I don't know which academics work in this but maybe Ed Malecki might be worth sending an email to, maybe he could direct you toward people doing good work in this field.
http://www.geography.osu.edu/faculty/malecki/
Hey guys,
Thought I would throw my hat in here.
I've gone for UCLA, Berkeley, OSU, ASU, Clark, Washington, Toronto, McGill.
I was tempted to go for Syracuse and Rutgers but decided not to, in the end.