Rebecca Lave is a

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

, professor of

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

(IU), and the current president of the

American Association of Geographers The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit learned society, scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquar ...

(AAG). Her research focuses on

critical geography Critical geography is theoretically informed geographical scholarship that promotes social justice, liberation, and leftist politics. Critical geography is also used as an umbrella term for Marxist, feminist, postmodern, posts ...

, as it applies to

physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

, as part of the emerging field of critical physical geography. She has focused on bridging the gap between physical and

human geography Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography which studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment, examples of which include urban sprawl and urban ...

in her research, as a department chair at IU, and as the president of the AAG.

Education and field

Lave earned their B.A. in

Art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

and

Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

in 1993. She earned both her Master of City Planning and Certificate in Urban Design from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1997. In 2008, Lave earned her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in geography from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. When doing her Ph.D., Lave focused on the interface between human and physical geography, to the chagrin of their advisors. This experience shaped Lave's career as a researcher and in her service at IU and the AAG.

Career

Industry

Lave's career began with their work as an Urban Planner at Goody, Clancy & Associates in Boston, MA, from 1996 to 1998. Following this, they transitioned into a non-academic role as a Senior Associate in Design, Community & Environment in Berkeley, CA, a position they held from 1999 to 2005.

Academic

After earning their Ph.D., Lave joined Indiana University's Geography Department as an assistant professor from 2008 to 2014. This marked a significant shift towards academia. Subsequently, they advanced to associate professor in the same department, a position they held from 2014 to 2020. In 2020, they achieved the highest academic rank of Full Professor in the Geography Department at Indiana University. At IU, Lave has served as department chair from 2019 to 2022. They have served on numerous graduate student committees and University positions. Lave is very involved in professional organizations, especially the American Association of Geographers. From 2022 to 2023, she served as the AAG vice president. In 2023, Lave became the AAG president. Lave has focused on expanding the interdisciplinary nature of geography, and emphasized links between physical and human geography.

Research and publications

Lave's research has focused on environmental restoration, watershed management, agriculture, the Anthropocene, and bridging the gap between human and physical geography. They are instrumental in establishing the discipline of critical physical geography. In 2017, they advocated for the preservation and archiving of government data to prevent it from being lost or deleted.

Awards, recognition, and professional honors

Lave has received many awards and recognitions throughout her professional career, both for her research and teaching. Notable among these awards is the G.K. Gilbert Award from the American Association of Geographers Geomorphology Specialty Group in 2018 for the paper ''"The morphology of streams restored for market and nonmarket purposes: Insights from a mixed natural-social science approach"''.

Notes

References

External links

Indiana University Department Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lave, Rebecca Living people Presidents of the American Association of Geographers 21st-century American geographers 21st-century American women scientists Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Reed College alumni Indiana University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) American women geographers