CLA hosts “GIS Day”

Kirby Ballroom held a “GIS and Community”  themed educational fair, sponsored by CLA, in honor of Geographic Information Systems  (GIS) Day on Thursday, Nov. 17th.

Stacey Stark, the director of the GIS Lab on campus, said that the event was “a terrific opportunity to provide an opportunity for GIS users to network and share experiences, and for non-GIS users to learn just what GIS is all about.”

GIS is a technology used to create maps based on geographic information. These maps have many layers that can be manipulated and used for a variety of purposes.

Keynote David DiBiase (Esri, Director of Education also shared some incredible statistics published by the Dept. of Labor.  There are currently more than 450,000 geospatial professionals in the U.S. with an additional 180,000 needed by 2018. 

Many community organization representatives expressed their pleasure in connecting with students.  Many students also reported that they had made new contacts and developed new interests in GIS areas.
Representatives from St. Louis County, the Duluth Transit Authority, Fond Du Lac Reservation and others were all there to show their support for the GIS system and how they use it in their research and jobs.

Paula Welle, from Minnesota Power/Allete, said that the GIS system, “allows us to get our customers faster service.”

SRA representative and GIS Analyst Matthew Starry said that the GIS system can be used to support freshwater. The ’99 UMD environmental studies graduate also said that the event was a great way to see how others are using the system and “provide a sense of what we do.”

There were around 200 people in attendance, ranging from students to interested members of the community. Lectures included Susan Maher, dean of CLA, who spoke about current GIS use and Stacey spoke about internship opportunities with GIS.  Other speakers discussed the many applications of GIS, such as the DNR and mobile GIS use. The speeches were well-attended, some with only standing room.

The event was funded by CLA as well as UMD’s GIS Lab. Additional funding was given by the Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium, whose mission it is to "To develop and support the GIS professional in Minnesota for the benefit of our state and its citizens."

“Mn GIS/LIS awarded  us the grant because this event directly meets their organizational missione”, said Stacey. “It paid for 60% of the event expenses.”

By Manda Lillie with contributions by Stacey Stark

For more information, please contact: Stacey L. Stark, GISL Director, UMD. 
218-726-7438, slstark@d.umn.edu.