Tracking Brain Drain into The United States
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
Environmental Science
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Haluk Cetin
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
Immigration is a hot topic in the United States. What is even more complex is the immigration patterns that we see coming from other countries. The “brain drain” phenomenon refers to when the highly skilled workers of one country immigrate to another. There are many reasons for this but the most common are better economic opportunities and political asylum. In order to fully understand the scale of this phenomenon, data was collected surrounding the immigration of individuals into the United States, then input from Excel spreadsheets to ArcGIS Pro and used to represent the phenomenon using a choropleth map. The choropleth map has graduated colors with an increasing hue corresponding to a higher number of immigration from each country. After analyzing this map, another map was created to represent the data in an easier to understand form. This map instead used arrows of increasing width to help the viewer understand the flow of migration into the United States. This second map only focused on the top 10 populations that are entering the United States for simplicity.
Fall Scholars Week 2025
Earth and Environmental Sciences Poster Session
Tracking Brain Drain into The United States
Immigration is a hot topic in the United States. What is even more complex is the immigration patterns that we see coming from other countries. The “brain drain” phenomenon refers to when the highly skilled workers of one country immigrate to another. There are many reasons for this but the most common are better economic opportunities and political asylum. In order to fully understand the scale of this phenomenon, data was collected surrounding the immigration of individuals into the United States, then input from Excel spreadsheets to ArcGIS Pro and used to represent the phenomenon using a choropleth map. The choropleth map has graduated colors with an increasing hue corresponding to a higher number of immigration from each country. After analyzing this map, another map was created to represent the data in an easier to understand form. This map instead used arrows of increasing width to help the viewer understand the flow of migration into the United States. This second map only focused on the top 10 populations that are entering the United States for simplicity.