About Me...

I am a PhD Student in Geography at The Pennsylvania State University. My research spans cartography, GIS, geovisualization, media studies, and human-computer interaction. My current research on trust in maps sits at the intersection of cartography and media studies. Broadly, I am interested in exploring how maps can effectively and ethically communicate information about spatial phenomena. I am especially interested in exploring how trust modulates people's experiences with maps and how maps can improve decision-making. My research methods are primarily quantiative, but I am also trained in qualitative methods.

My research has resulted in 18 peer-reviewed articles that have been cited over 170 times (h-index=6). My research can be grouped by four major themes: Developing Methods for Visualizing Mobility, Designing Effective Interactive Web Maps, Understanding Storytelling in Cartography, and Evaluating Trust in Cartography.

Before coming to Penn State, I completed an undergraduate degree in Honors Cartography and GIS at The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). There, I was heavily involved in map production with the Wisconsin Cartography Lab and geovisualization with the UW Geospatial Data Science Lab. I also interned with the Apple Maps Cartography Team in summer 2021. At Apple, I spearheaded the development of the cartography team's documentation outlining display expectations of Apple Maps. I also researched and recommended specific guidelines for the cartographic display of territories at various map scales

Please get in touch over email at tprestby [at] psu.edu