Professor Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger joined the faculty in 2006 after several years of teaching GIS and remote sensing at Mount Holyoke College and Tufts University. She received Ph.D. from Clark University, and B.A./M.A. degrees in Geography with distinction from Moscow State University. 

Yelena’s research lies at the intersection of Geographic Information Science, human-environment geography, and public health. She uses advanced techniques of spatial analysis (e.g., spatial clustering and hot spot analysis, spatial statistics, and spatial regression) to address a broad range of urgent social, environmental, and health issues such as adverse birth outcomes, asthma incidence, heat-related mortality, health disparities, crime and noise pollution.  Many of her research projects are driven by local community needs, and involve collaboration with a variety of stakeholders including local government officials, medical professionals, and community organizations. Yelena is tri-lingual and conducted research and GIS trainings in Mexico, Costa Rica, Russia, India, and Ukraine.