UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA  - CHAPEL HILL
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

Dr. Stephen J. Walsh, Professor of Geography, Lab Organizer and Director

Landscape Characterization & Spatial Analysis Laboratory

The Laboratory for Landscape Characterization and Spatial Analysis is a research facility dedicated to the study of biophysical and human landscapes. Thematically, research emphasizes the examination of population-environment interactions, health care accessibility, environmental features and ecological systems, and the use of digital technologies in the measurement and characterization of landscape features. Methodologically, research focuses on landscape-level topics that integrate spatial, digital technologies organized within a Geographic Information Science context that includes in-situ and remote sensing systems, geographic information systems, global positioning systems, data visualization approaches, videography, airphoto interpretation, spatial analyses and geostatistics, and quantitative and qualitative models of landscape form, function, and process. Geographically, studies are underway in Thailand, Ecuador, North Carolina, the US Southeast, and Montana. Funding has been secured from an array of public and private sources most notably from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, McArthur Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation. On-campus collaborative research is underway with the UNC Carolina Population Center, Sheps Center for Health Services Research, Center for Urban and Regional Studies, and the Departments of Environmental Science and Engineering, Epidemiology, and Sociology. Off-campus collaborators are from the University of Iowa, Texas A & M University, Southwest Texas State University, Michigan State University, Old Dominion University, Princeton University, Tulane University, and Mahidol University (Thailand).

Graduate and undergraduate students actively participate in the research projects through assistantships, leading to theses and dissertation topics and on-site data collection activities. State-of-the-art computer facilities and a newly renovated physical space combine to produce an effective research environment that is further supported by a system administrator and a research coordinator. The Laboratory is directed by Stephen J. Walsh, Professor, Department of Geography at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Professor Walsh is also a Research Fellow at the Carolina Population Center and the Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and is a member of the UNC Ecology Curriculum.

Since 1986, the year the Lab was developed, graduate research assistants have been nicknamed the "Lab Rats."  While the lineage of that nickname has become fuzzy with time, it is believed that it had to do with their nocturnal and pack-like behavior, propensity for working in darkly-lighted labs, and their cunning and stealth-like nature. Whatever the reason, Lab Rats continue to be active and plentiful within the Landscape Characterization & Spatial Analysis Laboratory. Their contributions to the Lab have been substantial over the years and they continue to exert a pronounced impact on the intellectual climate of the Lab and its scholarly achievements.

With Regards,
The "Big Cheese"