Several students attended the American Association of Geographers Conference April 3-7 in Washington, D.C.

The conference was full of fun, winning awards and visiting alumni.

Awards

Miranda Jordan, a graduate student, was recognized at the AAG conference. She won the Graduate Student Paper Award hosted by the Geomorphology Specialty Group of AAG.

With the recognition comes a $250 award.

Jordan compares sedimentation rates from the European Settlement to now. She analyzes historical records, geochemical results and sand percentages. She is doing this research in the lower Big River Watershed.

Though she is studying the history of the watershed, she is helping land managers now. She can see the trends of the sedimentation and how it has changed over time.

“Understanding the depths of contamination will help managers develop a plan to reduce the effects of secondary pollution,” Jordan said. “It will also protect aquatic life, such as endangered mussels, that are present downstream of the study site.”

Dr. Robert Pavlowsky is her adviser.

Alumni connections

Daniel Pearre, a 2015 geography graduate, also attended the conference.

He was excited to represent Missouri State and also learn more about the field he loves.

“The purpose of this conference is to bring together people from all over the world to present their research and make connections in the geography field,” Pearre said.