CYNTHIA S. SIMMONS

Department of Geography

MichiganStateUniversity

231 Geography Building

East Lansing, MI48824-1117

(517) 353-9739

(517) 4321671 (fax)

Education

Ph. D. 1999. Department of Geography, FloridaStateUniversity. Dissertation Title: The Political Economy of Underdevelopment: The Case of Rural Insecurity in the Brazilian Amazon. Advisor: Patrick O’Sullivan.

M.S. 1995. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, FloridaStateUniversity. International Development Planning.

M.A. 1993. Department of International Affairs, Latin American Studies, FloridaStateUniversity.

B.A. 1990. Department of Communications, FloridaStateUniversity. Pre-Law and Latin American Studies.

Relevant Employment

Assistant Professor, MichiganStateUniversity, Department of Geography, August 2004 to the present. Core faculty in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Center for Advanced Study of International Development, the Women and Development Program, and the Environmental Science and Policy Program.

Assistant Professor, CentralMichiganUniversity, Department of Geography, August 2001 to August 2004. Granted tenure effective August 2004.

Visiting Assistant Professor, MichiganStateUniversity, Joint appointment Department of Geography and Urban and Regional Planning, August 1999 to August 2001.

Consultant, NationalAcademy of Sciences, Office of International Affairs, January 1998 to July 1999. Tri-Academy Project – Population, Consumption and Land Cover Change in China, India, and the United States.

Instructor, Short-course in statistics given at EMBRAPA (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria) in Belém, Brazil. Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS), October 1997.

Research Assistant, National Academy of Sciences project "The Interaction Between Population Growth and Land Use Change: Case Study of the South Florida/Everglades Region." Academic year 1997.

Research Assistant, National Science Foundation project "Tenure Security and Resource Use in the Amazon." Academic year 1996 and 1997.

Teaching Assistant, Department of Geography, FloridaStateUniversity. During academic year 1996. Taught World Regional Geography.

Instructor, USAID funded training in Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS),FloridaStateUniversity, January and April of 1996. Session Follow-up in Belém, Brazil. Short-course in statistics given at SUDAM (Superintêndencia de Desenvolvimento da Amazônia) August 5-9, 1996.

Adjunct Professor, Florida State University, Panama Canal Branch, Republic of Panama, April to December of 1995. World Geography GEA1000, Latin American Geography GEA4195, and Introduction to Development Planning URP4610.

Grants and Contracts Activity

External Grants Funded:

Simmons, C. S., Qi, J. (Geography, MSU), Walker, R. T. (Geography, MSU), and S. G. Perz (Sociology, University of Florida). Brazil’s Direct Action Land Reform: Spatial Strategies and Environmental Effects. Principal Investigator. $250,000. National Science Foundation, June 2005 – January 2008.

Simmons, C. S. Historical Landcover Dynamics for the Chicago Study Region: A Geographic Information System. Principal Investigator. $7,850. NationalAcademy of Sciences. 2000 - 2001.

Walker, R. T. and C. S. Simmons. Small Producer Forestry: A Comparative Study of Panama and Brazil. Co-Investigator. $24,989. United StatesForest Service. 1995-1997.

Internal Grants Funded:

Simmons, C. S., McCormick, S. (Sociology, MSU), and R. T. Walker (Geography, MSU). Incubator Project: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Avança Brasil in the AmazonBasin. Principal Investigator. $100,000. Environmental Science and Policy Program. July 2006 - 2008.

Simmons, C. S. The Social Drivers of Fire in Amazonia: A Study Combining Analysis of Satellite Imagery and Household Surveys. Principal Investigator.CentralMichiganUniversity, Presidential Research Investment Fund 2002, $22,772.

Simmons, C. S. Wildfires in Amazonia and the Role of Social Capital: A Theoretical Framework. Principal Investigator. Social Capital Initiative, MichiganStateUniversity. 2000, $11,000.

Simmons, C. S. The Human-Environment Intersection: Study Abroad in Amazonia. Principal Investigator. Office of Study Abroad, Michigan State University 2000, $6,500.

Selected Grants Submitted – Not Funded:

Simmons, C. S. and M. Pedlowski (Universidade Estadual Norte Fluminense, Brazil). The Socio–Spatial Dynamics of Land Conflict: The MST’s Strategy of Urban-based Land occupation and its Environmental Implications for Amazonia. Principal Investigator. Proposal submitted to the Ford-LASA Special Projects Competition July 2003, $10,000.

Simmons, C. S. The Social Drivers of Fire in Amazonia: The Integration of Remotely Sensed Data and Social Science Methodology. Principal Investigator.NASA New Investigators, July 2000, $356,500.

Lindell, C. (Zoology, MSU) and C. S. Simmons. Social Drivers of Land Use Change and Biological Outcomes: Avian SpeciesRange Expansion at the Costa Rica – Panama Border.Co-Investigator.National Science Foundation, Incubator Proposal, March 2000, $46,502.

Simmons, C. S. The Human Dimensions of Fire Contagion in Amazonia: The Role of Community. Principal Investigator.National Science Foundation, January 2000, $77,199. Outcome: Fund if Possible.

Simmons, C. S. The Human Dimensions of Fire Contagion in Amazonia: The Role of Community. Principal Investigator.National Science Foundation, December 1999, $72,985.

Publications

Published peer reviewed journal articles:

Simmons, C.S., Walker, R.T., Arima, E. Y., Aldrich, S., and M. M. Caldas (September 2007). AmazonLand War in the South of Pará. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Forthcoming.

Arima, E, Simmons, C. S., Walker, R.T., and M. Cochrane. (2007). Fire in the Brazilian Amazon: simulating the impact of road paving, cattle exports, and conservation units' implementation. Journal of Regional Science. Forthcoming.

Caldas, M. M, Walker, R.T., Arima, E., Perz, S., Aldrich, S., Simmons, C.S., and C. Wood. (2007). Theorizing Land Use and Land Cover Change: The Peasant Economy of Amazonian Deforestation. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Forthcoming, issue 1 2007.

Simmons, C. S., Caldas, M., Aldrich, S., Walker, R. T., and S. Perz. (2007). Spatial Processes in Scalar Context: Development and Security in the Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Latin American Geography. Forthcoming March 2007.

Machemer, P. L., Simmons, C.S., and Walker, R.T. (2006). Refining Landscape Change Models Through Outlier Analysis in the Muskegon Watershed of Michigan. Landscape Research. Vol. 31(3): 277-294.

Simmons, C. S. (2005). Territorializing Land Conflict: Space, Place, and Contentious Politics in the Brazilian Amazon. Geojournal. 64: 307-317.

Simmons, C., Walker, R.T., and Wood, C., Arima, E., and Cochrane, M. 2004. Wildfires in Amazonia: A Pilot Study Examining the Role of Farming Systems, Social Capital, and Fire Contagion. Journal of Latin American Geography. Vol. 3(1): 81-96.

Simmons, C.S. 2004. The Political Economy of Land Conflict in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 94 (1): 183-206.

Simmons, C.S., Perz, S., Pedlowski, M. A., and L. G. T. Silva. 2002. The Changing Dynamics of Land Conflict in the Brazilian Amazon: the Rural-Urban Complex and its Environmental Implications. Urban Ecosystems, Vol. 6: 99-122.

Simmons, C. S., Walker, R. T., and C. Wood. 2002 Tree Planting by Small Producers in the Tropics: A Comparative Study of Brazil and Panama. AgroForestry Systems, Vol 56: 89-105.

Simmons, C.S. 2002. The Local Articulation of Land Use Conflict: Economic Development, Environment, and Amerindian Rights. Professional Geographer, 54 (2), 241-258.

Simmons, C. S. 1997. Forest Management Practices in the Bayano Region of Panama: Cultural Variations. World Development, Vol. 25(6): 989-1000.

Peer-reviewed Book Chapter:

Mills, E. S. and Simmons, C. S. 2001. Evolution of the Chicago Landscape: Population Dynamics, Economic Development, and Land Use Change. In Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States, Chapter 2, pp. 275-299.Washington, DC: National Research Council.

Edited special issue:

Simmons, C. S., Sorrensen, C. L., and R. T. Walker. 2002. Urban Rural Linkages and Environmental Change: Addressing the Human Dynamics of Urban Ecologies. Urban Ecosystems, Vol. 6: 5-8.

Book reviews:

Simmons, C. S. 2006. Collective Action and Radicalism in Brazil: Women, Urban Housing, Rural Movements, by Michel Duquette, Maurilio Galdino, Charmain Levy, Bérengère Marques-Pereira, and Florence Raes, (2005). Journal of Latin American Geography.

Papers in Preparation:

Simmons, C.S., Walker, R.T., Perz, S., Caldas, M., and S. Aldrich. (50% complete, to be submitted 1/07). Direct Action Land Reform in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon.

Walker, R.T., Arima, E. , Browder, J. O., Simmons, C. S., and R. M. Pereira. (90% complete, to be submitted 1/07). Saying Goodbye to the Amazon Rainforest.

Caldas, M., Simmons, C., Walker, R. T., and S. Perz. (50% complete, to be submitted 1/07). Ciencia Hoje.Reforma Agraria e Desmatamento na Amazonia.

Professional Reports:

Simmons, C. S., Walker, R.T., and Solecki, W. 1997. Tri-Academy Project Data Report: India, China, and the United States. Report prepared for the National Academy of Sciences, March 1997.

Simmons, C. S., Walker, R.T., and Solecki, W. 1997. Tri-Academy Project Data Report: India, China, and the United States. Data Availability and Status Update. Report prepared for the National Academy of Sciences, July 1997.

Simmons, C. S. 1994. Village Organization and Management Component. Monkey River Eco-Tourism Development Plan, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, F.S.U. Professional product prepared for joint clients, MonkeyRiverVillage and the Government of Belize.

Professional Presentations[*]

Invited Paper Presentations:

International:

Acción Directo de Reforma Agraria: Un Caso del Brasilia Amazonía. In Spanish. XVIII General Assembly and Meeting of Consultations of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History.Caracas, Venezuela, November 16 – 26, 2005.

The Political Economy of Development: Challenges for Conservation in Terra do Meio.The XLI Congress of the Brazilian Society for Economy and Rural Sociology (SOBER). The Conservation of Terra do Meio: Challenges and Implications. A National Science Foundation supported Symposium. Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, July 27-30, 2003.

Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes – Is Urbanization Sustainable: A Report on Studies from India, China, and the United States. The Third International Human Dimensions Program (IHDP) Workshop: Human Dimensions of Urbanization and the Transition to Sustainability.Bonn, Germany, June 3 - 14 , 2002.

The Dynamics of Population, Consumption and Land Cover Change in Chicago: 1840 to 1990. NationalAcademy of Sciences (China, India, United States) Tri-Academy Project meeting. Beijing, China, June 1998.

National:

Land Conflict in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon: Causes and Conflict Resolution Strategies. Territorial Conflict Management Workshop. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. October 1-3, 2004.

The Political Economy of Land Conflict in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon. University of South Carolina, Department of Geography, November 20th, 2003.

The Local Articulation of Conflicting Land Use: Economic Development, Environment, and Amerindian Rights.” MichiganStateUniversity, Center for Advanced Studies in International Development (CASID) and Women in Development (WID) Colloquium Series, September 2002.

The Local Articulation of Conflicting Policy: Economic Development, Environment, and Amerindian Rights. University of Akron, Department of Geography, April 2002.

The Local Articulation of Conflicting Land Use: Economic Development, Environment, and Amerindian Rights. MichiganStateUniversity, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, March 2002.

The Meanings of Human Rights in Latin America. Panelist. Human Rights and Press Freedom in 21st Century Latin America. MichiganStateUniversity, November 1999.

The Unspoken Story of Hunger and Land Conflict in Amazonia. MichiganStateUniversity, Department of Geography, May 1999.

The Political Economy of Underdevelopment: The Case of Rural Insecurity in Amazonia.FloridaStateUniversity, Department of Geography Colloquium, May 1999.

The Political Economy of Underdevelopment: The Case of Rural Insecurity in Amazonia. FloridaStateUniversity, International Affairs Colloquium, February 1999.

Tri-Academy Project Data Report: India, China, and the United States. NationalAcademy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., March 1997.

Forest Management Practices in the Bayano Region of Panama: Cultural Variations. Fisher Annual Colloquium, Sigma Xi, FloridaStateUniversity, March 1997.

Reforestation in Frontier Expansion: Comparative Analysis of Small Farmer Reforestation Practices in Panama and Brazil. Global Gatherings, FloridaStateUniversity, September 1996.

Linkages Between Community Structures and Forest Management Practices in the Bayano Region of Panama. FloridaStateUniversity, Department of Geography Colloquium, November 1994.

Professional Presentations:

International:

Direct Action Land Reform: Environmental Implications for the Brazilian Amazon. Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers, Morelia, Mexico, October 2005. Co-authors include R. Walker and M. Caldas.

Historical Land Use Planning in the Brazilian Amazon: A call for Devolution, Decentralization, and a Rational-Adaptive Planning Approach. XVI International Congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP): Volos, Greece, 10-14 July 2002.

Anthropogenic Fires in Amazonia and the Importance of Social Capital. International Meeting of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers, Benicassem, Spain, June 2001.Co-authors include R. Walker and C. Wood.

National:

Spatial Dynamics and Environmental Implications of Direct Action Land Reform in the Brazilian Amazon. XXVI International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 15-18, 2006.

Direct Action Land Reform in the Brazilian Amazon: The Contentious Politics of Agrarian Reform. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, IL, March 2006.

Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH): New Directions. Panel Session Organizer and Chair.Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, IL, March 2006.

The Geography Commission of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History. Panelist.Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, IL, March 2006.

Land Reform and Deforestation in the South of Pará, Brazil. S. Aldrich (primary author and presenter), C. Simmons, R. T. Walker, M. M. Caldas, E. Y. Arima. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers,Chicago, IL, March 2006.

Settlement Formation, Land Use and Land Cover Change: a case study in the Brazilian Amazon. M. M. Caldas (primary author and presenter), R. T. Walker, C. S. Simmons, S. Perz, S. Aldrich, E. Y. Arima, E. Matricardi. . Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers,Chicago, IL, March 2006.

Development and Destruction: The Land Occupation as a Livelihood Strategy. Panel discussant. International Development Studies Conference, Boulder, Co, March 2005.

Direct Action Land Reform: The Case of the Brazilian Amazon. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Denver, CO, March 2005.

30 Years of Development and Destruction in the Brazilian Amazon. Panel discussant. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Denver, CO, March 2005.

Amazon and Environment – II. Organizer. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Denver, CO, March 2005.

Thirty Years of Development and Destruction in the Amazon. Organizer. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Denver, CO, March 2005.

Integration of Image Classification with Patch Metrics for Mapping Fire Contagion. S. Westmoreland (presenter), D. Brumm, C. S. Simmons, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium,Anchorage, Alaska. September 2004.

Spatial Process and Scalar Effects: Development and Security in the Brazilian Amazon. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Philadelphia, PA, March 2004.

Land Conflict in the Brazilian Amazon: ContemporaryLand Insecurity in the Context of Urbanization and Globalization. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New Orleans, LA, March 2003.

The Local Articulation of Policy Conflict: Land Use, Environment, and Amerindian Rights in Eastern Amazonia. Meeting of the EastLakes Division of the Association of American Geographers, Mt. Pleasant, MI, November 2002.

The Political Economy of Land Conflict in the Brazilian Amazon. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Los Angeles, CA, March 2002.

Organizer and Chair: Session I - Frontier Urbanization and Environmental Change I: Urban-rural Linkages and Rural Landscape Change. Conference of Latin American Studies Association, Washington, DC, September 2001.

Organizer and Chair: Session II - Frontier Urbanization and Environmental Change II: Urban Expansion and Regional Environmental Challenges. Conference of Latin American Studies Association, Washington, DC, September 2001.

The Urban-Rural Dynamics of Land Use, Settlement, and Conflict in the Brazilian Amazon. Conference of Latin American Studies Association, Washington, DC, September 2001. Co-authors include S. Perz and M. Pedlowski.

Anthropogenic Fires in Amazonia: the Role of Community and Farming System Choice. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New York, NY, March 2001.Co-authors include R. Walker, C. Wood, and M. Cochrane.

The Political Economy of Underdevelopment: The Case of Rural Insecurity in Amazonia.Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Nystrom Competition, Pittsburgh, PA, April 2000.

Environmental Consequence of Rural and Urban linkages in Latin America. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Pittsburgh, PA: Session Organizer and Chair, April 2000.

Development Spaces: The Underdevelopment of Amazonia. Annual meeting of the Conference of Latin American Geographers, Austin, Texas, January 2000.

Hunger-related Mortality of Infants in a development frontier: Cattle Expansion and Land Concentration in the Brazilian Amazon. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Fort Worth, Texas, April 1997.

Hunger and Its (Dis)contents: The Political Economy of World Hunger. Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Fort Worth, Texas: Session Organizer, April 1997.

Forest Management Practices in the Bayano Region of Panama: Cultural Variations. Annual meeting of the Florida Geographic Society, FloridaStateUniversity, February 1996.

MonkeyRiver Ecotourism Development Project. Annual meeting of the Florida Association of Planners (FAPA), Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, November 1994.

Awards And Recognitions

Appointed, U.S. Representative to the Geography Commission of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH), a special organization of the Organization of American States (OAS), April 2005.

Nomination, President of the EastLakes Division of the AAG, 2003

Best Proposal Award, Grants Writing Workshop, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, MSU, November 2000.

Faculty member, Outstanding Student Project Award, Michigan Society of Planning, for the “North Saginaw Street Neighborhood Shopping Center Development Study,” Urban and Regional Planning Practicum project, Michigan State University, October 2000.

Nystrom Competition Finalist, Association of American Geographers, 2000.

Sigma Xi (Scientific Researchers Fraternity) appointed by invitation, Florida State University Chapter.

Fisher Graduate Student Paper Award, FloridaStateUniversity, March 1997.

Finalist in the Political Geography Specialty Group annual graduate student paper competition 1997.

Seminole Torchbearer Award (outstanding leadership), FloridaStateUniversity, 1994.

Outstanding Community Service Award 1993, 1994, and 1995, Center for Civic Education and Service, FloridaStateUniversity.

Teaching Experience

Courses Taught:

  • Human Environment Seminar – Graduate Level
  • Human Geography Research Seminar: Geographies of Resistance: The importance of Space, Place, and Scale – Graduate Level
  • Quantitative Methods for Spatial Analysis – Graduate Level
  • Geography of Development and Environment
  • Economic Geography
  • Cultures of the World
  • Cultural Geography
  • People and the Environment
  • World Geography
  • Latin American Geography
  • Urban and Regional Planning Practicum – Graduate Level
  • Introduction to Development Planning
  • Community Development
  • SAS – Statistical Analysis (EMPARAPA & SUDAM, Government of Brazil)

Study Abroad:

Summer 2001, Human - Environment Interactions in the Brazilian Amazon, faculty

leader.

Winter 2000, Horticulture in Chile, faculty participant.

Spring 2000, Nepal Study Abroad, faculty participant.

Advising:

Ph.D. committees (geography)

Steve Aldrich