When geography doctoral student Xi Liu saw an opportunity to work for Google on a project that involved geographical data analysis — on a project related to his dissertation research — he wasted no time in applying.

As an emergency management specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Association, Adrienne Kramer is applying her geography skills to build maps, analytical tools and other resources to help the agency improve its response and recovery operations.

Penn State geography doctoral student A. Marie Ranjbar's research explores the language of human justice in Iran: how certain phrases have become politicized and in some ways dangerous to use, and how some residents deal with this conundrum as they seek ways to speak up for themselves.

Penn State geography student Travis Young is researching why low-income neighborhoods in Houston are the only ones in the area at high risk for flooding. His research interests stem from many factors in his personal and professional life.

A Penn State professor is researching the trickle-down effects that melting tropical glaciers have on food security and biodiversity, and what regional communities, like Cusco and Huaraz in Peru, can do about it.

Though it was abolished more than two decades ago, Apartheid continues to affect communities in South Africa. Penn State geography researcher Brian King has been studying the political system's effects on rates of HIV and AIDS today in rural South Africa.