Announcements

Professor John Chiang Elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union

September 24, 2026

Congratulations to Professor John Chiang, who has been elected a 2026 Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), one of the highest honors bestowed by the organization. Chiang is recognized for his contributions to understanding large-scale climate dynamics, climate variability and change, and paleoclimate, with research that examines the mechanisms driving changes in global and regional climate.

AGU Fellows are selected for “exceptional...

Professor Emerita Gillian Hart Publishes New Essay in Antipode

August 27, 2026

Professor Emerita Gillian Hart has published a new essay in Antipode examining the interconnected histories of apartheid South Africa and Israel within the geopolitical context of U.S. imperialism during the Cold War. The essay traces how intensifying conflicts with liberation movements in the 1980s shaped the political conjunctures that led to both the Oslo Accords and the transition from apartheid, which began in late 1991. Drawing on Antonio Gramsci, Hart develops a global, conjunctural, and comparative...

Donald S. Moore Memorial Geography Library

August 27, 2026

This summer, the department installed the Donald S. Moore Geography Library in the 583 McCone Hall, a gift of several hundred volumes drawn from Don's always-expanding Marxist, anti-colonial, and anti-racist archive of thought. For those who did not know Don, he was among the best-read geographers any of us knew, even though he was never formally a geographer.

Don joined the Department of Anthropology at UC Berkeley in 1998, teaching and advising students across campus, including in geography, until his retirement in 2019. His scholarship turned on power,...

Clancy Wilmott is helping the world see maps differently

September 5, 2026

The world is looking at maps a little differently this week and our very own Associate Professor Clancy Wilmott was there to help explain why.

Clancy Wilmott has been in the international spotlight this week following the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution supporting the wider use of the Equal Earth projection, a map designed to represent the relative size of the world’s landmasses more accurately. Wilmott spoke with BBC News about what the change means and why the maps we use...

In Memory of Dr Sarah E Knuth

August 7, 2026

Dr Sarah E. Knuth
Sarah at an action against oil refineries in Richmond, CA. August 2013

The Department of Geography at Berkeley and the wider geographic community mourn the loss of one of its most beloved alumni, Dr. Sarah E. Knuth. Sarah passed away on July 25, 2026, just a few days before her 44th birthday, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Her wide-reaching and...

Stephanie Pau appointed Russell L. Rustici Chair in Rangeland Management

June 10, 2026

We are pleased to announce that Associate Professor Stephanie Pau has been appointed the next Russell L. Rustici Chair in Rangeland Management, effective July 2026.

Established to support the research, teaching, and outreach activities of a faculty member advancing the study of rangeland management, the endowed chair promotes the productive use of rangelands and the viability and sustainability of the domestic livestock industry within the College of Natural Resources. The chair honors Russell L. Rustici...

Geography undergraduate students visit KQED for GEOG 119: Audio Narratives of the Bay Area

May 4, 2026

Undergraduate students in Lakshmi Sarah's class, GEOG 119: Audio Narratives of the Bay Area, had the chance to visit the KQED office in San Francisco’s Mission District. Students heard from KQED reporter and editor Dana Cronin who covers climate change, environmental issues...

Alex Chow awarded Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Dissertation Fellowship

May 26, 2026

We are pleased to announce that Alex Chow has received a dissertation fellowship from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, which supports research and scholarly exchange in Chinese studies and related fields. The fellowship will support Chow's dissertation project, “Feeling Freedom: Affective Politics, Monetary Order, and Hong Kong’s Modernity (1950s–2019).”

Chow's project examines how ideas and feelings of freedom in Hong Kong were shaped by the convergence of socialist China’s economic...

Diana Negrin is awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Excellence Award

April 23, 2026

"What really stands out about Dr. Negrín is her approach to teaching. She creates classrooms that are rigorous, but also collaborative, reflective, and inclusive. Through multimedia, fieldwork, and community-engaged learning, she helps students connect theory to lived experience—and see themselves as active participants in shaping the world around them."

Congratulations to Diana Negrin, who has been awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching...

Maria Toldi and Geography Senior, Cole Haddock, Launch “Swept Off The Map,” a Multimedia Investigation into Encampment Closures in the East Bay

May 13, 2026

It's officially live! Swept Off The Map, created by Maria Toldi and Geography Senior, Cole Haddock, for Street Spirit, is a five-piece, seven-month investigative series documents the scope, scale, and consequences of encampment sweeps in Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland. The project creates invaluable new tools...