On October 10, 2025, the Department of Geography hosted a roundtable discussion with two scholars from Ukraine, Kostyantyn Mezentsev, Ph.D. and Sofia Doskich, Ph.D., who are visiting Florida State University as part of the Bridge USA Ukraine Program for Resilience and Reconstruction.
Dr. Mezentsev, the Chair of the Department of Economic and Social Geography at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Dr. Doskich, an Associate Professor of Geodesy from the Lviv Polytechnic National University participated in presentations with several Department of Geography faculty.
“FSU has a unique opportunity to work with and learn from Ukrainian partners during a unique and very challenged moment in history,” said Vilma Fuentes, Ph.D., Program Director of the FSU Ukraine Task force. “We can engage in interdisciplinary research that explores recovery from disasters, sustainable reconstruction, environmental restoration, and emergent resilience. We can also leverage their expertise in FSU’s new Spatial Data Science Center to help inform recovery efforts.”
The Bridge USA Ukraine Program was implemented by the American Councils for International Education with FSU serving as one of its many host universities. FSU Provost James Clark created the Ukraine Task Force in 2022 to support Ukrainian universities, explore areas of possible research or collaboration, and to educate the FSU community about Ukraine.
Geography faculty members Anne Chin, Ph.D., Amber DeJohn, Ph.D., Stewart Fotheringham, Ph.D., Ziqi Li, Ph.D., Mason Mathews, Ph.D., and Carolina Velasquez, Ph.D. each gave flash talks centered on their research in a lively exchange with Dr. Mezentsev and Dr. Doskich. The presentations stimulated a brainstorming of ideas with continuing discussions intended toward identifying areas of overlap and potential collaboration.
Faculty members Michael Duncan, Ph.D., Aurora Echavarria, Ph.D., and Dennis Smith from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning also joined the luncheon and added much to the excitement of the day. Dr. Fuentes and Anna Romanova, Ph.D., also attended the event.
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