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Rebecca Bingham-Byrne
Lecturer of GIS and Environmental Science
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
[email protected]Office Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Fridays 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Biography
Dr. Bingham-Byrne is a lecturer of GIS and Environmental Science at MSU Denver. She grew up in a very small town in North Dakota (16 people), but has traveled a lot since finishing high school. While in the small town, she grew to love nature and close-knit relationships within her community. She moved to South Dakota to attend a tribal college (Oglala Lakota College), which enforced her love of nature and community. She received her Bachelor's in Natural Science while being an intern that was able to participate in several research projects as well as K-12 community outreach programs. After her undergraduate program, she moved to Memphis, TN, where she got a Master's in Biological Science and a doctorate in Earth Sciences with a concentration in Geography (GIS). She also received several graduate certificates: GIS, Data Science, Public Health Analytics, and Bioinformatics. Dr. Bingham-Byrne has a passion for teaching, learning, and research. She is currently doing all three thanks to MSU Denver, and is excited for her new journey.Research Interests
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Dr. Bingham-Byrne utilizes Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) to explore ecology, animal behavior, biogeography, and infectious diseases. She is currently refining her PhD dissertation related to Lyme disease risk and prevention. She is also working on projects investigating COVID-19 management globally as well as its impact on food insecurity, research to better understand morphological variation in Peromyscus sonoriensis subspecies, and species interactions between raccoons and Virginia opossums. She is also working on a book. She hopes to begin researching some other topics related to public health and species interactions.
Her research journey began during my undergraduate years, collecting small mammal samples and studying movement patterns of swift foxes, leading to the study of behavior and movement patterns of ornate box turtles on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation before moving on to her current research agenda. She is interested in a broad range of topics, and is open to collaborate with others.
Teaching Interests
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Dr. Bingham-Byrne am currently teaching GIS and Environmental topics, but her diverse academic background spans natural science, biological sciences, earth sciences, data science, bioinformatics, and public health. She is interested in teaching data science and machine learning as it relates to these topics. She has previously taught introductory physical geography, anatomy & physiology, and GIS courses. She has also taught some upper level courses: Field Ecology and GIS Capstone projects. She is currently teaching Digital Earth (GIS 1220) and Introduction to Environmental Science (ENV 1200) this semester at MSU Denver.
Dr. Bingham-Byrne's began learning in a rural and underserved community, so she understands that mentorship and belonging is essential in a student's learning. Rebecca also strives to ensure that all students (online, in-person, hybrid) receives engaging and timely feedback. She values communication in her courses and uses it to ensure student success. She prioritizes student success by providing extra support and fostering collaboration among students to aid each other in learning. She ventures to include diverse teaching strategies (discussions, case studies, multimedia resources, and hands-on activities) in her courses to accommodate for different learning styles and keep students actively involved. She also incorporates current news articles and real-world scenarios to demonstrate how course topics play out in the surrounding community. She believes it is important to understand how the information she teaches is useful to the student, no matter their background.
Education
Other in Bioinformatics
The University of Memphis
Other in Data Science
The University of Memphis
PhD in Earth Sciences/Geography
The University of Memphis
Other in Health Analytics
The University of Memphis
Other in GIS
The University of Memphis
MS in Biological Sciences
The University of Memphis
BS in Natural Science
Oglala Lakota College