Research Day 2026

Research Day 2026

GPS Graduate Students Win Awards at Rowan’s Research Day 2026

Students from the Geography, Planning, and Sustainability (GPS) Department had an outstanding showing at Rowan University Graduate Fellow and Postdoctoral Research Day, earning two awards in the poster competition, which included 102 submissions with ~92 presenters.

A man in a striped shirt gestures toward his South Jersey land tax research poster.

At Rowan Research Day (March 25, 2026), GPS senior and Accelerated Dual Degree graduate student  Sean Olcese received the Second Place Graduate Student Award for his poster presentation titled “Sea-Level Rise and Tax-Base Vulnerability: A Parcel and Road-Network Analysis for South Jersey.”

A woman with long hair and glasses explains her urban agriculture poster to an attendee.

This research is funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) (Award #2427242; PI: Qian He, Assistant Professor of GPS).

GPS graduate student Nicole Abbott was awarded the People’s Choice Award for her poster presentation titled “Access, Equity, and Urban Agriculture: Trends in Selected New Jersey Cities.”

Her project is funded by NASA (Award #80NSSC24K0836; PI: Mahbubur Meenar, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director of Urban and Regional Planning).

The man smiles in a formal portrait, holding a blue second-place ribbon.The woman smiles in a formal portrait against a yellow university backdrop.Sean Olcese's poster. Click to enlarge and read.Dr. Qian in a white button-down and student Sean in a striped shirt stand in front of a stage. Sean is holding a second place ribbon.

Meenar in a tan blazer and student Nicole in a black suit stand in front of a stage. Nicole is holding a white rose.

Nicole Abbott's poster. Click to enlarge and read.