Published on July 2, 2025
Department: Department of Geography
Concentration: Indigenous Data Governance, Heritage Informatics, Digital representation of Indigenous peoples and cultures, Digital 3D modeling in Alaska Native heritage preservation, Ethical collaboration with Indigenous communities
Medeia Csoba DeHass is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Missouri and a doctoral faculty member at the MU Institute for Data Science and Informatics. She teaches courses on decolonizing research methodologies, digital heritage preservation, research design, and collaborating with Indigenous communities. Dr. Csoba DeHass has been working with Alaska Native communities on a variety of ethnohistorical and ethnographic projects for the past two decades. She is the recipient of an NSF CAREER award supporting her research on Indigenous perspectives and applications of digital 3D technologies in preserving and perpetuating Alaska Native heritage in the Bering Strait region in collaboration with Kawerak Inc.’s Social Science Program. She is currently internal PI for a project that is supplemental funding to MU’s NSF ART:TECH award (PI Dr. Sheila Grant). This translational project uses a convergent science framework by integrating geospatial and Indigenous perspectives in addressing ethical research praxis involving Alaska Native geocoded data. In addition, Dr. Csoba DeHass is PI on a National Park Service-funded award to 3D document fossilized redwood stumps and outcrops at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado using 3D photogrammetry and LiDAR to monitor site erosion. Dr. Csoba DeHass’ 3D Heritage Informatics Lab at the Department of Geography provides undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to gain hands-on training in 3D documentation methods, photogrammetry and structured light scanning, for heritage preservation.