Above: Tim Hawthorne (left) and OWU Geography major Lucas Farmer on a drone survey in Belize. Credit: Citizen Science GIS
Dr. Timothy Hawthorne OWU 2003, University of Central Florida
“The Power of People in Science: Exploring Community-Based Uses of Maps, Apps and Drones”
Thursday, September 20 at 4:10 p.m. in Science Center 163
Abstract: The community is where mutually beneficial research and education outcomes are discovered together through the power of citizen science, maps, apps, and drones. Our work through Citizen Science GIS seeks to engage academics and community organizations/residents in shared knowledge production focused on community-engaged research that benefits real-world communities. In this talk, we unravel the potential of engaging communities and science in meaningful collaboration. We will highlight opportunities to use interactive and visual mapping technologies to share the spatial stories and knowledge of community members around the world to understand some of the most pressing challenges in coastal communities.
Biography: Timothy L. Hawthorne is a 2003 Ohio Wesleyan University alumnus. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Department of Sociology at University of Central Florida and the State of Florida Geography Steward with National Geographic. He earned his Ph.D. in geography in 2010 from The Ohio State University. He is a broadly trained human geographer with deep interests in citizen science GIS, community geography, qualitative GIS, and critical GIS. Professor Hawthorne is Principal Investigator of the Citizen Science GIS Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Orlando and Belize, funded by the National Science Foundation. He also is an associate editor for both the Journal of Geography and The International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research.