NIU students will have the opportunity in the next few days to learn more about the world during Geography Awareness Week.

“We try to draw attention to geography and point out to people that it’s interesting and vital to decisions made in politics and education,” said C. Daniel Dillman, NIU professor of geography.

“Geography is not just locating places. There is a lot of explanation that goes into our work,” Dillman said.

The week will kick off Monday with the lecture “Exploring the Oil-Fire Plume in the Persian Gulf.”

Peter Daum from Brookhaven National Laboratory will speak on the topic at 4 p.m. at Davis Hall Room 121.

Daum spent most of the summer in the Persian Gulf studying the plume for Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The lecture is sponsored by the department of geography and the department of geology.

A panel discussion will be held Tuesday about women finding a career in geography.

“Women are very misrepresented in geography. We wanted to encourage women to understand what positions are available in the field and problems they will encounter,” Dillman said.

Dillman said he also wants to encourage a frank and open discussion of problems the panelists have encountered both in course work and jobs.

Participating panelists will include Marilyn Sanders, of the U.S. Census Bureau; Caroline S. Sieben, of the Division of City Planning in Aurora; Dr. Mary Daum of Brookhaven National Laboratory and Ruth Anne Tobias from the NIU Social Science Research Institute.

The discussion, which is sponsored by the geography department, the Women’s Studies Program and University Resources for Women, will be moderated by Dr. Lois S. Self, director of Women’s Studies Program.

Following the program, a reception will be hosted by University Resources for Women.

Another public lecture, “Images and Impressions: China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Bali,” will be held on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Donald Maxfield, of NIU’s geography department, will be the speaker.

“Geography Through the Documentary Medium,” “The Sword and the Cross” and “The Columbian Exchange” will be the topics of a lecture that will be held Thursday at 4 p.m. in Davis Hall, Room 116.

NIU’s Honors Program Director Jeffrey Chown and Dillman will be the speakers at this event.

A career day open to everyone will be held Friday in Davis Hall, Rooms 103, 116, 119 and 217. Information on career planning, job prospects and spring classes will be given.

A nature adventure hike will be held Saturday in the Russell Forest Preserve, located one mile west of Genoa off Route 72.

Kenneth Bowden, of NIU’s geography department, will be the guide coordinator.