Gabriel L. Judkins
Professor in Residence
Landscape degradation, natural resources management, land cover change, remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Sciences (GISciences)
Office: LFG 116
Phone: (702) 895-4302
Fax: (702) 895-4064
Email: Gabriel.Judkins@unlv.edu
Education:
Ph.D. – Arizona State University, 2009
Research Interests:
I focus on human-environment geography, particularly as it relates to the management of natural resources in an increasingly interconnected world. My specific interest within this broad area of geography centers around understanding land degradation connected to global trade from the context of the political/cultural systems that guide resource use. As disparate areas of the world have forged closer economic and political ties, the manner in which localized resources are managed and the environment is impacted have changed with growing global demands. Perhaps no sector of the international economy could be said to be in more direct exchange with the natural environment than agriculture. Reliant on the endowment of natural resources and the application of human ingenuity, agriculture directly modifies the environment and is in turn modified by the resulting impacts. The expansive spatial extent inherent in many types of agriculture is also distinctive among human land-uses and reinforces its importance to understanding human-environment relations.
More recently, my research interests have focused on geovisualization techniques for environmental and land-covering monitoring as well as pedagogy. Specific techniques includes the use of ERDAS Imagine for digital image processing and analysis (primarily using Landsat and ASTER imagery), and ESRI’s ArcGIS for spatial data analysis and visualization. Lastly, I have worked with Dr. Michael Nicholl in developing our department’s mobile augmented reality sandbox (Landstorm) for pedagogy development and improved spatial learning in undergraduate instruction.
Research Publications:
Judkins, G. and S. Myint. 2012. Spatial Variation of Soil Salinity in the Mexicali Valley, Mexico: Application of a Practical Method for Agricultural Monitoring. Environmental Management 50(3): 478-489.
Judkins, G. and K. Larson. 2010. The Yuma Desalting Plant and Cienega de Santa Clara Dispute: A Case Study Review of a Workgroup Process. Water Policy 12(3): 401-415.
Judkins, G. 2010. Environmental Determinism. Entry in Warf, B. ed. Encyclopedia of Geography. Sage Publications. Recipient of the “Outstanding Reference Source” award at the American Library Association midwinter meeting.
Judkins, G., M. Smith and E. Keys. 2008. Determinism within Human-Environment Research and the Rediscovery of Environmental Causation. Geographical Journal 174(1): 17-29.
Judkins, G. 2008. Declining Cotton Cultivation in Maricopa County, Arizona: An Examination of Macro and Micro-Scale Driving Forces. Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 70: 70-95.
Teaching:
GEOG 103: Physical Geography of the Earth’s Environment
GEOG 104: Physical Geography Lab
GEOL 100: Natural Disasters
GEOL 110: Global Warming
GEOL 335: Earth Resources and the Environment
GEOL 430/630: Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Theory and Applications
GEOL 796: Landscape Degradation: Human-Environment Dynamics