Geo 507 Virtual Seminar in Geographic Information Science

1. Geo 507Virtual Seminar in Geographic Information Science Mondays, 3:00-3:50 p.m.Wilkinson 1271 credit

2. Geographic Information Science (GISci) Integrates and advances technology from… • geographic information systems (GIS) • automated mapping, web mapping • remote sensing • global positioning systems • distributed computing • mobile computing

3. Remote Sensing New high-res satellite imagery will enable us to measure, in even greater detail, physical phenomena that change continuously over time and large areas. Image courtesy of Rutgers U. - 1999 UCGIS Congressional Breakfast

4. Mobile and field computing impacts both howwe collect geospatial data…and how we use data in the field... Image courtesy of Rutgers U. - 1999 UCGIS Congressional Breakfast

5. Robotic vehicles for data collectionin the field - on land... Image courtesy of Rutgers U. - 1999 UCGIS Congressional Breakfast

6. … and at sea • on the order of tens of meters to meters • features the size of a beer can!

7. Distributed computing is changing how we enter, manage and use spatial information ... Image courtesy of Rutgers U. - 1999 UCGIS Congressional Breakfast

8. Map Servers - “Web GIS”

9. Urban planners use 3-D analysis to evaluate urban land use ... Image courtesy of Rutgers U. - 1999 UCGIS Congressional Breakfast

10. and to recommend continuous green space strategies... Image courtesy of Rutgers U. - 1999 UCGIS Congressional Breakfast

11. GISci Parsed • Geographic: having to do with the surface of the Earth (and the near-surface) • Geographic information: • composed of primitive tuples <l,a> where l is a location in space-time and a is some general property, class, measurement, feature, person, structure… • <,a> where  is some region whose definition is widely known • information --> spatial dependences and cross-dependences

12. GISci (2) • The science behind the systems • Fundamental issues arising from the systems • The science that is done with the technology • Systematic study of geographic information using scientific methods

13. GISci (3) • The digital transition • practices, arrangements, institutions developed in the paper map era must now respond to the massive shift to digital representation and handling • e.g., the Flat Earth Society • the horseless carriage

14. Discovery • Does discovery mean being there at all? • there is no more geography • Hollywood and the Internet can take you there • “Digital Earth” • a “camera” pointed at a sunlit Earth • a virtual, immersive world

21. Building the Digital Earth • Access to data • what is available about this place • Tools for visualization • 4-5 orders of magnitude of zoom • user-centered • beyond the visible • analysis, modeling, simulation

22. Research Challenges • Representation • infinite complexity in the real world • spatio-temporal continuity, dynamism • an infinity of themes • must be useful, efficient • The digital computer • finite capacity • binary alphabet “To find ways to express the infinite complexity of the geographical world in the binary alphabet and limited capacity of a digital computer”

23. Research Challenges ... • Uncertainty • no representation can be complete • what the data indicate about the world • what the user believes the data indicate about the world • Simulation “To find ways of summarizing, modeling, and visualizing the differences between a digital representation and real phenomena”

24. Research Challenges ... • Cognition • Human perceptions of space • GIS technology • learned in Upper Division or Graduate School • the “Spatially Aware Professional” “To achieve smooth transition between cognitive and computational representations and manipulations of geographic information”

25. UCGIS - www.ucgis.org University Consortium for Geographic Information Science • research the issues that emerge from the use of the technology - in areas such as scale, accuracy, representation • evaluate, reflect on, work to improve the technology • work to improve GIS practice

26. ~70 institutions,govt., industry

27. UCGIS - www.ucgis.org • science motivated by practice, observation, practical need • national consensus about the nature of that science • Cross-disciplinary linkages www.geo.orst.edu/ucgis geography.uoregon.edu/gis/ucgis/

28. Cognition Extensions to representation Acquisition and integration Distributed and mobile computing Interoperability Scale Uncertainty Spatial analysis Future of the spatial information infrastructure GIS and society UCGIS Research Priorities

29. New UCGIS Themes • Data Mining & Knowledge Discovery • Visualization • Remotely-Acquired Data • Geospatial Ontology • Analytical Cartography • 25 additional “short-term” challenges

30. DISTANCE EDUCATION 1996 Virtual Seminar (UCSB) 1998 Virtual Seminar (OSU) Emerging Technologies “MODEL CURRICULUM” Accreditation and Certification Supporting Infrastructure Access and Equity Professional Education Alternative Curricular Design Graduate GIS Education Learning with GIS UCGIS Education Priorities

31. Syllabus,Assignments