Sam Cole

Professor

office : 203H Hayes Hall
phone : 716.829.2133 x203
e-mail : samcole@buffalo.edu

Education

B.S. ARCS, Theoretical Physics, Imperial College, London, 1965.
Ph.D., Theoretical Physics of Condensed Matter, University of Sussex, 1968.

Courses

Professor Cole teaches a range of courses: Tourism and Recreation Policy, Sustainable Development, Global Issues and Futures Studies, Planning Techniques in Action, and International Planning and Development. He is co-director of the GIS specialization.

Previous Experience

Professor Cole undertook post-doctoral research at the Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge before becoming a Senior Scientific Officer in the Urban Planning Division of the UK Department of Environment. He then was appointed Senior Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, Visiting Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, New York, with appointments University of Papua New Guinea and Linkoeping, Sweden, and Professor in the UB Department of Geography. Over the years he has consulted with international and regional development agencies and private organizations in many countries in Africa, Asia and the South Pacific, and the Americas, and was in charge of the preparation of a macro-economic plan for independence of the Caribbean island of Aruba.

Research

Professor Cole's research interests match his teaching and experience. He is currently involved in projects on methods of futures studies with the United Nations University Millennium Project, Tourism Planning, Disaster Management and Planning with a European-Japanese-US group, and social accounting methods in regional science. He is a member of several university research institutes, including the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, National Center for Geographic Information Systems, the Environment and Society Institute, the Center for Urban Studies, and formerly Director of the Center for Regional Studies. He is currently a member of the World Futures Studies Federation, the International Input-Output Association, the Society for Applied Anthropology, and the International Regional Science Association.

Public Service

Professor Cole is involved in public service through university centers, consulting activities, and also through departmental studios. His activities include preparation of a new framework for sustainable tourism in Aruba for the Island Government, a socio-economic analysis of the Niagara Power Project for the New York Power Authority, a “Turning Point” inner-city development strategy for the City of Buffalo with the Center for Urban Studies, and a tourism strategy for counties in the Southern Tier of Western New York with students in the tourism studio.

Selected Publications

  • “Theory of Ferromagnetic Alloys.” (1969). J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. Vol. 2.
  • “Model Dependent Scale Values for Attitude Questionnaire Items. “ (1971). Socio Economic Planning Sciences Vol. 5.
  • Thinking About the Future: A Critique of the Limits to Growth . (1973). London, UK: Chatto and Windus (Published in the USA as Models of Doom New York, NY: Universe Books.).
  • World Futures: The Great Debate. (1977). London, UK: Martin Robertson and New York, NY: Universe Books.
  • An Investigation into the Estimation and Reliability of Urban Shopping Models.” (1980). Urban Studies Vol 17. No. 2.
  • “The War System and the International Economic Order: Directions for Disarmament. “ (1980). Alternatives . Vol. 6. No. 2.
  • “A Lagrangian Approach to Multi-proportional Matrix Scaling.” (1992). Regional Science and Urban Economics Vol. 22.
  • “Cultural Accounting: An Example from a Small Caribbean Island.” (1994). Contemporary Economic Issues Vol 12. No. 4.
  • “Lifelines and Livelihood: A Social Accounting Matrix Approach to Calamity Preparedness.” (1995). Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management Vol 3. No. 3.
  • “Of Maps and Macros: Object Oriented Spreadsheet GIS.” (1997). Environment and Planning B.
  • “Dare to Dream – Bringing Futures Studies into Planning.” (2001). Journal of the American Planning Association. Fall 2001.
  • “Performance and Protection in an Adaptive Transaction Model. “ (2004). Disaster Prevention and Management Vol. 3. No. 4.

Selected Activities, Honors, Awards

Joint-Winner of Best Paper in Journal of the American Planning Association –2001. Joint-Winner of Fannie Mae/Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Best Practice Paper -2000. Editorial Board Futures- the International Journal of Policy, Planning, and Futures Studies; Regional Science Review; and the Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy. Open, Doctoral, and Post-doctoral Scholarships to London , Sussex , and Cambridge Universities . Research Fellow of the World Futures Studies Federation.