(773) 442-5640
(773) 442-5650
Department Chair Scott Hegerty on the NEIU campus
Scott
W.
Hegerty
Ph.D.
Chair of Anthropology, Economics, Geography & Environmental Studies, Global Studies, and Philosophy; Economics Professor; Economics Advisor
Economics
College of Arts and Sciences
(773) 442-5695
Courses Taught
Principles of Microeconomics
Principles of Macroeconomics
Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
International Monetary Theory
International Trade
Macroeconomic Data Analysis
Applied Economic Statistics Using R
Research Interests
International Finance, Open-Economy Macroeconomics, Economic Geography
Education

Ph.D., Economics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Room BBH 340C
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
United States

(773) 442-5695
Office Hours
Fall 2024
Tuesday and Thursday: 5:00-5:30 p.m.
or by appointment on Google Meet
El Centro
Main Campus
Melinda Storie
Melinda
Storie
Ph.D.
G&ES Coordinator, Associate Professor and Environmental Studies Advisor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
(773) 442-5697
Expertise
Conservation Psychology, Environmental Education, Environmental Interpretation, Human Dimensions of Environmental Management, Research Methods
Courses Taught
GES 150: Introduction to Environmental Studies
GES 250: WIP Writing in Geography and Environmental Studies
GES 307: Environmental Education Seminar
GES 308 / PSYC 369: Conservation Psychology
GES 309: Principles and Methods of Environmental Interpretation
GES 344: Chicago River Issues
GES 374: Research Methods
GES 383: Internship in G&ES
GES 413: Advanced Research Methods
GES 440: Qualitative Research Methods in G&ES
GES 462: Seminar in Environmental Education
PH 420: Environmental Health
Research Interests
Human dimensions of natural resource management; Psychological aspects of human-nature interactions; Environmental values, attitudes, and behavior; Community-level sustainability; Interdisciplinary research methodology; Environmental education; Environmental interpretation
Education

Ph.D., Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

M.S., Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

B.S., Environmental Health, Illinois State University

Room BBH 346B
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-4699
United States

(773) 442-5697
Office Hours
Fall 2024
Monday: 11:00 a.m.-noon (in person and virtual)
Tuesday: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (in person and virtual)
Thursday: 4:00-5:00 p.m. (virtual)
Main Campus
Dennis Grammenos
Dennis
Grammenos
Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Graduate Coordinator and Geography Advisor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
(773) 442-5641
Expertise
Urban Geography and Urban Planning
Courses Taught
GES 104: World Geography
GES 213: Cultural Geography
GES 217: Urban Geography
GES 302M: Regional Geography: Russia and Central Asia
GES 302S: Regional Geography: Developing World
GES 302X: Regional Geography: Latin America
GES 314: Political Geography
GES 345: Medical Geography
GES 346: Geography of Metropolitan Chicago
GES 347: Gentrification and Urban Redevelopment
GES 348: Latino Chicago
GES 349: Environment and Urbanization
GES 361: Urban Planning
GES 389: Urban Design Studio
GES 401: Seminar in Cultural Geography
GES 411: Scope and Philosophy of Geography and Environmental Studies
GES 450: Seminar in Urban Planning
GES 471: Seminar in Urban Geography
GES 472: Seminar in Third World Issues
Research Interests
Urban Geography
Education

Ph.D. Geography (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

M.A. Geography & Environmental Studies (Northeastern Illinois University)

M.A. Russian & East European Studies (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

A.B. Classics, Honors in History & Philosophy (Loyola University of Chicago)

Room BBH 344B
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-4699
United States

(773) 442-5641
Office Hours
Fall 2024
Monday and Wednesday: 1:00-2:15 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 10:45 a.m.-noon

Available outside these hours by appointment.
Main Campus
Ting Liu
Ting
Liu
Ph.D.
Associate Professor, GIS Coordinator, Geography Advisor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Graduate Studies and Research
(773) 442-5645
Courses Taught
GES 372: GIS Across Disciplines
GES 302K: Regional Geography: East Asia
GES 313: Land Use and Land Cover Change
GES 351: Spatial Statistics
GES 383: Internship in G&ES
GES 387: Interactive Cartography
GES 388: Field Camp
GES 390: Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing
GES 392: Geospatial Analysis
GES 393: GIS Modeling And Programming
GES 395: GIS Internship
GES 416: GIS for Natural Systems Management
GES 417: Urban Information Systems
GES 442: Geographic Problems in Quantitative Measurements
Research Interests
Urban Remote Sensing, GIS, and Spatial Analysis
Education

Ph.D., Geography, Florida State University

M.S., Geographic Information Science, Florida State University

B.S., Urban and Rural Planning, Resource Management, Peking University, Beijing, China

Selected Publications

Schirmer, A.E., Gallemore, C., Liu, T. et al. 2019. Mapping behaviorally relevant light pollution levels to improve urban habitat planning. Scientific Reports 9, 11925 

Liu, T. and Yang, X, 2019. Monitoring urban growth and land changes in Beijing, China's capital city by remote sensing: progress and challenges. In: X. Yang and S. Jiang (Eds.), Challenges Towards Ecological Sustainability in China: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. Springer Nature Switzerland.

Liu, T. and Yang, X. 2015. Land change modeling: status and challenges. In: J. Li and X. Yang (Eds), Monitoring and Modeling of Global Changes: A Geomatics Perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.     

Liu, T. and Yang, X. 2015. Monitoring land changes in an urban area using satellite imagery, GIS and landscape metrics. Applied Geography, 56:42-54

Liu, T. and Yang, X. 2013. Mapping vegetation in an urban area with stratified classification and multiple end member spectral mixture analysis. Remote Sensing of Environment, 130:251-264

Liu, T. and Yang, X. 2012. Geospatial modeling of urban landscape changes through an agent-based approach. Proceedings of the 2012 AutoCarto International Symposium on Automated Cartography, Columbus, Ohio, September 16-18, 2012

Zhao, T., Brown, D., Fang, H., Theobald, D., Liu, T., and Zhang, T. 2012. Vegetation productivity consequences of human settlement growth in the eastern United States. Landscape Ecology, 27(8):1149-1165

Room BBH 344H
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-4699
United States

(773) 442-5645
Office Hours
Fall 2024
Monday: 4:00-5:00 p.m. (in person or via Zoom)
Wednesday: 1:00-2:30 p.m. (Zoom)
Thursday: 8:30-10:00 a.m. (Zoom)
Available outside these hours by appointment.

To avoid double-booking, please use my Google Calendar link to reserve a time: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ2UZxCNyJ1dKXD8C0PeDYYZS_GMMIK7Fsi52GdMGUICLx5UJMOz7UJBoAKCwKJryUNqkFaNw4Pc

Zoom link: https://neiu-edu.zoom.us/j/8729996363
Main Campus
White male smiling, wearing red plaid shirt and green hat standing by water.
Alex
W.
Peimer
Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
(773) 442-5642
Expertise
Environmental planning and management, Environmental policy, Watershed science and management, Stream restoration and naturalization, Political ecology, Critical physical geography
Courses Taught
GES 150: Introduction to Environmental Studies
GES 205: Physical Geography
GES 218: Conservation of Natural Resources
GES 250: WIP Writing in G&ES
GES 301: Great Lakes Environmental Management
GES 311: Social Dimensions of Water Resources Management
GES 319: Environmental and Natural Resources Policy
GES 338: Sustainable Development
GES 350: Climate Change: International Policy and Politics
GES 357: Geography of Natural Hazards
GES 359: Environmental Planning
GES 360: Environmental Justice and Activism
GES 370: Interdisciplinary Seminar on Climate Change
GES 380: Field Methods
GES 383: Internship in G&ES
GES 391: GIS 1
GES 416: GIS for Natural Systems Management
GES 435: Seminar in Physical Geography
GES 445: Seminar in Resource Management and Decision-Making
GES 455: Seminar in Environmental Planning
GES 456: Seminar in U.S. Environmental Policy
Research Interests
Surface water management, Biophysical outcomes of stream and watershed management and planning, Place-based watershed management, Democratization of environmental management and governance, Creation of environmental assessment methods, Environmental politics, Critical mapping
Education

Ph.D., Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

M.A., Geography, Kent State University

B.A., Geography (Geology minor), SUNY New Paltz

A.S., Natural Sciences, SUNY Cobleskill

Selected Publications

Peimer, Alex W., Rhoads, B.L, and Thomas J. Bassett. 2022. Standardizing No Net Loss Stream Mitigation Assessment Methods: Tradeoffs between Expediency and River ScienceJournal of the American Water Resources Association. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.13045

Peimer, Alex W., Krzywicka, A.E., Cohen, D.B., Van den Bosch, K., Buxton, V.L., Stevenson, N.A., and Jeffrey W. Matthews. 2016. National-Level Wetland Policy Specificity and Goals Vary According to Political and Economic IndicatorsEnvironmental Management: 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-016-0766-3

Room BBH 344C
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-4699
United States

(773) 442-5642
Office Hours
On leave until January 2025
Main Campus
Thomas Brecheisen
Thomas
A.
Brecheisen
Ph.D.
Instructor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
(773) 442-5643
Expertise
Environmental Consulting and Engineering
Courses Taught
GES 150: Introduction to Environmental Studies
GES 205: Physical Geography
GES 218: Conservation of Natural Resources
GES 336: Solid Waste Issues
Research Interests
Sustainable Development
Education

Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago

M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago

B.S., Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Room BBH 344D
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-4699
United States

(773) 442-5643
Office Hours
Thursday: 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Main Campus
Robyn Flakne smiles into the camera.
Robyn
A.
Flakne
Ph.D.
Instructor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
(773) 442-5639
Expertise
Urban Forestry, Green Infrastructure
Courses Taught
GES 323: Green Infrastructure Planning and Management
GES 327: Forest Resource Management
Research Interests
Application of green infrastructure to urban areas, maintenance of urban forest canopy, climate change impacts on urban forest, and public education regarding urban natural areas.
Education

Ph.D., Forestry, University of Minnesota

M.A., Geography and Environmental Studies, Northeastern Illinios University

B.A., Biology, Augustana College

Selected Publications

Flakne, R. and R. Keller. 2012. “A Plan for Nature in Glenview”: Creating and implementing a natural resources plan at the community level. Environmental Practice 14(1):35-44.

Flakne, R.  2003. The Holocene vegetation history of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 33(6):1144-1166.

Davis, M.B., C. Douglas, R. Calcote, K. Cole, M. Winkler, and R. Flakne. 2000. Holocene climate in the western Great Lakes National Parks and Lakeshores: implications for future climate change. Conservation Biology 14 (4):968-983.

Room BBH 246
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-4699
United States

(773) 442-5639
Office Hours
Saturday: 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Main Campus
Instructor Elizabeth Sofronas
Elizabeth
M.
Sofronas
Instructor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Expertise
World Regional Geography, Cultural Geography, Physical Geography
Courses Taught
GES 104: World Geography
Research Interests
Spatial dimensions of politics and the relationships between geography and culture, medicine, environment and history
Education

M.A., Geography, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland

Office Hours
Fall 2024
Tuesday: 9:00-10:15 a.m. via Zoom
Main Campus
A man faces the camera and smiles with a brick wall behind him
Borja
González Morgado
Adjunct Instructor
Geography and Environmental Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Expertise
Urban Planning, Tourism, Transportation, Public Policy, Community Development, Accessibility, GIS.
Courses Taught
GES 367: Geography of Tourism
Research Interests
Community Engagement, Urban Planning, Tourism Impact Assessment, Cultural Heritage Preservation, Urban Equity, Tourism and Place Branding, Public Spaces and Social Inclusion, Transportation Planning, Policy Analysis for Sustainable Urban Development.
Education

Dual bachelor's degree in Business Administration & Management and Tourism, Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid (Spain), Master of Arts in Sustainable Urban Development, DePaul University.

Background

Borja has a wide range of experience in various areas related to tourism, urban planning, public policy, and community development. Originally from Madrid, Spain, Borja received a master’s degree in Sustainable Urban Development from DePaul University, and a dual bachelor’s degree in Business Administration & Management and Tourism from the University of Rey Juan Carlos. Before moving to the U.S., he worked for an international tourism firm focused on historic preservation and urban culture where he led tour itineraries through major cities in Europe, such as Barcelona, London, and Rome. He currently works as a Planner at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning in Chicago, Illinois. His experiences living in Madrid, Rome, Buenos Aires, Washington, D.C., and Chicago provide him with a global perspective and greatly inform his approach to tourism and local development.

Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
United States

Office Hours
Fall 2024
Friday: Noon or any time by appointment.
Main Campus
Sandy Kofler, white woman with red hair swept to one side, blue eyes, a black turtleneck, and round, dangly aqua earrings
Sandy
Kofler
Office Administrator
Anthropology
Economics
Geography and Environmental Studies
Global Studies

Room BBH 346C & BBH 134A
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
United States

Office Hours
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings: Econ/G&ES Office, Room BBH 346C, (773) 442-5690
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons: Anthropology/GS Office, Room BBH 134A, (773) 442-5860
Friday: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Remote; find me by email