People

Yuko Aoyama advises students with strong international orientations whose primary interests fall under economic geography, globalization and industrialization, in order to further theoretical advance in the debates over governance, innovation, and organizational change.   She has conducted interviews with large multinationals and start-up entrepreneurs in various economic sectors, including IT, retailing, video games, tourism and logistics, and has a long-term interest in the economies of the Asia-Pacific, Spain, and the United States.

Yifan Cai came to Clark with BA and MA in Geography from Peking University, China. She has served as a research assistant for projects, MNEs and NGOs in India, and the use of Twitter for Geographic Volunteered Information in Japan. She is currently working on a dissertation proposal on China’s grassroots innovation in the SME sector.

Alireza Farmahini-Farahani came to Clark with BS in Mechanical Engineering and MBA from Sharif University of Technology, Iran, and MUrb. in Urban Studies from Simon Fraser University, Canada. He is currently working on a dissertation on knowledge, learning and the community of practice among regional development stakeholders in Iran. Ali received FURS (Foundation for Urban and Regional Studies) studentship award.

Young-Long Kim came to Clark with BA in Geography and Economics and MA in Geography from Seoul National University, South Korea.  He has served as a research assistant for the project, MNEs and NGOs in India. He is currently working on his dissertation, which is on measuring urban vitality using big data in Seoul, South Korea. Young-Long received Sim Student Travel Award from the Korea-America Association for Geospatial and Environmental Sciences.

Rory Horner, Ph.D. came to Clark with first class honors both in Geography and in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.  He has served as a research assistant for the project on MNEs and NGOs in India, and co-authored publications on foreign direct investment in Ireland, service innovation, and a book review on the World Bank report in 2009. Rory has been awarded an NSF-DDRI grant and he has also won various awards at the AAG, including the Best Student Paper from the Economic Geography Specialty Group. His dissertation, “The State, Patents, and the Development of India’s Pharmaceutical Industry” (2013) analyzes various underlining causes behind the emergence of Global South’s largest pharmaceutical industry, including the role of patents and state policy, competitive environments, and the potential of selective disengagements from global value chains. Rory is a lecturer at the School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

Seth Schindler, Ph.D. came to Clark with a BA from Oakland University, Michigan and MA in Sociology and International Development from Albert-Ludwig Universitat, Germany.   He has been awarded an NSF-DDRI grant and Geller Award from the Marsh Institute.  His dissertation, entitled “Producing Urban Space and the Transformation of the Retail Sector in Delhi, India” (2013) focused on India’s urban poor through their livelihoods in informal retailing, and examined their claim to urban space as the state and the middle class increasingly align their policy agenda with a particular vision of Delhi as a world city. After serving as an assistant professor at Global Studies Program, Institute for Asian and African Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, Seth is now a lecturer at the Department of Geography, the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Daniel Gray Haberly, Ph.D.  came to Clark with BA in history from University of Wisconsin, Madison.   He has been awarded an NSF-DDRI grant and he has also won the Best Student Paper from the Economic Geography Specialty Group of the AAG.  His dissertation is entitled “Sovereign Wealth Funds, Dependent Development, and the New Alliance Capitalism” (2013), which analyzes the role of sovereign wealth funds in development, focusing on the case of the Gulf states and their investment in Germany and elsewhere. Dan is a lecturer at the Department of Geography, University of Sussex, United Kingdom.

Guido Schwarz, Ph.D. came to Clark with a B.A./M.A. in Geography from University of Würzburg, Germany and M.A. in Geography from SUNY-Albany.  Guido served as co-authors to journal articles and book chapters on retailing and logistics, and also served as a research assistant to the NSF-funded project on the logistics industry.  His dissertation was entitled “The Arteries of Global Trade: Industrial Restructuring and Technological Change in the Transatlantic Air Cargo Industry” (2010).   After serving as an assistant professor at the Department of Geography at the University of Colombia-Bogota, Guido now works at the European Commission Headquarters in Brussels.

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Current External Collaborators:

Professor Balaji Parthasarathy, IIITB

Professor Matthew Zook, University of Kentucky

 

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Honors Thesis in Geography, Bachelor of Arts:

Will C. Heikes, Media Underreporting and Disasters (2017)

Charis Smuthkochorn, From Green Revolution to Organic Revolution (2017)

Sanika Shah, Lifting the Curtain on Myanmar’s Foreign Investment (2016)

Crystal Fam, Nationalism and National Identity in Singapore (2013)

Marie Anselm, Development of organic food in the United States (second reader) (2009)

Niluka Gunawardena, A Geographical Perspective of Disability (2007)

Ian Giddings, The Role of Education in Alleviating Poverty in Kenya (2006)

Timothy Dzurilla, Information Superhighway and Representation Divide: The case of Worcester Main South (2005)

Shana Retherford, Back to Bangalore: Transnational Linkages and the Role of the State in the Age of Globalization (2004)

Monica Stephens, Globalization of the Female Body as Seen in the Playboy Magazine (2004)

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Honors Thesis in Japanese Studies (self-designed major), Bachelor of Arts:

Ka Yan Yau, Japanese Women since World War II (2011)

Milosz Wozny, Collectivism in Prehistoric Japan (2006)