Susan Malaso Kotikot

Visiting Research Assistant Professor

Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community, and Urban Studies


Education

Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University (2023)

Areas of Specialty

  • Human-Environment Dynamics
  • Geographic Information Science and Systems

Selected Publications

Kotikot, S. M., Smithwick, E. A. H., Gergel, S., Nankaya, J., Abila, R., & Mabwoga, S. (2025). Historical land policies influence contemporary landscape patterns in agropastoral landscapes. Landscape Ecology, 40(8). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-025-02178-x

Kotikot, S. M., Smithwick, E. A. H., Nankaya, J., Gergel, S., Zimmerer, K. S., & Abila, R. (2025). Heterogeneous Perceptions of Rainfall Patterns Among Agropastoral Land Users in Sub-Saharan Africa. Annals of the American Association of Geographers. doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2025.2482899

Kotikot, S. M., Smithwick, E. A. H., & Greatrex, H. (2024). Observations of enhanced rainfall variability in Kenya, East Africa. Scientific Reports, 14(1). doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63786-2

Kotikot, S. M., Spencer, O., Cissell, J. R., Connette, G., Smithwick, E. A. H., Durdall, A., Grimes, K. W., Stewart, H. A., Tzadik, O., & Canty, S. W. J. (2024). Building a mangrove ecosystem monitoring tool for managers using Sentinel-2 imagery in Google Earth Engine. Ocean & Coastal Management, 256, 107307. doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107307

Omitaomu, O. A., Kotikot, S. M., & Parish, E. S. (2021). Planning green infrastructure placement based on projected precipitation data. Journal of Environmental Management, 279, 111718. doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111718

Kotikot, S. M., Flores, A., Griffin, R. E., Nyaga, J., Case, J. L., Mugo, R., Sedah, A., Adams, E., Limaye, A., & Irwin, D. E. (2020). Statistical characterization of frost zones: Case of tea freeze damage in the Kenyan highlands. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 84. doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2019.101971

Kotikot, S. M., Kar, B., & Omitaomu, O. A. (2020). A Geospatial Framework Using Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Strategic Placement of Reserve Generators in Puerto Rico. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 67(3). doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2020.2964606

Kotikot, S. M., Flores, A., Griffin, R. E., Sedah, A., Nyaga, J., Mugo, R., Limaye, A., & Irwin, D. E. (2018). Mapping threats to agriculture in East Africa: Performance of MODIS derived LST for frost identification in Kenya’s tea plantations. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 72. doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2018.05.009

Al-Hamdan, M. Z., Oduor, P., Flores, A. I., Kotikot, S. M., Mugo, R., Ababu, J., & Farah, H. (2017). Evaluating land cover changes in Eastern and Southern Africa from 2000 to 2010 using validated Landsat and MODIS data. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 62. doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2017.04.007

Kotikot, S. M., & Onywere, S. M. (2015). Application of GIS and remote sensing techniques in frost risk mapping for mitigating agricultural losses in the Aberdare ecosystem, Kenya. Geocarto International, 30(1). doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2014.965758

Susan Kotikot
Contact Information
Emailsusan.kotikot@uconn.edu
Office LocationPhilip E. Austin Building, Room 423
CampusStorrs
CoursesGEOG 6000: Themes in Geographic Thought
Research Interests
  • Landscape ecology
  • Climate change and social-ecological resilience
  • Spatiotemporal mapping of environmental patterns
  • Land use change and modeling