Bob Watrel

Bob Watrel is the Department Head and Associate Professor of Geography at South Dakota State University. His expertise lies in political geography, cartography, geovisualization, and Great Plains studies. He holds a B.S. from the University of North Dakota (1989), an M.A. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (1993), and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2001).

Research interests include electoral geography, regional political dynamics, and mapping technologies. His work analyzes spatial patterns in presidential elections, library resource disparities between religious and secular universities, and economic challenges affecting South Dakota's planning districts. He has authored multiple influential atlases on U.S. elections and contributed to studies on Bible Belt demographics and occupational gender segregation in rural regions.

Watrel's publications span over three decades, demonstrating consistent focus on mapping complex social, political, and economic phenomena. His geovisualization techniques have advanced the field's understanding of spatial political behavior and regional development strategies.