenlund, Alice Hill, Rupak Shrestha, and Alana Wilson

James A. and Jeanne B. DeSana Graduate Research Scholarship - Theodore Barnhart, Shae Frydenlund, Julia Guarino, Aaron Malone, Rupak Shrestha, Kristy Weber, and Qinghuan Zhang

Department of Geography Excellence in Graduate Teaching Awards - Johannes Uhl (Teaching Assistant (TA) Award) and Shae Frydenlund (Graduate Student Mentoring Award).

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Alana was awarded this fellowship for 2012/2013 and is eligible for an additional two years of support. She will use this fellowship to fund her research, “Using Remote Sensing and Physically-Based Hydrologic Models to Assess the Contribution of Snow and Ice Melt to the Major Rivers of High Asia”.

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Adam Kolff Memorial Research Fellowships have been awarded to Claudio Alvarez, Chris Jochem, and Alana Wilson

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CU Boulder's team (Ted Holland, Alana Wilson, Ian Rowen, Sam Smith, Mark Stover, and Preston Cumming) WON the Regional Geography Bowl at this years Great Plains Rocky Mountain Regional AAG meeting on Friday. There were six teams present, including perennial favorite Kansas State. CU Geography won by a whopping 59 points over second place KSU. It was a great time and we are planning on defending our title next year in Provo, UT. We hope that more folks will help out next year. Sam and Ian, will be going to the World Geography Bowl competition at the National AAG meeting in New York in February. This is a great honor and we could not have won without their help. Sam received first place overall honors, as well as a magic drinking bird toy.

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