Jacob Tafrate and his group member Elizabeth Szafranski were the first place Nashman Prize winners at the Symposium on Community Engaged Scholarship.
Their project for the Geography department was titled Geographic Analysis of Informal Road Networks in Siberia. Tafrate explained that their project was “taking an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how informal road networks influence the Ivank people.” They focused on different road transfer networks and how they have changed and evolved over time, various hazards, and analyzing how it influenced the people in the area.
Tafarate and Szafranski started the project by digitizing the road networks on google earth pro and putting them into art maps. By using these applications they were able to understand how it affects people better. Unfortunately, due to COVID they weren’t able to finish all of their hazard analysis on the informal roads. Tafrate says informal roads are critical for the people of Siberia. Jacob’s favorite part of the project was being able to meet community engaged professors in geography and learning about the culture of the Ivank people in Siberia.
To view their virtual presentation click here.
To view all symposium winners click here.
