Research & Initiatives

Research & Initiatives

Geography & Environmental Research Labs

The research interests of the UCCS Department of Geography & Environmental Studies (GES) cover a wide range of environmental topics, including hydrology, geomorphology, geospatial technology, and dendrochronology, and aim to provide insight into environmental processes to inform management and planning decisions.

Faculty Research
Research Labs

Faculty Research

We encourage students to see what type of research our faculty are conducting. This information can be found on faculty members’ curriculum vitae (CV) which are linked from their profile pages.

Faculty Directory

Department Research Labs

Forest Hydrology Research Lab

Lab Director: Dr. Curt Holder

The Forest Hydrology Research Lab investigates the influence of vegetation characteristics in rainfall interception processes. Current research projects examine the extent to which leaf hydrophobicity and leaf biomechanical properties influence canopy storage capacity in common species of the semi-arid Western United States and two sites in Guatemala. Data collected in the lab increases our understanding of ecohydrological processes to inform the planning and management of vegetation cover in watersheds contributing as raw water source regions for municipalities.

For more information contact Curt Holder: cholder@uccs.edu.

Geomorphology Research Lab

Lab Director: Dr. Brandon Vogt

Geomorphology seeks to understand processes that create and change land surfaces. As an interdisciplinary science, geomorphology examines the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, and anthrosphere.

Research tools include:

  • Leica-Geosystems ScanStation C10 3D terrestrial laser scanner (TLS)
  • CST / Berger 205 electronic total station
  • Ingram-Ward compact combination thin section saw/grinder
  • Federal snow sampler (2 m)
  • Two Davis Wind Speed and Direction Smart Sensors / HOBO Micro Station Data Loggers
  • 17 Onset HOBO V2 temperature data loggers (TidbiTs)
  • Six Onset RS1 Solar Radiation Shields
  • DJI Mavic Pro Platinum drone
  • Software environments:
    • ArcGIS Pro
    • Leica Cyclone V 2020

For more information contact Brandon Vogt: bvogt@uccs.edu.

Geospatial Technology Lab

Lab Director: Matt Gottfried

Several computer facilities at the university and within GES are well-equipped with technologies critical for the analysis and presentation of geospatial data.

Lab Focus:

  • Computer cartography
  • Geographic information systems
  • Remote sensing software and products

PCs are outfitted with ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Desktop. Additional access to Esri’s ArcGIS Online and Enterprise GIS systems available upon request.

The laboratories also provide access to Idrisi TerrSet, Microsoft Office, and Statistical and Data visualization software’s such as R, RStudio, SPSS, etc.

For more information contact Matthew Gottfried: mgottfri@uccs.edu

Tree Ring Lab

Lab Director: Christine Biermann

The UCCS Tree Ring Laboratory is a research unit within GES. Housed in Columbine Hall, the lab uses dendrochronology, or the study of annual growth rings in trees, as a method to investigate issues of climate change, forest dynamics, fire history, and human-environment interactions.

For more information contact Christine Biermann: cbierman@uccs.edu.