News and events

The Department of Geography at the University of Nevada, Reno hosts various events and seminars throughout the semester. Geography colloquium seminars take place in the Ansari Business building in room 205 at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. Please refer to the seminar schedule for specific seminar dates and subject matter.

View seminar schedule

Department News

A south-facing shot of the University Quad, with students lying against trees, walking along the Quad, and throwing a football.
Nevada Drought Update for September 2023

This report brings to a close a three-and-a-half year stretch of having at least one Nevada county under drought watch

A rainstorm passes between a mountain range and a marshy area, with sagebrush and a road in the foreground.
Nevada Drought Update for August 2023

Drought still remains in southern Nevada, but has disappeared in most of the state

Overlooking Lake Tahoe on a fairly sunny day with several clouds in the sky.
Quarterly Climate Report and Outlook – July through September

Nevada State Climatologist Steph McAfee shares a report on Nevada’s climate over the past few months, and what to expect in the next quarter

A photo from a high vantage point of Lake Mead. The water levels are low as indicated by the bathtub rings around the lake.
Nevada Drought Update for July 2023

Nevada reservoirs are in good condition across the state; Lake Mead's levels have been rising

The back of the Mackay statue facing toward the Quad. The grass is green and the trees lining the Quad are fully leafed out. The sky is blue with some scattered clouds.
Nevada Drought Update for June 2023

The wet spring across much of Nevada alleviated drought and may provide a buffer against a rapid return to drought

A table tent listing sponsors of the Mackay School. There is a fork and plate in the foreground.
Mackay Banquet celebrates excellence in Mackay community

The annual banquet was held on April 28

Mackay Mines from a low angle showing off the spring blooms.
Nevada Drought Update for May 2023

Only a small portion of the state is still in drought, and Lake Mead levels are forecasted to improve. Fire risk in northwestern Nevada is likely to be higher than normal by July.

Person holding up a picture of Cave Rock at Cave Rock at Lake Tahoe.
Land, Water, Place: An Art and Science Collaborative

Scholars, curators, academics and students will present interactive discussions focused on our complex relationships with land, water and place

A view of Manzanita Lake, with blooming trees in the foreground.
Quarterly Climate Report and Outlook - April through June

Nevada State Climatologist Steph McAfee provides an outlook and report for climate and weather

A brick building with a dogwood tree that is starting to bloom in front of it. The name of the building reads, "Effie Mona Mack"
Nevada Drought Update for April 2023

Drought was alleviated across much of Nevada

A photo of the Truckee River reaching the tops of the riverbanks. There is snow on the ground all around the river.
Nevada Drought Update for March 2023

State Climatologist shares a quarterly update about Nevada’s ongoing drought

A cyclists on a street with cars
League of American Bicyclists invites University Bicycle Working Group members to National Bike Summit

Support from the national bicyclist organization continues after the Reno-Sparks area was selected as one of five communities nationwide to host a Bicycle Friendly Community Workshop.

Scanned mud core samples
Centuries-long drought in the Great Basin shown to be a recurring pattern

A multi-centennial drought termed the Late Holocene Dry Period could serve as a map for future climate projections, Indigenous human responses a model for resilience and adaptability

Water runs down a valley through a dam, where pelicans are sitting at the base.
Nevada State Climatologist Steph McAfee provides some insight about our state of water

Nevada has been experiencing drought after drought

A headshot of Christine Johnson.
Christine Johnson appointed to Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names

Department of Geography professor will use her professional experience to help remedy past erasures

A screengrab from Zoom shows three women in the top left corner, a woman on another screen in the top right corner, and a woman at the bottom in another screen.
Interdisciplinary team studies impact of housing on Latino health in Washoe County

A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant helps geographers, health scientists and community leaders identify areas of need

A woman and a man shake hands in front of another woman holding a glass award.
Celebrating the 2022 College of Science Distinguished Alumni

Among the awardees are Las Vegas’s city planner, a globe-trotting fish biologist, a psychologist providing culturally sensitive services and more

Q&D Construction worker in open trench
Aging infrastructure in rural Nevada sees alumni-led improvements

Yerington nears the completion of a USDA-funded project to remove and replace the rural Nevada city's 100-year-old sewer and water systems.

The "Weclome to Nevada" sign posted along a highway in eastern Nevada.
Lucas Ingvoldstad named USDA Director of Rural Development in Nevada

Alumnus of the Department of Geography’s Land Use Planning Master’s program aims to address climate change and invest in climate-smart infrastructure in rural Nevada

Funding in flight: Making climate change prediction models more accurate

Researchers from the Department of Geography are making use of new drone technology with support from the Global Climate Change Foundation.

Truckee River
Gloomy water supply outlook in Nevada prompts new collaborative effort

College of Science researcher leading one-year project to address urban and rural water issues

Douglas Boyle poses for a photo on the Sierra Nevada University campus.
Douglas Boyle named Associate Vice Provost for Research and Creative Activities in Lake Tahoe

Longtime University of Nevada, Reno faculty member brings experience to new position after Sierra Nevada University acquisition; appointment to begin July 1

Lake Mead low water
Southern Nevada water supply faces Colorado River restrictions

Creative strategies needed to address long-term shortages, say three University of Nevada, Reno professors

Anne Nolin snowshoeing
Anne Nolin talks climate change, wildfire and snowpack on CNN International

Protect Our Winters group featured in "Winter Sports are on Thin Ice"

Jon DeBoer kneels, holding a brown lizard out in front of him.
New lizard defense mechanism observed

Two graduate students in the geography program spotted a new behavior in a lizard species.

post-fire revegetation in Oregon Cascades
Snow cover critical for revegetation following forest fires

College of Science study finds climate change a factor in decrease of snowpack in the Western United States

Autumn Harry hikes atop a mountain peak wearing a backpacking pack.
Reclaiming the land, remapping history

Through research and mapping, geography graduate student and member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Autumn Harry recognizes Indigenous place names to honor her Numu (Northern Paiute) homelands.

Grid of three podcast participant headshots along with the Discover Science Podcast Series logo.
Exploring the relationship between space, race and STEM attainment on the Discover Science podcast

Dr. William F. Tate IV speaks with the College of Science about his research revealing the uneven contours of the education pipeline.

Doug Smith posing for a photo with a gray wolf in snowy Yellowstone National Park.
College of Science honor exceptional alumni

The College of Science and Mackay School honored an impressive group of alumni at the annual Alumni of the Year reception on September 25.

Red Rock Canyon Rocks
Community leaders, science experts featured at 2019 Global Climate Change Summit

The Sept. 23 conference will discuss how climate change is impacting Nevada

Ken Nussear sits in a plane wearing vintage army gear and a vintage parachute pack. He sits behind another similarly dressed man.
Remembering Normandy, a commemorative jump

Professor of Geography and US Army veteran paratrooper Ken Nussear participated in the 75th anniversary reenactment of D-Day

The Lady Muckers take on the 41st Annual International Collegiate Mining Competition

The Mackay Muckers had enough female recruits for both men's and a women's teams for the first time in five years.

old photograph of two women in front of Mackay Statue
A place in history: the Mackay School

A look back at some remarkable images from the Mackay School's past.

Two students in a garden
Geography students help Reno refugees cultivate roots through community garden

Service learning opportunities offered in the geography department at the University of Nevada, Reno has students building community ties for marginalized populations

Noelle Ruggieri next to an American Dance Festival sign
Member of the Pack: One of the first women to graduate in new dance major offered through the School of the Arts

Noelle Ruggieri grows as a dancer and choreographer after summer internship

Student Jolene Norton holds up her report titled "Reno Local Food Assessment."
Developing regional solutions through undergraduate research (May 2018)

Through Community-Based Research, students explore problems and offer understanding, tools and ideas to make a difference

mt lincoln weather station
Sierra mountaintop laboratory keeps track of some of the worst weather in the country

Sugar Bowl Resort, University partner to study regional weather, climate and water impacts for California and Nevada

Two men on a boat smiling at each other and holding a core
The messy history of pristine landscapes

Researchers reconstruct the relationship between changing sociopolitical conditions and their effect on the landscape.

Fulgurite on display at the W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum.
Mineral Monday: Fulgurite

Each Monday, explore the many amazing minerals, fossils and historical objects on display at the W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum with curator Garrett Barmore.

University of Nevada, Reno campus
The Graduate School Honors Graduate Dean’s Award Winners

Tom Albright
Climate change increases lethal dehydration risk in desert songbirds

College of Science-led multi-institution study focuses on southwest United States

Jill Heaton handles black mamba snakes
What Namibia can teach us

University of Nevada, Reno associate professor Jill Heaton's work in the southern African nation benefits students both there and here

Students listening to lecture in a classroom
University adds 16 new academic programs

New programs range from a minor in geography geotechnologies to graduate certificates in nuclear packaging

Governor calls on University drought experts

As appointees to the Nevada Drought Forum, Doug Boyle and Mark Walker will help set the course to water sustainability for Nevada

NevCAN monitoring station
Tracking socio-environmental systems of mountain areas topic of international meeting

University of Nevada, Reno chosen for first-of-its-kind scientific gathering

mountain observatories
Mountain ecosystems scientists to convene at University July 16-19

International workshop to discuss socio-ecologic issues of mountain environments

Using Lake Tahoe photographs to blend art and science

Peter Goin has been using his photographs and those of others to research the visual history of Lake Tahoe for 25 years.

Professor Franco Biondi awarded prestigious Fellowship to Harvard

College of Science forest researcher to study climate, environment over past centuries

2012 Earth Science Week provides free geological field trip

Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology guides “Tuff All Over: Exploring Faulted Volcanic Terrain in the Painted Hills, Virginia Mountains, West of Pyramid Lake"

Geography Club to host Radical Reels Film Festival Sept. 19

University student club offers high-adrenaline film night to fund educational events

Doug Boyle
Geography Department's Douglas Boyle appointed new Nevada State Climatologist

Heads State Climate Office in College of Science public service department

Professors Starrs and Goin receive prestigious award

Professor discusses vandalism, discovery of African rock art

Nevada professors collaborate on California Ag Field Guide

Geography, UN Press win PROSE honorable mention

State demographer releases population estimates

Professor to attend Climate Change Conference

Hansen used GPS to record an exact location for setting up a surveying monument on Revelation Mountain, AK.
The Meticulous Mapmaker

Nationally recognized map maker dodges bear to study at the University