Michael Minn

Michael Minn is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science at the University of Illinois. His academic roles include advising for the GIS Professional Science Master’s (GIS-PSM) program. He holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Illinois (2014), an MA in Geography from Hunter College/CUNY (2010), an MS in Computer Science from North Texas State (1988), and a BM in Music Education from North Texas State (1986).

His research focuses on the energy-transportation nexus, GIS education, and urban futures. His doctoral work examined American intercity passenger rail in the context of energy constraints, while his postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois’ Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences explored landscape management changes using Landsat and spatial analysis in Maricopa County.

Professionally, Minn develops open-source GIS tools like the MMQGIS plugin for QGIS and maintains extensive GIS tutorial resources. He is an advocate for Linux since 2000, contributing installation guides and documentation. Teaching responsibilities include courses such as GGIS 379 (Intro to GIS), GGIS 380 (GIS II), and GGIS 479 (Enterprise GIS).

Beyond academia, Minn is a musician, playwright, and photographer. He authored and produced theatrical works like the rock opera *Mossadegh* (2004) and *The Irreplaceable Commodity* (2003), and maintains music discographies for jazz legends. His personal projects include Linux software development, photography, and ballet history preservation.