Michaela Cooney

Member

Biography

I am a final year undergraduate completing a degree in Physical Geography and International Relations from the University of St Andrews/University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. With my degree and professional experience I have focused on the intersection of geospatial analysis and policy, particularly where GIS and remote sensing can improve on existing data and devise new ways of visualizing pressing global and local concerns such as the effects of climate change. Currently I am finalizing a dissertation using remote sensing techniques to examine the land use change and population displacement effects of large-scale land acquisitions in Madagascar. When not deep in research and essays, I can variously be found salsa-ing or slogging up a Scottish hill. But kayaking ultimately has my heart and the past three summers have all been spent on Lake Superior, paddling in one capacity or another.