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Steven Manson

Steven Manson

612-625-4577
Geography Department 473 Social Science Bldg
Curriculum Vitae

Department Affiliations

University Affiliations

  • Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences: Institute on the Environment [Website]

Narrative

Steven Manson is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. Dr. Manson combines environmental research, social science approaches, and geographic information science to understand changing urban and rural landscapes in the United States and Mexico. This work is part of his longer term research on global environmental change, decision making, and understanding complex human-environment systems. He was a NASA Earth System Science Fellow, received the Young Scholar Award from the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, a McKnight Land Grant Professorship, and is a NASA New Investigator in Earth-Sun System Science. Dr. Manson teaches in the areas of geographic information science and spatial analysis of human-environment systems. See his personal page at http://umn.edu/~manson.


Specialties

  • geographic information science
  • spatial analysis
  • biocomplexity
  • environmental science
  • global change
  • hazards
  • land use/cover change
  • North and Latin America
  • socioeconomic vulnerability

Educational Background

  • Ph.D.: Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MA, 2002.
  • B.A. Honours: Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 1995.

Publications

  • Simplifying Complexity: A review of complexity theory: Manson, Steven M., Geoforum, 32(3) 405-414, 2001.
  • Decision making and uncertainty: Bayesian analysis of potential flood heights: Manson, Steven M., S. J. Ratick and A. R. Solow, Geographical Analysis, 34(2) 112-129, 2002.
  • Multi-agent systems for the simulation of land use and land cover change: a review: Manson, Steven M., Parker, D. C., M. Janssen, M. J. Hoffmann and P. J. Deadman, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 93(2) 314-337, 2003.
  • Agent-based modeling and genetic programming for modeling land change in the Southern Yucatan Peninsular Region of Mexico: Manson, Steven M., Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 111(1) 47-62, 2005.
  • Bounded rationality in agent-based models: experiments with evolutionary programs: Manson, Steven M., International Journal of Geographic Information Science, 20 991-1012, 2006.
  • Changing Landscapes in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area: Manson, Steven M., M. Bauer, CURA Reporter, 36 3, 2006.
  • Land use in the Southern Yucatan Peninsular Region of Mexico: scenarios of population and institutional change: Manson, Steven M., Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, 30(3) 230-253, 2006.
  • Complexity theory in the study of space and place: Manson, Steven M., D. O'Sullivan, Environment and Planning A, 38(4) 677-692, 2006.
  • Challenges in evaluating models of geographic complexity: Manson, Steven M., Environment and Planning B, 34 2, 2007.
  • Heights and locations of artificial structures in viewshed calculation: how close is close enough?: Manson, Steven M., Sander, H., Landscape and Urban Planning, 82 257-270, 2007.
  • Agent-based modeling of deforestation in southern Yucatán, Mexico, and reforestation in the Midwest United States: Manson, Steven M., T. Evans, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104 20678–20683, 2007.
  • Does scale exist? An epistemological scale continuum for complex human-environment systems: Manson, Steven M., Geoforum, 39 776-788, 2008.
  • Case studies, cross-site comparisons, and the challenge of generalization: comparing agent-based models of land-use change in frontier regions: Manson, Steven M., Parker, D. C., B. Entwisle, R. R. Rindfuss, L. K. VanWey, E. Moran, L. An, P. Deadman, T. Evans, M. Linderman, S. M. Mussavi Rizi, and G. Malanson, Journal of Land Change Science, 3 41-72, 2008.
  • Complex systems models and the management of error and uncertainty: Manson, Steven M., Messina, J. P., T. P. Evans, A. M. Shortridge, P. J. Deadman, and P. H. Verburg, Journal of Land Use Science, 3 11-25, 2008.

Research Activities

  • Land change in North America: Examination of the patterns, processes, and impacts of urbanization in the United States and deforestation in Mexico
  • Geographic information science
  • Land use in Minnesota: Examination of agriculture and sustainable development

Professional Activities

  • Association of American Geographers
  • American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing

Outreach Activities

  • Researcher: Working with the Metropolitan Council (Minnesota) to create medium-term land use projections., 2004 - Present
  • Outreach educator: Collaborated with EcoEducation, an environmental education organization that serves Twin Cities’ diverse K-12 students, to integrate GIS into its Mode, 2005 - Present

Awards

  • New Investigator in Earth-Sun System Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2006 - 2009
  • McKnight Land-Grant Professor, University of Minnesota, 2006 - 2008
  • UCGIS 2005 Young Scholar Award. University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, 2005 - 2006

Courses Taught

  • Geog 3561/5561: Principles of Geographic Information Systems
  • Geog 5563: Advanced GIS
  • Geog 5565: Geographical Analysis of Human-Environment Systems
  • Geog 8292: Spatial Analysis and Modeling
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