Facilities
The Department of Geography at the University of Illinois is consistently rated among the best in the nation. Its faculty are recognized leaders in their field, and their list of grants, books written, and articles published is impressive. A survey of U.S. Geography Departments found Illinois the fourth most productive in the nation (Professional Geographer, 1998). Other surveys rated the department tenth and fifteenth in the United States (Gourman Report, 1998; Social Science Research Council, 1995).
The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is consistently ranked as the forefront of user-oriented computer systems in the United States. The campus is also home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
The Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) was formed in 1989 as a joint venture between the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the University of Illinois. Its major goal has been the development of consistent models of urban and regional economies to provide the capacity for impact analysis and forecasting. Clients range from state governments (Iowa) and city agencies (Chicago Economic Development Commission) to private companies (Commonwealth Edison). Models are being, or have been developed for metropolitan Chicago, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and northern Virginia. Internationally, development of a model for the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais was completed in 1993. Several graduate assistants and post-doctoral associates have been funded in recent years. In addition, internally funded research projects provide a broader array of applied research experience than that usually afforded most students.
The Center for Water as a Complex Environmental System (CWACES) was recently developed as a joint effort between the departments of Geography, Atmospheric Sciences, and Geology, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Center is interdisciplinary, devoted to improving understanding of water-related issues by providing a framework within which faculty and graduate students can collaborate and exchange ideas with others focusing on water concerns, not only within these departments, but also additional water-related disciplines across campus.
Physical geographers have access to a soils and geomorphology laboratory. Close cooperation between the department and the three on-campus Illinois State Natural History, Geological, and Water Surveys ensures student access to a wide array of additional equipment and professional expertise for analytical laboratory and field research.
A graduate student computer site is equipped with microcomputers and printers to facilitate research and report writing. The department participates in the direction and use of a remote entry terminal center called the Office of Applied Technologies for Learning in the Arts and Sciences (ATLAS).