About Me

Hi! I’m Dr. Julia Cardwell and I am a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a teaching-centered faculty member, I’m particularly passionate about undergraduate teaching and learning. I enjoy experimenting with teaching methods and approach the classroom as a space where students and instructors co-create knowledge through mutual responsibility and reflexive engagement. I teach a variety of courses in Spatial Data Science, including courses on Geographic Information Systems, spatial modeling, big (spatial) data, and the history of cartography.

I earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Davidson College. My research utilizes graph theoryto evaluate structural road network redundancy and transportation equity, specifically focusing on rural areas in North Carolina. In addition, I am broadly interested in non-motorist transport and applying graph theory approaches to identify high-stress conflict points for pedestrians and cyclists

Outside of the classroom, you can find me refereeing arguments between my pets (two cats and a dog), reading modern horror novels, or birding.