Roger Wheate

Roger Wheate is a Professor and GIS Coordinator in the Department of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), Faculty of Environment. He holds a PhD and BSc Honours from the University of St. Andrews and an MA from Queen's University at Kingston. He previously served as Graduate Program Chair for the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (NRES) program.

Education:

• PhD, University of St. Andrews
• MA, Queen's University at Kingston
• BSc Honours, University of St. Andrews

Dr. Wheate's research focuses on the integration of geomatic sciences, particularly GIS and remote sensing, in natural resource and environmental studies. His expertise includes cartography, map design, terrain visualization, mountain cartography, and glacier mapping using satellite imagery. He specializes in extracting topographic and environmental features from digital elevation models and satellite data for applications in ecology, conservation, and hazard assessment.

His publication record shows a consistent focus on advancing geospatial techniques in mountainous and remote environments. Key trends include the development of methods for relief depiction, shaded relief analysis, principal component transformation for satellite data, and tactile map creation from GIS outputs. His work spans both theoretical cartographic innovation and applied environmental mapping, particularly in Canadian mountain systems.

Professional Affiliations:

• Canadian Cartographic Association
• Friends of Nose Hill
• UNBC GIS Lab

Dr. Wheate has supervised several graduate students in projects related to wildlife habitat modeling, vegetation phenology, and grizzly bear telemetry. His courses include GEOG 205 (Cartography and Geomatics), GEOG 300 (Geographical Information Systems), GEOG 440 (Internship), and GEOG 499 (Independent Studies). He is actively involved in research and education, with no indication of part-time status or retirement.