Alexander Murphy is councilor and vice president of the American Geographical Society and a professor of geography at the University of Oregon. He has also served as a member of the Advisory Committee for the National Geographic Education Programs Division. He has traveled extensively in Russia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Americas. An expert on political, cultural, historical, and environmental geography, he will offer his insights into the human and physical forces that shape the places we visit.