Hello Geographers!

Hope you all had an amazing "reading" week, and if you traveled somewhere warm that your sunburns are all the envy of the GIC. Some exciting things to look forward to for the end of the semester, so check em out!

1. MUGS Elections!
2. G.I.S Prof Talk
3. IHSP Fellowship Opportunity
4. Mildy Interesting Map of the Week
5. Cool Thing of the Week

1. MUGS Elections!

Elections for MUGS Exec council are coming up soon!! If you feel you can best represent your amazing undergraduate student body, run for one of our Exec positions highlighted below! I can attest as being on MUGS for a year that it's a blast and a great way to get involved with your favorite department. So check out the positions listed below, and await further instructions on nomination procedures in the coming weeks :) 

(Co)President(s) : Responsible for the general organization and administration of all MUGS activities and shall reside as the chair (or co-chairs) at executive meetings.

VP Finance: Responsible for all cash flow into and out of the MUGS account and for keeping a record of financial transactions in a ledger.
 
VP Communications: Responsible for website maintenance, as well as promotion of all MUNGS events and projects.
 
VP Academic: Responsible for educational and curricular concerns of MUGS as well as representing MUGS at Faculty and Academic Committees. Oversees the Geography Undergrad‐Grad Mentorship Program.
 
VP External – AUS: Responsible for representing MUGS to the Arts Undergraduate Society and aiding in the running of MUGS events and projects.
 
VP External – SUS: Responsible for representing MUGS to the Science Undergraduate Society and aiding in the running of MUGS events and projects.
 
U1, U2, and U3 Representatives: Responsible for representing the members of their respective years and informing them of all MUGS activities. They are responsible for aiding in the running of said events. The U2 Rep is also responsible for representing MUGS at the McGill Students Environmental Council (MESC) meetings.

2. G.I.S Prof Talk

Great news, the department's hiring ANOTHER prof (this time for a GIS/computational position) and they want our feedback.

The first candidate will be Song Gao from the University of California, Santa Barbara. *Fun fact, apparently he's held the olympic torch... go see his talk.*

He'll be giving his talk on Monday, March 13th from 10:30am – 12pm in BH426. Check out Song Gao's abstract below:

Abstract:
Song Gao is a Ph.D. candidate in GIScience in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Originally from China, he earned a M.S. degree at the Institute of Remote Sensing and GIS, Peking University, and an honors B.S. degree at the School of Geography, Beijing Normal University. His main research interests include Big Geo-Data Analytics and Place-Based GIS. In his research, a combination of data-driven and theory-informed methodology has been adopted in large-scale geocomputation and social sensing applications. Currently, he is the author of 43 peer-reviewed scientific publications with over 500 citations, a reviewer for 18 scientific journals, and the recipient for various fellowships, scholarships and grants at the university, state, and national/international levels.

3. IHSP Fellowship Opportunity

The McBurney Fellowship program, which supports students travelling to Latin America for service-based projects in marginalized communities, has opened its recruitment call for travel beginning May 2017 through Winter 2018!
Note that IHSP has brand new partner organizations in Latin America for applicants who don't already have ties with a partner (IHSP's got you covered!). 
Available stipends range from $3500-4500, depending on the length of the Fellowship. Smaller stipends may be available for larger group requiring additional funding for an established project.
So keep the Deadline of April 9^th in your calendars if this sounds like an opportunity you'd be interested in, it sounds like an amazing time.
Check out the link for more info! www.mcgill.ca/ihsp/studentprograms/mcburney

4. Mildly Infuriating Map of the Week

Next time an uninformed friend says "Hey, why's making maps important? How're you going to get a job with that?", just show them this map which got published in a textbook(?!?). By far the worst map i've ever seen, though at least it gives comfort that there still is a need for cartographers out there! 

5. Cool Thing of the Week

Pretty nifty map representing areas in the U.S. with census blocks with no population in green (Also a version of this map for Canada). So if after graduation you feel like you need some space, try making one of these census blocks white! 

And there you have it, 

Hope you're all settling well back into reality and have enjoyed meeting back up with your G-I-Compatriots. Have a great weekend gang :)

Noé Schultz
VP Communications
McGill Undergraduate Geography Society