Research
In the fall of 2009, we had 17 fully funded students in the MURP program:
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Jill Horwitz is a 2nd year Excellence in Planning Fellow with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Florida. Jill has almost 10 years of professional experience in environmental advocacy, community partnerships, fund-raising and non-profit management. She works with Dr. Diana Mitsova-Boneva on assessing the potential impacts of sea-level rise on coastal communities. Their current study uses digital elevation data, tax appraisal parcel data, and consideration for South Florida’s unique hydrology and geology to develop location specific sea-level rise scenarios. |
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Joseph Zamora is a 2nd year Excellence in Planning Fellow with an Industrial & Systems Engineering Degree from the University of Florida. Joe's real estate background includes founding TheHelpNetwork.com, a socially conscious effort to provide affordable housing along Mississippi's Gulf Coast, while providing lucrative opportunities to investors. With a first year return on investment (ROI) of 80%, the project was centered on the Go-Zone legislation and incentive funding through the Mississippi Development Authority. As a private investor, Joe has been involved in new construction, land acquisitions, bulk real estate transactions, preconstruction investments, and project funding. He will be working with Dr. Asli Ceylan Oner on a project titled "Measuring the US Space Economy under Conditions of Contemporary Globalization." The project focuses on the location strategies of advanced producer service firms in a selection of global cities and aims to identify the economic links between these cities. |
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Cara Jean Capp is a 2nd year Excellence in Planning Fellow whose interests include (but certainly are not limited to) environmental planning and sustainable community development. A recent graduate of Florida Atlantic University's Honors College, Cara earned her Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. Though her concentration focused on Environmental Studies, she enjoyed taking classes in a variety of fields, from Nature Photography to Ancient Greek Philosophy. Cara is also the president of the Florida Atlantic Planning Society (FAPS). |
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Joann Skaria is a 2nd year Excellence in Planning Fellow. Originally from a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, she graduated from the Wilkes Honors College of FAU in Jupiter with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies. Her interests lie in sustainable community development and transportation. As a part of her undergraduate experience, Joann did internships with the Robert J. Huckshorn Arboretum on the Jupiter Campus of FAU, as well as the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in West Palm Beach. Joann is also interested in photography, and extended this to an independent study of environmental photography. She is very excited to continue on in the field of planning! Joann is working with Dr. Praveen Maghelal on sustainable community and transportation planning research. Currently, she is using with GIS software to explore data on demographics and information on ridership of the Tri-Rail public transportation service. |
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Karl W. Bursa is a 2nd Year Excellence in Planning Fellow who hails from Arthur, IL (pop. 2300). He currently holds Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in History from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. His interests include Post-Petroleum Planning, Sustainable Development, and Resource Management. He also is specifically interested in the planning issues related to the State Areas of Critical Concern in Florida, including the Florida Keys and the Everglades. Currently, Karl is working with Dr. Yanmei Li on issues regarding affordable housing and the Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Finally, Karl has been selected by the International Society of City and Regional Planners to participate as a Young Planning Professional at their Congress on Post-Carbon Cities held from October 13-23 in Porto, Portugal. |
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Tatiana Marinel is a 2nd year Excellence in Planning Fellow with an Architecture degree from Paulista University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Before moving to the US, Tatiana worked for two years with the design and construction of pre fabricated homes in Brazil. Her current interests include sustainable community development, green neighborhoods, and computer applications for architecture, urban design and planning. Tatiana has been assigned to Dr. David Prosperi and is working on the organization of the Planning Abroad Program. |
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Izabela Cirloganu is a 2nd year Excellence in Planning Fellow. She holds a Master Degree in Geography from FAU and a Bachelor degree in Geography from University of Bucharest, Romania. She is currently working as a research assistant for Dr. David Prosperi. During her free time she likes reading, watching movies, hiking, gardening, discovering new places/cuisines and running. She loves animals and she adores her adopted cat, Maxi. While a teaching assistant in the Geography Department her focuses were: the evolution of tourism in peripheral and semi-peripheral regions (Eastern Europe), cultural landscapes and population analysis. Her new project and research interest involves the urban area analysis, with an emphasis on South Florida region. |
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Richard Tommer is a 2nd year planning student and an EGM Fellow assigned to the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, where his research will focus on sea level rise as well as environmental and growth issues. He has a BA in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany. He also attended Albany Law School, and was a member of the first graduating class of Nova Southeastern University’s MBA in Real Estate Development program. He is currently a member of ULI – South East Florida/Caribbean, and is active in the Young Leader’s Group. |
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Alexander Beger is a 1st year Excellence in Planning Fellow. Originally from Germany, he moved to Jacksonville, Fl at age 14 and graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Business Management in 2007. He worked in Management and Financial Services prior to moving to Ft Lauderdale to advance his education. His interests include economic development and urban revitalization. He is currently working with Dr. Vos on gathering and organizing SURP data and reaching out to Alumni. In his free time, Alex enjoys living at the beach, going for long walks, watching movies and playing computer games. |
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Amy Humboldt is a 1st year Excellence in Planning Fellow. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, along with a minor in English and certificate in Italian Studies from Saint Louis University in 2007. After graduating, Amy spent a year providing service for AmeriCorps teaching middle school in Tampa, FL. She is very excited to be embarking a new career in planning and is eager to soak up as much information as she can. Amy is working with Dr. Yanmei Li as a graduate research assistant and is looking forward to learning the many aspects of planning. In her spare time, Amy enjoys reading, going to the beach, yoga, traveling, and cooking. |
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Inna Stafeychuk is a 1st year Excellence in Planning Fellow with a Master’s degree in Environmental protection and natural resource management from Perm State Technical University (Russia). She is working with Diana Mitsova-Boneva on the project “Seasonal flushing of oil and grease from urban runoff to the Biscayne Bay aquatic preserve”. Inna has previous diverse experiences in teaching, waste management, project management, and budgeting. |
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Anna Bielawski is a 1st year Excellence in Planning Fellow. She is a recent University of Florida graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. She is working as an assistant for Dr. Prosperi on a variety of research. Currently, she is exploring agent-based modeling software in the field of urban theory. Her research interests include environmental planning, resource management, and green communities. Anna is very excited to continue her education at the FAU School of Urban and Regional Planning and plans to work in South Florida after graduation to help solve the existing environmental problems in the region. |
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Nima Upadhyay is a 1st year Excellence in Planning Fellow with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. She is also a registered architect of Nepal where she worked for almost two years. Currently, she is working on a variety of research projects which mainly focus on spatial analysis with Dr. Kasama Polakit. She loves traveling, cooking and watching movies. |
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Thomas Rodrigues is a First Year Excellence in Planning Fellow. Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, he has most recently lived in Maine and Philadelphia. Thomas has a Bachelor’s degree in English from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. For the last two years he worked at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His planning interests include sustainable transportation. Thomas is currently working with Dr. Kasama Polakit on a number of research projects. |
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Abbie Rickoff is a first year Excellence in Planning Fellow with a landscape architecture degree from the University of Georgia. Prior to attending Florida Atlantic University, she worked for a private landscape architecture/land development firm. Her interests include going to the beach, traveling, and attending Georgia football games. She is working as a research assistant for Dr. Asli Ceylan Oner, and will be researching the globalization of skyscrapers as themed spaces. |
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Nicholas Sofoul is a 1st year Excellence in Planning Fellow. He recently graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. Nick is a native South Floridian, an avid follower of politics/current affairs, and a passionate advocate for human rights. While at UCF, Nick gained valuable ArcGIS experience through a sequence courses that emphasized applications in environmental planning. Nick will be working with Dr. Ann-Margaret Esnard in the Visual Planning Technology Laboratory. As a Research Assistant in the VPT Lab, Nick will be instrumental to the learning and application of PCensus Demographic software. This software will give students and faculty an easier method of conducting demographic analysis or incorporating demographic data into their own research. Additionally, Nick will assist with the organization and updating of the Lab’s data repository. Nick’s own research interests include GIS applications, transportation planning, and sustainable development. |
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Florentina Hutt is a 1st year Excellence in Planning Fellow with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Design from the University of Architecture and Urban Design, Bucharest, Romania. Florentina is working as a research assistant to Dr. Ann-Margaret Esnard. She has a background and interest in the graphic representation and visual communicationof data within the urban design and planning field. Adding to her extensive knowledge of Adobe and CADD software, she will now be working towards mastering and applying a variety of software: Visio, ArcGIS and Sketchup to create visual models that better show the complexity of the built environment. |
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Christine Mitchell is a second year graduate student who joined the team with a background in Environmental Studies and Geography. Her areas of expertise include disaster and vulnerability assessment, relief and mitigation; livelihood sustainability and environmental security; research methods including monitoring and evaluation; and environmental and social impact assessments. Previous to joining SURP she spent time working in the Southern Africa region in development, livelihood security, disaster mitigation, and vulnerability. Christine's primary assignment is a reserach assistant for the NSF funded study on Population Displacement Due to Catastrophic Hurricanes. |
Content Last Updated on:
October 8, 2009
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