Faculty and Staff

headshot of Thomas Pingel

Thomas Pingel

Associate Professor

Geography
OJ 117

Background

Thomas Pingel holds a Bachelor of Science in foreign service from Georgetown University, received his Masters and PhD in geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellow from 2010-12. 

His research focuses on:

  1. Lidar and photogrammetric point cloud processing and visualization for applications in urban planning, physical geography and archaeology 
  2. Dynamic digital twins
  3. Novel geovisualization methods, including 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, and other interactive maps and models
  4. Applications of GIS and remote sensing to problems in dynamic digital twins, urban heat monitoring, public health and natural hazards
His publications have appeared in Cartography and Geographic Information Science, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Computers and Geosciences, Cartographica, Cartographic Perspectives, and the Journal of Geography, Applied Geography, and Natural Hazards. 

Pingel was a board member and chair of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, chair of the Association of American Geographers Cartography Specialty Group, and has served as a cartographic editor for the Journal of Maps since 2014. He is an active member of the AAG, the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, and the National Council for Geographic Education. .


Funding Sources

  • National Science Foundation
  • National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
  • Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
  • Digital Globe Foundation
  • National Council for Geographic Education
  • University of California Transportation Center

Selected Publications

  • Barua, G., Pingel, T.J., Lim, T. 2023. Urban Thermal Map Design Considerations: Color, Shading, and Resolution. Cartography and Geographic Information Science. [10.1080/15230406.2023.2267418]
  • Sterling, W., Krometis, L-A., Pingel, T.J., and Winling, L. 2023. Connections Between Present-Day Water Access and Historical Redlining. Environmental Justice. [10.1089/env.2022.0115]
  • Carani, S. and Pingel, T.J. 2023. Detection of Tornado Damage via Convolutional Neural Networks and Uncrewed Aerial System Photogrammetry. Natural Hazards. [10.1007/s11069-023-06125-4]
  • McKnight, M.X., Kolivras, K.N., Buttling, L.G., Gohlke, J.M., Marr, L.C., Pingel, T.J., & Ranganathan. S. 2022. Examining the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem: Associations Between Birth Outcomes and Surface Mining in Central Appalachia at Multiple Spatial Scales. GeoHealth. [10.1029/2022GH000696]
  • Lim, T.C., Wilson, B., Grohs, J.R., & Pingel, T.J. 2022. Community-engaged Heat Resilience Planning: Lessons from a Youth 鈥淪mart City鈥 STEM program. Landscape and Urban Planning. [10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104497]
  • Pingel, T.J., Saavedra, A., and L. Cobo. 2021. Deriving Land and Water Surface Elevations in the Northeastern Yucat谩n Peninsula using PPK GPS and UAV-based Structure from Motion. Papers in Applied Geography.7(3), 294-315. [10.1080/23754931.2021.1871937]
  • Isibue, E.W. and T.J. Pingel. 2020. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based Measurement of Urban Forests. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 48, 126574. [10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126574]
  • Pingel, T.J. 2017. Using Web Maps to Analyze the Construction of Global Scale Cognitive Maps. Journal of Geography. [10.1080/00221341.2017.1378364]
  • Pingel, T.J., Clarke, K.C., & A. Ford. 2015. Bonemapping: A LiDAR Processing and Visualization Technique in Support of Archaeology Under the Canopy. Cartography and Geographic Information Science. 42(S1), 18-26. [10.1080/15230406.2015.1059171]
  • Pingel, T.J., Clarke, K.C., and W.A. McBride. 2013. An Improved Simple Progressive Morphological Filter for Ground Segmentation of LIDAR Data. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 77, 21-30. [10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2012.12.002]


        Education

        • Ph.D., Univesity of California, Santa Barbara
        • MA, University of California, Santa Barbara
        • BS, Georgetown University

        Research Interests

        • Lidar
        • Photogrammetry
        • Drones
        • Geospatial programming
        • Urban heat monitoring
        • Cartography and geovisualization
        • Spatial cognition

        Teaching Interests

        • GIS and spatial analysis
        • Advanced remote sensing
        • Geospatial programming
        • Cartography
        • Geovisualization
        • Digital terrain analysis
        • World regional geography

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