GIS Day Activities Highlight Mapping Technology, Nov. 14

Illinois State University’s Department of Geography-Geology will hold its Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day on Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Felmley Hall Annex Room 429.  The event is free and open to the public and will feature displays and hands-on activities utilizing GIS technology.

GIS Day events at Illinois State are sponsored by the Department of Geography-Geology, GEOMAP, Geography Club and the Department of Biological Sciences.  GIS Day is observed around the world as part of National Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week, Nov. 11-17.

Geographic Information Systems technology is a computer-based mapping tool that takes information from a database about a location, such as streets, buildings, water features, and terrain, and turns it into visual layers.  The ability to see geographic features and other data on a map is beneficial to professionals in a wide array of fields including environmental work, public safety, business, education, land use and health care.

Illinois State’s GIS Day activities will begin at 9 a.m. with a welcome session by Dagmar Budikova, associate professor in Geography-Geology and director of the Institute for Geospatial Analysis and Mapping (GEOMAP).  GIS technology presentations during the day include:

• 9:30 a.m. - “From Sea Level Rise to Landmine Removal: Examples of GIS Applications in Society” presented by John Kostelnick, Department of Geography-Geology.
•  10:30 a.m. – “Aging in Place Project Atlas” presented by Melissa Dougherty O’Hara, Geography B.A., 2007
• 11 a.m.  – “Modeling Vertebrate Species Distribution in the Illinois GAP Analysis Project” by Tari Tweddale, Illinois Natural History Survey. 
• 1 p.m. – Professional development session, Scott Grams, GIS Certification Institute, Chicago.
• 2 p.m. – Mini workshop on mapping with ArcGIS, Gretchen Knapp, ESRI-authorized ArcGIS instructor, GEOMAP.