We are thrilled to welcome Assistant Professor Patrick Bitterman, Ph.D., who joined us as a new tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Geography at Kent State University this semester! Bitterman comes to us from the School of Global Integrative Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he worked as an assistant professor of geography since 2019 and as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Vermont (2017-2019).
“Patrick brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for geography,” Sarah Smiley, Ph.D., professor and interim chair of the Department of Geography, said.
A Lifelong Passion for Geography
Bitterman’s fascination with geography began in his childhood. The native of Independence, Iowa recalls spending hours “drawing maps, reading every geography book I could find, and staying up way too late learning about political geography on the family computer.” This early enthusiasm laid the foundation for a career dedicated to understanding the complex interplay between human activities and the environment.
He hopes to make a meaningful impact in both academia and the Northeast Ohio community.
“One of my long-term goals is to help build regional expertise in spatial data science, informed by stakeholder engagement and close work with policymakers, to increase the resilience of social-ecological systems,” Bitterman said. “However, to build resilient systems, the solutions themselves must be resilient – a particularly difficult challenge to effective governance.”
His projects aim to address critical issues such as green infrastructure by investigating the effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) in controlling runoff, reducing pollution, and mitigating flooding in urban and suburban areas. He’s also exploring conflicts between agricultural practices and urban expansion in Northeast Ohio, particularly how these land use changes affect water quality and the policy responses needed to balance development with environmental sustainability.
Before he went into academia, Bitterman worked in aerospace manufacturing and said that his work was inherently problem-focused. He decided to go back to school and focus on geography. He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geography from the University of Iowa.
“In my home state of Iowa, water quality is extremely poor, and it causes substantial environmental and human health problems,” Bitterman said.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Two of Bitterman’s Ph.D. students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln decided to join him at Kent State to finish their doctoral degrees and pursue research in his lab group. Uzma Jabeen is a Fulbright scholar from Pakistan and Jason Yoo is originally from South Korea.
“We are excited to have Patrick and his students join our team and look forward to the contributions they will make to the Department of Geography and Kent State as a whole,” Smiley said.