History of Regional Science at UIUC

Regional science is a field of inquiry focused on social, economic, political, and environmental questions with significant spatial dimensions or components. Regional scientists typically conduct multi-disciplinary and policy-relevant research, drawing insights from a wide variety of academic fields, including geography, planning, policy analysis, economics, statistics, environmental science, engineering, and computation. The field is represented by an extensive network of professional societies under the umbrella of the Regional Science Association International and over 20 national and international journals. Regional science scholarship is expanding especially rapidly in Asia and Latin America, extending the global reach of a field traditionally dominated by North American and European universities.

Almost no universities offer masters or doctoral degrees in regional science. Students with interests in regional science obtain their degrees in related fields, usually taking courses from several departments, and join the community of regional science scholars by participating in annual meetings and publishing in regional science venues.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has large and vigorous regional science community. The University’s regional science strengths are grounded principally in the departments of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, Economics, Finance, Geography, and Urban and Regional Planning; the College of Business; and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Cooperation across units facilitates coordinated course offerings, joint research projects, student research opportunities in several specialized laboratories, and active seminar series which, in recent years, have attracted visitors from Europe, Latin America, and Asia, as well as elsewhere in North America. UIUC students enrolled in masters or doctoral degree programs in affiliated departments have the option of earning a formal interdisciplinary concentration in regional science.

UIUC Alumni Active in Regional Science

• Nuzul Achjar, LPEM, University of Indonesia. Ph.D., Geography, 2003.
• Patricio Aroca, Professor, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile. Ph.D., Economics, 1995.
• Nazmiye Balta, Policy Studies Institute, London. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2006.
• Jaime Bonet, Research Economist, Banco de la Republica, Cartagena, Colombia. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2006.
• Helen Briassoulis, Professor, University of Aegean, Greece. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 1985.
• Bambang Brodjonegoro, Dean, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 1997.
• Harry Campbell, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Ph.D., Geography, 1994.
• Steven Deller, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ph.D., Agricultural Economics, 1988.
• Chokri Dridi, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta. Ph.D., Agricultural and Consumer Economics, 2005.
• Adrian Esparza, Associate Professor, University of Arizona. Ph.D., Geography, 1987.
• Oliver Fritz, WIFO Research, Vienna. Ph.D., Economics, 1996.
• Carolyn Dong Guo, Post-Doc, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2005.
• Eduardo Haddad, Associate Professor, FIPE, University of São Paulo. Ph.D., Economics, 1998.
• Mônica Haddad, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2003.
• Randall Jackson, Professor and Director, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Ph.D., Geography, 1983.
• Sarwar Jahan, Professor, Technical University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ph.D., Geography, 1987.
• Sung-Gheel Jang, Visiting Researcher and Assistant Professor, EPIL. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2005.
• Guo Jiemin, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 1997.
• Jong Sung Lee, Visiting Researcher and Assistant Professor, EPIL. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2005.
• André Magalhães, Associate Professor, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. Ph.D., Economics, 2000.
• Darla Munroe, Assistant Professor, Ohio State University. Ph.D., Geography, 2000.
• Suahasil Nazara, Associate Professor, University of Indonesia. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2003. • Breandan O'hUallachain, Professor, Arizona State University. Ph.D., Geography, 1982.
• Yasuhide Okuyama, Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society, Tokyo, Japan. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 1999.
• Mark D. Partridge, Professor, Ohio State University. Ph.D., Agricultural and Consumer Economics, 1991.
• Aisling Reynolds, Senior Lecturer, University College, Dublin, Ireland. Ph.D., Geography, 1989.
• Laurie Schintler, George Mason University. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 1996.
• Jungyul Sohn, Assistant Professor, University of Memphis. Ph.D., Geography, 2002.
• Yan Song, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 1998.
• J. Fernando Vial, Associate Professor, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile. Ph.D., Regional Planning, 2006.
• Brigitte Waldorf, Professor, Purdue University. Ph.D., Geography, 1988.

Past Permanent Faculty Active in Regional Science

• Alex Anas
• David Boyce
• Jan Brueckner
• Peter Colwell
• Arun Elhance
• Carolyn Fisk
• Art Getis
• James O. Huff
• Bruce Newbold
• Michael Romanos
• C.F. Sirmans
• Frank Southworth
• Harold F. Williamson

Journals and Book Series Edited at UIUC

• Advances in Spatial Science, Springer Verlag, Geoffrey Hewings, Series Editor, 1995-present.
• Annals of Regional Science, Tschangho John Kim, Editor, 1993-2005.
• Australian Journal of Regional Studies, Geoffrey Hewings, American Editor, 2000-present.
• International Regional Science Review, Luc Anselin, Andrew Isserman and Serge Rey, Editors, 1996-present.
• Papers in Regional Science, Harold F. Williamson, Jr., Managing Editor (-1998).
• Regional Science Perspectives, Geoffrey Hewings, Book Review Editor, 1977-1981.

Honors to Alumni and Current or Former Facult

• Alonso Prize: Luc Anselin (2005)
• David Boyce Award for Service to Regional Science (NARSC): David Boyce (1994), Geoffrey Hewings (1995), Andrew Isserman (1999), Kieran Donaghy (2003)
• Endowed Professor of Urban and Regional Systems, UIUC: Tschangho John Kim
• Geoffrey J.D. Hewings Award (NARSC): Brigitte Waldorf (1995), Edward Feser (2001)
• Walter Isard Award for Scholarly Achievement (NARSC): Arthur Getis (1997), Geoffrey Hewings (2003), Luc Anselin (2005)
• RSAI Fellows: Luc Anselin, Jan K. Brueckner, Geoffrey Hewings, Tschangho John Kim
• Charles Tiebout Prize (WRSA): Chokri Dridi (2003), Sandy Dall'erba (2004)

Past Visiting Faculty

• Flavia Maria DeMello Bliska, University of São Paulo, Campinas, Brazil
• M. Alejandro Cardenete, Pablo Olavide University, Sevilla, Spain
• Pedro Carralho, University of Beira, Portugal
• Mirna Chiari, Fundação João Pinheiro, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Byung-Do Cho, Bank of Korea, Seoul
• Daniela Constantin, Bucharest, Romania
• Sandy Dall’erba, University of Pau, France
• Henk Folmer, Wagenigen University, The Netherlands
• Ferhan Gezici, Technical University of Istanbul, Turkey
• Joaquim J.M. Guilhoto, University of São Paulo, Brazil
• Kazumi Hitomi, CRIEPI, Tokyo, Japan
• Yuji Itaya, Nagoya, Japan
• Rodney Jensen, University of Queensland, Australia
• Gennadi Kazakevitch, Flinders University, Victoria, Australia
• Euijune Kim, Seoul National University
• Tatsuo Kinugasa, Kobe, Japan
• Julie Le Gallo, University of Bordeaux
• Mauro Borges Lemos, CEDEPLAR, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Sueli Moro, CEDEPLAR, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Bjarne Madsen, ATF, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Maria Marques, Fundação João Pinheiro, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Miguel Angel Marquez, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
• Olinto Nogueira, Fundação João Pinheiro, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Toru Ohkawara, CRIEPI, Tokyo, Japan
• Ronaldo Oleto, Fundação João Pinheiro, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Chang-Gui Park, Bank of Korea, Seoul
• Fernando Prates, Fundação João Pinheiro, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Elisa Rocha, Fundação João Pinheiro, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Komei Sasaki, Tohoku University, Japan
• Harunori Shishido, Kagawa University, Japan
• Masayo Wakabayashi, CRIEPI, Tokyo, Japan
• Norihiko Yamano, CRIEPI, Tokyo, Japan
• Coro Chasco Yrigoyen, University of Madrid
• Gerold Zakarias, Joanneum Research, Graz, Austria