Geography, Planning and Environmental Management students recognised

UQ's School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management celebrated the outstanding achievements of its students at its annual Prize Ceremony recently.

“The prizes are generously donated by industry, peak bodies and some of our successful alumni who remember the challenging task of being a student” Head of School Professor James Shulmeister said.

“They are an excellent opportunity to recognise the academic achievements and dedication of some of our top performing students.”

Some of the students receiving awards for their final year of studies had already taken their first steps in their careers.

The John Brannock Town Planning Thesis Prize winner Meredith Hartigan received a position as a graduate planner with the Ipswich City Council and is tackling some of the impacts from the recent floods.

Julie Scopelitis, who was awarded the Surveying and Spatial Science Institute (SSSI) prize for her PhD, is working at the Institut de Recherche pur le Developpment in New Caledonia on increasing the understanding of tropical reef environments through remote sensing.

“We are proud of the achievements of these students who have chosen to specialise in areas that are becoming increasingly important to our society both domestically and globally” Professor Shulmeister said.

“We would like to encourage industry and alumni to consider supporting an award in 2012 to encourage our students, who we know will go on to make significant and distinctive contributions to their fields, changing the way we think about and interact with our environment”.

More information can be found at http://www.gpem.uq.edu.au/prizes

Winners of the 2011 prizes for academic excellence were:
• The Royal Geographical Society prize for the Bachelor of Science Geographical Sciences major to Ms Nicola Stromsoe
• The Enid Reeves Memorial Prize to Ms Rosalind Meineke
• SSSI Undergraduate Prize in GIS and Remote Sensing to Mr Daniel Murray
• SSSI Graduate Diploma of Geographic Information Science Prize to Mr Samuel Lam and Ms Melissa Brien
• SSSI Master of Geographic Information Science Prize to Mr David Cave
• SSSI MPhil or PhD in Geographic Information Science Prize to Dr Julie Scopelitis
• Mr John Brannock Town Planning Thesis Prize to Meredith Hartigan
• Brayden K. J. Soo Encouragement Prizes in Planning to Ms Zena Foale-Banks, Ms Genevieve Denny, and Mr Lachlan Day
• The C.H.V. Harding Prize for Post Graduate Studies in Planning to Ms Ruth GRANT
• The Peter Wood Memorial Prize in Development Planning to Duk Tan Nguyen