We are very happy to announce that the winner of the 2025 John R. and Fawn T. Dunkle Geography Award is Olivia Zhang!
The Dunkle award honors the long-time service and devotion of Professor John R. Dunkle to the Department of Geography at the University of Florida.
We give this award of $1000 annually to an undergraduate Geography major who shows sustained academic excellence, involvement in departmental and university activities, leadership and/or strong promise for graduate study.
Olivia is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Geography and a dual degree in Data Science. She has been actively involved with the Geography Department as an ambassador, promoting Geography and Meteorology programs at on-campus events.
She co-founded a chapter of the nonprofit Data Science for Sustainable Development at UF, where she provides GIS and software development support for nonprofits, startups, and researchers.
Olivia has joined a diverse array of research groups, where she utilizes GeoAI to study mosquito-borne diseases, rainfall patterns, and archaeology.
Due to her outstanding work, she has recently been awarded the UF Gulf Scholar, the Archaeology ‘Dirty Trowel’ Award, and the UF Scholar to support her research.
After graduation Olivia plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Geography at the University of Florida and research on climate change solutions for the Gulf Coast.