Department of Geography and the Environment

Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach

Professor — Ph.D., University of Minnesota-Minneapolis

Professor--Raymond Dickson Centennial Professor #1; Founding Director, Water Quality & Environ. Hydro. Lab; Past President, American Association of Geographers
Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach

Contact

  • Phone: 512-232-1583
  • Office: RLP 3.702
  • Office Hours: By Appointment please email
  • Campus Mail Code: A3100

Interests

Geoarchaeology; Hydrology and Water Quality; Geomorphology; Spatial Statistics; Gender, Science, and Human Rights; Mesoamerica; Mediterranean and Near East; Iceland.

Biography

Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach is Professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas-Austin, where she is Raymond Dickson Centennial Professor #1. She recently completed her term as Department Chair (2014-2018), as the only woman to ever lead the Department. Dr. Luzzadder-Beach is Associate Faculty of the Theresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and was Fellow of the C.B. Smith Centennial Chair in U.S.-Mexico Relations from 2014-2019. She is also Affiliated Faculty of the Center for European Studies and the Bernard and Audrey Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at UT. She was Professor of Geography and Associate Provost at George Mason University, where she was a faculty member for over 20 years prior to arriving at UT Austin. She is the Past President of the American Association of Geographers (President, 2018-19). Dr. Luzzadder-Beach was awarded, along with Dr. Tim Beach, the 2010 AAG G.K. Gilbert Outstanding Research Award in Geomorphology, and in 2013 she was recognized with the GMU College of Science Outstanding Publication Award. In 2018 Drs. Luzzadder-Beach and Beach were both selected as CSU Chico's Distinguished Alumni for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. She specializes in physical geography, hydrology and geomorphology, water chemistry, geoarchaeology, geostatistics, and gender, science and human rights, with field research in Mesoamerica, California, the Mediterranean and Near East, and Iceland. Dr. Luzzadder-Beach’s research has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Geographic Society, among other sources, publishing more than 80 peer reviewed scholarly works and edited journal volumes. Dr. Luzzadder-Beach is the Founding Director of the Water Quality and Environmental Hydrology Lab (Beach/Butzer Labs) in the Department of Geography and the Environment at UT Austin. She received both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Minnesota- Minneapolis, and her Bachelor of Arts in Geography from California State University at Chico. 

Courses

GRG 382K • Geo-Archaeol And Envir History

37885 • Fall 2021
Meets TH 2:30PM-5:30PM RLP 3.102
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Long-term ecology as reconstructed from settlement and land-use histories. Empirical case studies in environmental history from the Mediterranean region, the Near East, and Mesoamerica. Applications to degradation, desertification, sustainability, and global change. Only one of the following may be counted: Anthropology 382N, Geography 356C, 382K.

This interdisciplinary course addresses the principles and applications of Environmental History, directly linking contemporary issues of land degradation and ecological change to archaeological themes such as settlement and land-use histories. Geoarchaeology and related biological investigations allow empirical testing of popular hypotheses about the environmental impact of pastoralism and different agricultural systems, based on the principle that "historical monitoring" is essential to understanding processes and their consequences. Regional examples with different time-frames are critically examined from the Mediterranean Basin, the Near East, Mesoamerica, and Australia. These illustrate the potential of both archaeology and environmental history to re- evaluate neo-ecological assumptions about ecological transformation, degradation and sustainability.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

SAME AS ANT 382N.

GRG 401C • The Natural Environment-Wb

37265-37290 • Spring 2021
Meets MW 10:00AM-11:30AM
Internet; Synchronous
N1
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An introduction to the study of the Earth from a holistic perspective including geologic, atmospheric, ecological, and water sciences and its relevance to present-day environmental problems.

Taught as a Web-based course.

GRG 410C • Spatial Data And Analysis-Wb

37385 • Spring 2021
Meets MW 2:30PM-4:00PM
Internet; Synchronous
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Fundamental concepts in spatial data acquisition, analysis, and presentation, with emphasis on the needs of professionals in cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing.

Taught as a Web-based course.

GRG 396T • Enviro Hydrology & Society-Wb

36395 • Fall 2020
Meets T 2:00PM-5:00PM
Internet; Synchronous
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In order to manage a resource successfully, one must understand the nature and occurrence of that resource, and human interactions with the resource. Our focus will be on Water Resources and Hydraulic Society. This course aids that understanding by exploring three areas of Water Resources Geography: Hydrology and Climate, Physical and Biological Interactions, and Water Resources Management. Important local, regional, global, and topical issues will be highlighted along the way. The student will also be familiarized with water resources research techniques & data sources.

GRG 410C • Spatial Data And Analysis

36965 • Spring 2019
Meets MW 2:30PM-4:00PM RLP 1.404
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MW 2:30-4:00 p.m.

Lab W 4:00-5:30 p.m.

This is an entry level course that will prepare the student for higher level courses in geographic methods and techniques. The course content consists of a series of modules designed to cover topics common to courses in Cartography, Geographic Information Science, Field Techniques, and Remote Sensing of the Environment.

We will examine quantitative and qualitative methods of sampling, representing, classifying, and analyzing geographic phenomena. We will examine conceptions of temporal and spatial scale, location, distance and direction, and examine a broad range of geographic research methods. Specific topics will include earth shape, gravitational and magnetic fields, map projections, coordinate systems, surveying and navigation, measurements and errors, spatial statistics, and spatial analysis.

Classes will consist of lectures and discussions of the readings. Students will complete ten exercises, a mid-term examination and a final examination. In addition to the lecture, this class has a lab section.

GRG 310C • Spatial Data And Analysis

36890 • Spring 2018
Meets TTH 3:30PM-5:00PM CLA 1.402
show description

This is an entry level course that will prepare the student for higher level courses in geographic methods and techniques. The course content consists of a series of modules designed to cover topics common to courses in Cartography, Geographic Information Science, Field Techniques, and Remote Sensing of the Environment.

We will examine quantitative and qualitative methods of sampling, representing, classifying, and analyzing geographic phenomena. We will examine conceptions of temporal and spatial scale, location, distance and direction, and examine a broad range of geographic research methods. Specific topics will include earth shape, gravitational and magnetic fields, map projections, coordinate systems, surveying and navigation, measurements and errors, spatial statistics, and spatial analysis.

Classes will consist of lectures and discussions of the readings. Students will complete ten exercises, a mid-term examination and a final examination.

GRG 390K • Issues In Geography

37325 • Fall 2016
Meets T 4:00PM-7:00PM CLA 3.710
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Examines the history, philosophy, and ontology of geography, including its various subfields.
Required of all first-year graduate students in geography.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geography, or graduate standing and consent of the graduate adviser.
 

 

GRG 396T • Enviro Hydrology & Society

36585 • Fall 2015
Meets T 4:00PM-7:00PM CLA 3.106
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Prerequisite: Graduate standing; additional prerequisites vary with the topic.

Course number may be repeated for credit when the topics vary.

GRG 390K • Issues In Geography

37695 • Fall 2014
Meets TH 4:00PM-7:00PM CLA 3.710
show description

Examines the history, philosophy, and ontology of geography, including its various subfields. Required of all first-year graduate students in geography.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geography, or graduate standing and consent of the graduate adviser.

Recent Research News

https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/public-affairs/news/ancient-maya-canals-and-fields-show-early-and-extensive-impacts-on-tropical-forests

T. Beach, S. Luzzadder-Beach, S. Krause, T. Guderjan, F. Valdez, Jr., J. C. Fernandez-Diaz, S. Eshleman, C. Doyle. 2019. “Ancient Maya wetland fields revealed under tropical forest canopy from laser scanning and multiproxy evidence.”  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116(43):21469–21477. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1910553116. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/43/21469.short?rss=1

Press Sources covering 10/22/19 PNAS paper: https://pnas.altmetric.com/details/67880504

Curriculum Vitae

Profile Pages

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    The University of Texas at Austin
    305 E. 23rd Street, A3100
    RLP 3.306
    Austin, TX 78712
    512-471-5116

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