Thomas W. Crawford

Thomas W. Crawford is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Geography at Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment. His expertise spans geospatial applications, GIS, remote sensing, coastal hazards, and human-environment interactions. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (2000), an M.A. from the same institution (1994), and a B.S. from Wake Forest University (1988).

Dr. Crawford's research focuses on coastal erosion dynamics in Bangladesh, vulnerability and resilience frameworks, and geospatial public health applications. His recent projects include analyzing Bangladesh's shoreline changes through satellite imagery and community surveys, funded by the National Science Foundation and NOAA. He has advised graduate students Md Sariful Islam (Ph.D., 2023) and Nazmul Huda (M.S., 2022).

His publications emphasize spatial analysis methodologies and their application to environmental challenges. Key themes include green inequality, coastal management, disaster resilience, and human displacement due to climate change. Recent grants include $405k from NSF for coastal vulnerability research and a NOAA subaward for community health assessments in coastal cities.

Leveraging geospatial technologies, Crawford bridges physical and social sciences to address complex environmental systems. His work often integrates quantitative data with qualitative community perspectives to inform sustainable coastal policies.