I am an Associate Professor of Spatial Data Science at the Department of Geography at the University of California Santa Barbara. I serve as a Co-Associate Director of the Center for Spatial Studies and Data Science, and lead the MOVE Research Group. Currently, I am a fellow at the ETH Zurich Collegium Helveticum program and the University of Zurich’s Digital Society Initiative.
I am a recipient of the 2021 NSF CAREER award, and the 2022 Emerging Scholar Award from the Spatial Analysis and Modeling Specialty Group of the American Associations of Geographers. I received my PhD in Geography with a specialization in Geographic Information Science (GIScience) from the GIScience Center of the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Prior to joining UCSB in 2019, I served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (2016-2019), and at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (2013-2016).
Please see MOVE Research Group for more information about my research at UCSB. My work is supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). In general, my research involves developing spatio-temporal data analytics, machine learning, modeling, and visualization techniques to study and understand movement in human and ecological systems. My research advances spatial data science and quantitative geographic approaches for modeling complex dynamic processes such as human-wildlife conflicts, environmental change, natural hazards, spread of diseases, mobility, and global migration. For example, with the NSF CAREER project, my group is currently exploring geographic data science approaches to study movement and behavioral responses to environmental disruptions across multiple geographic and temporal scales.
As a GIScience educator, I teach introductory and advanced GIScience and movement analytic courses, including geographic visualization, and analysis and modeling of movement, agent-based simulation modeling.
Professional Experiences:
- Associate Professor, UC Santa Barbara (since July 2023)
- Co-Associate Director, UCSB Center for Spatial Studies and Data Science (since July 2023)
- Assistant Professor, UC Santa Barbara (2019-2023).
- Editorial Board member and associate editor of special issues International Journal of Geographical Information Science (IJGIS) (since 2024)
- Editorial Board member of Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS) (since 2020)
- Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio, since 2024)
- Editorial Board member of Geographical Analysis (since 2018)
- Editorial Board member of Journal of Geographical Systems (JGS) (since 2023)
- Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of Spatial Information Science (JOSIS) (2019 – 2024)
- Director, Board of Directors of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) (2021-2024)
- Editorial Board member of the Journal of Location Based Services
- Editorial Board member of Computers, Environment and Urban Systems (2019-2023)
- Editorial Board member of The Professional Geographer (2018-2024)
- Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (2016 – 2019)
- Editorial Board member of the UCGIS Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge (2016 – 2017)
- Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) (2013 – 2016)
Education:
- Postdoc – Computational Movement Ecology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University (2012-2013).
- Postdoc – Computational Movement Analysis, University of Zurich, Switzerland, (2011-2012).
- Ph.D. (Dr. sc. nat.) – Geography with specialization in Geographic Information Science (GIScience), University of Zurich, Switzerland (October 2011).
- M.Sc. – Geographic Information Systems Engineering, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (2005).
- B.Sc. – Geomatics Engineering, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (2003).
Contact Information:
Somayeh Dodge, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor
Email: sdodge[AT]ucsb.edu
Department of Geography | UC SANTA BARBARA | MOVE
Somayeh Dodge 