Ram Research Directory

Gary W. Coutu

Education

• Ph.D., Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. 2001
• MSPMP, H. John Heinz III, School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. 1989
• BA, Department of Philosophy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. 1984

Research Interests

environmental GISwatershed analysisdata collectionsensors

Opportunities

Work Study Positions Available: No

Grant Funded Positions Available: No

Course-Credit Research Opportunities Available: No

Volunteer Research Positions Available: No

Biography

Dr. Coutu is a Professor of Geography and the Chair of the Department of Geography and Planning. He has been a faculty member since Fall 2005. His area of expertise is Geographic Information Systems (GIS), with over 30 years of experience. He has worked on GIS projects in a dozen countries, specializing in GIS for national and local development. The core of his GIS-based research has been environmental GIS, watershed analysis, and data collection with sensors. His work in GIS ranges from location analytics (business mapping and analysis), field mapping and data collection, 3D modeling, urban mapping and analysis, and emerging geospatial technologies. Dr. Coutu mainly teaches freshman and upper-level undergraduate/graduate GIS courses. He has taught and collaborates in developing the Planning Design Studios for the Planning Program. He also has an active travel program related to Asian, European, and Latin American travel courses. He has taken students to Thailand, China, Costa Rica, and Spain. Dr. Coutu's approach to travel and teaching is very hands-on. He introduces his students to travel by giving them local experiences and focuses on local perspectives and issues regarding international tourism, enabling his students to travel on their own. His approach to geospatial technologies is similar. He brings new software and projects into the GIS program and introduces students to new technologies through community-based projects and modeling. His passion is to bring the excitement and promise of new technologies into the classroom to challenge students to apply these to real-world projects.

Contact Information

Phone: 610-738-0522

List of Publications

• 2006, Presentation, Using GIS in Medical Geography- Avian Flu Pandemics, 3E Summer Emerging Science and Technology Institute, July 19, 2006 2006, Presentation- GIS Tools for Watershed Delineation: Public Policy Perspectives Teaching Public Policy in the Earth Sciences, American Geophysical Union, April 21, 2006 2005, Presentation- Using GIS in Community Planning and Management, Williamson County Economic Development Board, Taylor, Texas 2004, Presentation- GIS in Archeology, Texas Archeological Society Field School, Texas 2004, Presentation- GIS in Field Archeology: Rock Art in Val Verde County, Texas Archeological Society Directors Meeting, Temple, Texas 2003, Presentation- Mapping Lake Belton: History, Archeology and Environment, Paper # 895, ESRI User’s Conference, Sand Diego, CA 2003, Presentation- Using Geographic Information Systems in Health Education and Action, Nursing Leadership Conference: Partners and Public Health, Austin, Texas. 2003, Presentation Co-Author, Is Drainage Basin Compactness Scale Invariant? New Mexico Water Resources Institute Conference 2002, Poster Presentation- GIS Programs for Teaching Environmental Science and Geography- Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver Colorado 2002, Presentation- Building GIS Curriculum Bridges within Community Colleges, ESRI Education Convention, San Diego, California 2001, Presentation- Exploring the Effects of Observational Scale upon Environmental Policy Analysis, Dissertation. Department of Geography, Texas A&M University. 2000, Presentation- Using GIS in K-12 Classroom: Opportunities and Applications, Tech-Prep Annual Conference, Austin Texas. 2000, Presentation- Using Distance Education Technology Combining K-12 GIS Curriculum and Community Service at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA. 1999, Presentation- Introducing GIS into Distance Learning Curriculum: The GIS School-to-Work Project, Trans Texas Videoconferencing Network Users Conference, College Station, Texas. 1999, Presentation- Methods and Progress in Subwatershed Delineation in Texas, National Watershed Conference, Austin, Texas. 1999, Presentation- Watershed Delineation in the South of Texas, GIS Texas: Annual Conference, Austin, Texas 1998, Presentation- Using GIS to Delineate and Model Watersheds, Southwestern Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 1993, Presentation- Using GIS in Health: Opportunities in Ethiopia, ESRI Middle East Users Conference, Cairo, Egypt. 1992, Opportunities to Use GIS in East Africa, Presentation to Jack Dangermond and Staff at the ESRI European Users Conference, Athens, Greece.

Links

• ResearchGate