Top: Hurricane Ridge, WA | Bottom: Carlton Peak, MN

Native to the San Francisco Bay Area, Martin became interested in geography as a child when he spent hours looking at maps and and drawing his own. Later, when employed by both a cattle ranch in Surprise Valley and the US Forest Service in the southern Cascades, Martin became interested in physical geography and specifically how we as a culture utilize natural resources.

After graduating from California State University-Chico with a degree in geography, he earned a Master of Arts in geography at the University of Georgia, where he focused on applied climatology, especially fog formation and its effect on transportation in Sacramento. After graduating, Martin spent two years working as a land-use planner for Contra Costa County, California where he permitted natural gas wells, wind power projects, landfills and toxic wastes disposal facilities.  

Martin also staffed a multi county inter-agency forum (Delta Advisory Planning Council) that dealt with land and water issues in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This position led to a doctoral dissertation on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign where he earned his PhD in 1993. He accepted the position of Assistant Professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato and was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor in 1996 and to Professor in 2000. He was awarded the title of Distinguished University Scholar in 2011 by MSU President Davenport.  In 2016, the Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium honored him with its Polaris Leadership Award.

Martin currently resides in Mankato, Minnesota with his wife, Edna, and beagle dog, Shasta. Martin's oldest son now lives in Seattle, Washington and his youngest son is a current student at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Martin, Edna and Shasta enjoy frequent trips to their vacation home on Lake Superior.