The Department of Geography is pleased to announce the recipients of the annual Joseph Dymond Award. The Joseph Dymond Award was established in 2019 through the generous contributions of family, friends, and colleagues in memory of Professor Dymond who passed away that year.
The 2022 recipients are Elodie Nix, Pauline Mnev and Kai Hall.
About the Awardees
Elodie Nix is a rising senior from South Salem, NY majoring in Geography and minoring in GIS. She decided to pursue a major in Geography because of its interdisciplinary and holistic approach to analyzing and understanding the complex relationship between humans and our environment. Elodie found that the combination of Geography and GIS provided the foundation on which policy decisions and change can build off of. She is currently working on two GIS based projects, with topics ranging from forestry conservation to the ethnic composition of the D.C. metro area. Her involvement in HMS GW began when she was a freshman where she began to see the real-world implications of open source software in creating more resilient communities. The global recognition of open-source software is increasing, and organizations, from a myriad of fields, are finding the value in the accessibility and collaboration of programs such as OSM. She hopes to attend the State of the Map conference to broaden her understanding of the various capabilities and applications OSM offers in conjunction with other open-source software. Elodie plans to pursue a career where she can utilize spatial analysis to inform policy decisions and enact impactful change on global communities, and she is excited for the broad range of topics and paths that will be presented throughout the conference. In her free time, Elodie enjoys going on bike rides, painting, and reading.
Pauline Mnev is from Montgomery County, Maryland. She's a junior studying Geography, Environmental Studies, GIS, and Data Science, with interests in cartography and data visualization. She loves to bake, backpack, and make all kinds of art. Pauline is currently working as an undergraduate research assistant on the Frozen Commons project with Drs. Nyland and Kuklina, alongside other experienced scientists, artists, and Indigenous community members of villages in the Russian Far East and southwest Alaska.
Kai Hall is a third-year student majoring in Geography and International Affairs. He grew up in the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan but now considers DC to be home. Kai's passion to study and advocate for sustainable, equitable, and inclusive urban planning is informed by his upbringing in transit-accessible, people-centered neighborhoods in Japan. He currently serves as President of the Japanese Cultural Association, where he leads a dynamic executive board team to build an inclusive community of students who are interested in Japanese culture. In his free time, Kai enjoys cooking, working out, and exploring DC neighborhoods with friends.