Dr. Flávia Dias De Souza Moraes
Over the course of the past year, our department has grown considerably, with four new full-time faculty joining us since the start of 2021. This is the fourth and final post in our series of new faculty spotlights, ending with Dr. Flávia Dias de Souza Moraes. Dr. Moraes joins GSU from the University of Georgia, where she completed her PhD in geography in the summer of 2021. Get to know Dr. Moraes with our Q&A below!
---
Where are you originally from?
I am from the city of Porto Alegre, located in the southernmost state of Brazil called Rio Grande do Sul. In English, Porto Alegre would mean “happy port” and Rio Grande do Sul would mean “big river of the south”.
Where were you before coming to GSU?
I have been in several places and countries before coming to GSU. I graduated both in journalism (2008) and in geography (2014) back in Brazil, at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. While I was an undergraduate in geography I had the opportunity to study abroad for one year in the UK, at the University of East Anglia, with an assistantship from the Brazilian government. After that, I got my masters degree in Geography, also from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2016), then I came to pursue my PhD in the U.S. I got my doctoral degree from the University of Georgia (2021) and right before I defended my dissertation, I was selected for the lecturer position here at GSU, which made me incredibly happy!
What’s your primary area of study?
My primary area of study is climatology, but I can say that I work with physical geography in general, as I have been researching about water resources during drought events and the future impacts of climate on agriculture. So, I would say my research interests include climatology, water resources, hydroclimatology, and extreme weather events (e.g., drought).
What classes are you teaching at GSU?
I am currently teaching GEOG1112 Introduction to Weather and Climate. I am excited to teach other courses in the future such as GEOG1113 Intro to Landforms as well as to create new courses in areas such as hydroclimatology, extreme events, and environmental hazards.
What are you researching right now?
I am currently working on publishing my papers related with my dissertation, which focus on understanding drought in the insular Caribbean, how it is related with teleconnections such as ENSO (El Nino and La Nina), its impacts on water resources, as well as how future climate change will affect water available for agriculture.
What’s your favorite thing about Atlanta (so far)?
My favorite thing about Atlanta is how green this city is. I love all the trails around the Chattahoochee river and have explored most of them already. I also love the fact that Atlanta is multicultural, so we can learn from other cultures and also try amazing food from different countries (including the great Brazilian bakeries where I can find some of the delicious food from Brazil that I miss so much).
