photo of Yiyi Wang in library, wearing graduation cap and gown, with baby on lap

Feb. 17, 2014

Alumna Yiyi Wang (PhD 2013) was selected to receive the William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography from the Association of American Geographers (AAG). The biennial award supports innovative research into the computational aspects of geographic science.

The award is intended to arouse a more general and deeper understanding of the important role that advanced computation can play in resolving the complex problems of space–time analysis that are at the core of geographic science.

Wang's work proposes and estimates a spatial multivariate count model and provides two case studies to implement such a model, one based on pedestrian-vehicle crash counts and another modeling new firm births by industry. Research interests include sustainable transportation planning, traffic safety modeling, economic impact analysis, time-space travel behavior forecasting, land use modeling, spatial statistics/econometrics, GIS, and regional science.

The formal presentation of the Garrison Award will take place at the AAG annual meeting in April 2014.

Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Montana State University.