PhD candidate, IPA Research Assistant
e-mail: gedwards@udel.edu
phone: 302-831-6372 | fax: 302-831-4934
DGS Annex | IPA | University of Delaware | Newark, DE 19716-7380
introduction | education | experience | qualifications | honors and awards | conferences
IntroductionGeoff is a first-year Ph.D. student in Urban Affairs and Public Policy. He graduated from Georgia State University in 2008 with an M.S. in Urban Policy Studies and a graduate-level certificate in Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
Geoff served in a front-line unit in Iraq from 2003–2004, working closely with local Iraqis and Kurds in and around the city of Mosul. The problems he’s observed, both during his deployment and as a student in Atlanta, have motivated him to a career in research and instruction.
His research interests center on how the tools we use to coordinate group action—including wikis, tagging, social networks, and online mapping—might be used at the local government level. He focuses his investigation on the use of mapping by local governments to create and conceal knowledge about the city and the possibility for renegotiating urban governance through more inclusive cartographic techniques.
Geoff maintains a website (tightgrid.com) on which he shares innovative research techniques and interesting articles from academic journals and online sources.
EducationMS, Georgia State University 2008, Urban Policy Studies with Policy Analysis concentration
Graduate Certificate, Georgia State University 2008, Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
BA, Furman University 2001, Philosophy
ExperienceSeptember 2008–present
Research Assistant, Institute for Public Administration, University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware
September 2006–August 2008
Research Assistant, Andrew Young School for Policy Studies, Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia
July 2001–May 2005
Medical Service Corps Officer, United States Army, 101st Airborne Division
Fort Campbell, Ken.
QualificationsGeoff is proficient in ArcGIS, SPSS, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, HTML, CSS, Microsoft Office, Apple iWorks, and is currently learning the Processing programming language.
Additionally, Geoff conducts workshops and one-on-one sessions on the use of RSS in academic research.
Honors and AwardsGeorgia State University
Dan E. Sweat Fellowship, 2006-2008
United States Army
• Bronze Star Medal, 2004
• Army Commendation Medal, 2005
• Combat Medical Badge, 2003
• Expert Field Medical Badge, 2002
• Air Assault Badge, 2001
• Parachutist Badge, 1999
• Valorous Unit Award, 2004
• Meritorious Unit Commendation, 2004
ConferencesPresenter, 37th Annual Meeting of the Urban Affairs Association, Seattle, Wash., April
2007.
Presenter, “The Graphic Novel” Panel Discussion, Dragon Con, Atlanta, Ga., September
2004.
