I am a biogeographer and GIScientist with my PhD in Geography from the University at Buffalo-SUNY, in
Buffalo, NY, USA. My main area of research is the applied use of rank abundance distributions to investigate community change in the forests of the eastern United States with additional interests in health geography including incidence of suicide and HIV infection.
My professional career has been dedicated to the education and inspiration of my students. This first occurred as a science teacher in the public school system in central Pennsylvania. After seven years, I modeled the advice I gave my senior students, "Continuously challenge yourself and never stop finding wonder in the world around you," and enrolled in the PhD program at the University at Buffalo. My background in liberal arts education and multidisciplinary teaching and my plans for interdisciplinary research grounded in a geospatial framework led me to being named as an NSF IGERT fellow in GIScience. This opportunity exposed me to research methodologies in several different disciplines and afforded me the opportunity to work with numerous researchers, domestically and internationally. Presently, I am seeking a tenure track faculty position where I can challenge myself by furthering my research agenda while continuing to be a top-notch educator.
Aside from my professional activities, I am an avid sports fan, typically known for routing for teams who have little chance of making the playoffs. In particular, I enjoy playing and watching tennis and plan to someday sit in attendance at all four tennis Grand Slam events. I am also passionate about cooking and food, whether it is experimenting with the right spice combination for a homemade Indian curry or recreating culinary classics like boeuf bourguignon and chicken marbella.
I invite you to explore the other pages on my website which offer a more detailed description of my present research, teaching experience and publications. I can be contacted via email at drew.trgovac [at] gmail [dot] com.