Naomi Lazarus
Dr. Naomi Lazarus is the Vice Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at California State University, Chico. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in Geography at Binghamton University, New York and has a PhD in Geography from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Lazarus’ research examines the impacts of environmental hazards and disease epidemics at different scales. She incorporates spatial statistics and geographical information systems to develop spatial models to assess vulnerability and risk among populations exposed to these phenomena. Dr. Lazarus has published in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to edited books on her research related to hazards and viral diseases. Dr. Lazarus teaches courses on GIS, cartography, and quantitative methods at CSU Chico. Her approach to teaching is based on developing students’ understanding of geographical principals through case study examples, class activities, project work, and skills development.
Publications:
- Freeman, D. & Lazarus. N. 2025. Making connections through academic research and GIS. Teaching Geography 50 (2): 70 - 72.
- Lazarus, N. W. 2023. Investigating spatial relationships of age and comorbidities on COVID-19 spread using geographically weighted regression. In: GIS’s Role in Covid-19’s Management and Control, Esra Ozdenerol (Ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
- Lazarus, N. W. 2019. Multivariate analysis of the dengue virus in Sri Lanka using the ordination method. GeoJournal. DOI: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-019-10069-3.
- Lazarus, N.W. 2016. A county-level risk assessment of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Geographical Review 106 (3): 360 - 380. DOI: 10.1111/j.1931-0846.2016.12178.x
- Lazarus, N. W. 2014. Re-specifying disaster risk: Concepts, methods, and models. Geojournal 79 (5): 635 - 648. DOI :10.1007/s10708-014-9521-6
- Lazarus, N. W. 2011. Coping capacities and rural livelihoods: Challenges to community risk management in southern Sri Lanka. Applied Geography 31 (1): 20 – 34. DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2010.03.012.