Heather Fischer
PhD Student, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Arizona State University
PO Box 875302
Tempe, AZ 85287-5302
Titles
- PhD Student, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Biography
Heather is a Geography PhD student in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. She studies citizen science and the implementation of citizen science program in the fields of geography and conservation biology. She specifically focuses on the collection of Volunteered Geographic Information with in citizen science programs. Heather also is interested in how the volunteers of these programs shape the data they collect in these programs. Currently, Heather is working with Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska to develop a mobile application based citizen science program. This application will allow park visitor to collect wildlife data and in turn this data will be used in conservation planning in the park. With this project Heather hopes to address some of the ongoing issues in the realm of citizen science including; the impact of local knowledge (or lack thereof) on the outcomes of a program, data accuracy, and implementation of citizen science in long-term protected area planning.
Heather was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a child she explored the plethora of National Parks and Utah. Currently she splits her time between the deserts of Arizona and the tundra of Alaska. When Heather is not doing research, she is often teaching, guiding hikes, and volunteering on campus. In her free time, she likes to rock climb, do yoga, hike, and hang out with her dog.
Education
- MA, Anthropology (minor in geographical information systems), Texas Tech University, 2013
- BA, History (minor in anthropology), University of Utah, 2008
Journal Articles
2018
Wentz, E. A., A. M. York, M. Alberti, L. Conrow, H. Fischer, L. Inostroza, C. Jantz, S. T. Pickett, K. C. Seto and H. Taubenböck. 2018. Six fundamental aspects for conceptualizing multidimensional urban form: A spatial mapping perspective. Landscape and Urban Planning 179(Nov):55-62. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.07.007. (link )
Posters
2019
Dzyuban, Y., M. Messerschmidt, H. A. Fischer, A. Ellsworth, P. Solís, J. K. Vanos, A. Middel and D. M. Hondula. 2019. Mapping thermal comfort in Edison Eastlake Neighborhood with citizen scientists. Poster presented at the 21st Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, January 11, 2019, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Li, Z., Q. Zhao, D. Shah, H. A. Fischer, W. Luo, P. Solís and E. A. Wentz. 2019. ActivityLog – HeatMappers: A novel research data collection tool for logging human activities, locations and environment data. Poster presented at the 21st Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, January 11, 2019, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
M.G. Marcus Memorial Fellowship, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, 2015
Lounsbury Travel Award, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, 2014
Special Recognition in Archaeology Poster Category, Texas Academy of Science Conference, 2013
2nd Place in Social Science Category, Graduate Student Poster Competition, Texas Tech University, 2013
University Graduate Fellowship, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, 2013
Dean's List, University of Utah, 2008