Jamie Mitchem, Ph.D.

Jamie Mitchem

Professor

Phone678-717-3927

Office locationArt & Technology Building, 1603, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Geography and GIS, Hazards, Meteorology, Climatology, Earth Science, Emergency Management

Courses Taught

  • GEOG 1111K Introduction to Physical Geography
  • GEOG 1112/L Introduction to Weather & Climate
  • GEOG 1102  World Regional Geography
  • GISC 2011/L Introduction to GIS
  • ENST 2030  Introduction to Environmental Studies
  • GISC 3011K  Cartography and Earth Measurement
  • GISC 3100  Seminar in Geospatial Technology
  • GEOG 3200K  Earth Systems
  • GEOG 4000K  Environmental Geography

Education

  • Ph.D., Geography, University of South Carolina at Columbia, 2004
  • M.S., Meteorology, North Carolina State University, 2000
  • B.S., Geophysics, University of South Carolina at Columbia, 1998

Research/Special Interests

Dr. Mitchem's research interests include hazards geography, disasters, GIS, meteorology, climatology, climate change, emergency management, social vulnerability, risk communication, and tornadoes. His interests focus on the complex interactions between society and nature.

He has recently worked on a UNG Presidential Innovation Award analyzing UNG students' attitudes about climate change. Dr. Mitchem has been elected as Chari of Faculty Senate for 2019-2020. He is currently working on an EPA grant, Educating Georgia Citizens on Native Forest Ecosystems and Sustainable Practices, with Dr. Allison Bailey, and he has previous grants from NASA, U.S. Department of Justice, EPA, FEMA, and the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. He also is collaborating with Emory University, UGA, and Georgia Tech as part of the Georgia Climate Project.

Publications

  • Pham, Erica O., Christopher T. Emrich, Zhenlong Li, Jamie Mitchem, and Susan L. Cutter, 2019. Evacuation Departure Timing during Hurricane Matthew. Weather, Climate and Society (in revision).
  • Rudd, Murray; Althea F.P. Moore; Daniel Rochberg; Lisa Bianchi-Fossati; Marilyn A. Brown; David D'Onofrio; Carrie A. Furman; Jairo Garcia; Ben Jordan; Jennifer Kline; L. Mark Risse; Patricia L. Yager; Jessica Abbinett; Merryl Alber; Jesse E. Bell; Cyrus Bhedwar; Kim M. Cobb; Juliet Cohen; Matt Cox; Myriam Dormer; Nyasha Dunkley; Heather Farley; Jill Gambill; Mindy Goldstein; Garry Harris; Melissa Hopkinson; Jean-Ann James; Susan Kidd; Pam Knox; Yang Liu; Daniel C. Matisoff; Michael D. Meyer; Jamie D. Mitchem; Katherine Moore; Aspen J. Ono; John Philipsborn; Kerrie M. Sendall; Fatemeh Shafiei, Marshall Shepherd; Julia Teebken; and Ashby N. Worley, 2018. Climate Research Priorities for Policy-Makers, Practitioners, and Scientists in Georgia, USA. Environmental Management, 62 (2): 190-209.
  • Mitchem, Jamie D., 2013. Ozone Layer Depletion. In Encyclopedia of Crisis Management, SAGE Reference Books, Thousand Oaks, CA.
  • Mitchem, Jamie D., 2011. Hurricanes/Typhoons. In Encyclopedia of Disaster Relief, SAGE Reference Books, Thousand Oaks, CA.
  • Mitchem, Jamie D., 2011. Survivor Guilt. In Encyclopedia of Disaster Relief, SAGE Reference Books, Thousand Oaks, CA.
  • Mueller, Thomas R. and Jamie D. Mitchem, 2010. Survey of Emergency Management and Preparedness Agencies in Pennsylvania’s Rural Counties. Research Report funded by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania. http://www.rural.palegislature.us/documents/reports/emergency_management_2010.pdf 
  • Mueller, Thomas R., Jamie D. Mitchem, and Andrew Egut, 2009. A Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Chemical Spills on the Interstates in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Geographer, 47 (1). 
  • Mitchem, Jamie D., Thomas R. Mueller, and Kevin J. Mickey, 2008. The Use of HAZUS-MH and GIS for Emergency Management. In Emergency Management in Higher Education: Current Practices and Conversations, Public Entity Risk Institute, Fairfax, VA.
  • Mueller, Thomas R., Jamie Mitchem, and Lawrence Moses, 2006. Service Learning and GIS: The Key to Funding Opportunities. Transformations, May 1, 2006: 17-20.
  • Boruff, Bryan J. Jaime A. Easoz, Steven D. Jones, Heather R. Landry, Jamie D. Mitchem, and Susan L. Cutter, 2003. Tornado Hazards in the United States. Climate Research, 24: 103-117.
  • Mitchem, Jamie D., 2003. An Analysis of the September 20, 2002, Indianapolis Tornado: Public Response to a Tornado Warning and Damage Assessment Difficulties. Quick Response Report funded by the Natural Hazards Center at Boulder, CO. 

Dr. Mitchem has also presented at more than 40 professional conferences, provided  multiple workshops on GIS and emergency management at FEMA's Higher Eucation Conferences, and he has authored multiple research reports to summarize the results from grant work and white papers to advise on best practices. 

Work Experience

  • Professor of Geography/GIS, University of North Georgia, Gainesville, GA, 2013-present
  • Associate Professor of Geography/GIS, Gainesville State University, Gainesville, GA, 2008-2013
  • Assistant Professor of Earth Science/Geography, California University of Pennsylvania, California, PA, 2004-2008

Dr. Mitchem began his career volunteering in the South Carolina State Climate Office and interning with the Southeast Regional Climate Center. He served as a Research Assistant in the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina and the Mesoscale Meteorology Research Lab at NC State University. He has taught at the university level for over 15 years. Dr. Mitchem was awarded the first HAZUS User of the Year award by FEMA for the first quarter of 2007.