University Consortium for Geographic Information Science
43351 Spinks Ferry Road
Leesburg, Virginia 20176-5631
703-779-7980 (phone), 703-771-1635 (fax)
execdir@ucgis.org
www.ucgis.org
Our Mission
Fall 2001 Headlines
Vol. 3, No. 2
all articles written and submitted in PDF format by Suzy Jampoler, except where
indicated
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- Washington, D.C., February 7-9, 2002
- Congressional breakfast focusing on disaster response and homeland security
- See the web site: http://winter.ucgis2.org
UCGIS HUD Symposium Rescheduled
UCGIS Urban Indicators Research
- article by Ken Duecker
- 5 participating universities
URISA Begins Certification Program
- article by Bill Huxhold
- All UCGIS delegates should review the GIS certification proposal and
participate in URISA's discussion forum
UCGIS Receives New Grants
UCGIS Vector-Borne Diseases Report on the Web
Young Scholars Program
- Apply soon for 2002 winter meeting travel funds
UCGIS and Related Organizations
- Santa Barbara, CA, Mid-December 2001, conference with CSISS (Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science)
- New York City, August 2002, Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM)
ESRI 2002 EdUC Conference Tracks on "Research in GI Science" and "Designing Curriculum & Degree Programs" Announced
Take Advantage of "Do it Yourself" Listserv Options
- Tips and reminders for improved emailing
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UCGIS Vector-Borne Diseases Report on the Web
The final report on the colloquia sponsored by a grant from the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) on GI Science and Vector-Borne Diseases is
available on the UCGIS web site at disease.ucgis2.org. A sample data set
from USGS on the West Nile virus is also on the site. This data set, with some
additional satellite imagery, can also be obtained on CD-ROM by contacting
Suzy Jampoler.
A major goal of the meetings was to facilitate the development of a network
among researchers interested in the integration of geographic analysis to
understand vector-borne disease. This goal was realized. These meetings
enhanced the multidisciplinary nature of UCGIS. UCGIS appreciates the
generous support from USGS in sponsoring these two meetings.
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Young Scholars Program
The UCGIS Young Scholars program is expanding. Two UCGIS private affiliates,
Intergraph Corporation and ESRI, are sponsoring grant opportunities designed to
give junior faculty the opportunity to participate in the UCGIS Summer Assembly
and Winter Meetings. All expenses to the UCGIS meeting are paid for the
selected applicants. Application details will be available on the UCGIS web site
soon. Application availability will be announced through a UCGIS ALL list
message.
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UCGIS and Related Organizations
by Art Getis
UCGIS together with CSISS (Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science)
have organized a conference on location-based services to be held in Santa
Barbara in mid-December. Gerard Rushton (Iowa) is representing UCGIS and
Michael Goodchild (UCSB) are developing the conference.
UCGIS had its proposal accepted by the American Statistical Association for
a special invited session to take place at the Joint Statistical Meetings
(JSM) in New York in August 2002. The JSM is the largest statistics
meeting in the world. The title of the session is "Visualization
Technology and Geographic Information Science." Art Getis (SDSU) will
chair the meeting, papers will be presented by Alan MacEachren (Penn
State), Mark Gahegan (Penn State), Sara Fabrikant (UCSB) and Phaedon
Kyriakidis (UCSB). Duane Marble (Ohio State) will be the discussant.
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ESRI 2002 EdUC Conference Tracks on "Research in GI Science" and "Designing Curriculum & Degree Programs" Announced
by Milton Ospina
Many of those who attended the ESRI EdUC 2001 this past summer asked that
we include tracks in the areas of GIS research and graduate school
curriculum. We are glad to announce these two tracks have been added to
the conference program. In addition to these new tracks (Research in GI
Science and Designing Curriculum & Degree Programs), the conference also
features tracks focused on:
Using GIS in the Classroom
Writing Lessons and Instructional Materials
Teacher Education
GIS for Administration and Planning
Using GIS in Libraries and Museums
Integrating GIS with Other Technologies
Projects and Partnerships
The success of these tracks will greatly depend on educators submitting
papers in these categories. If you or someone you know is interested in
these topics please submit your paper abstract online by December 7, 2001
at:
gis.esri.com/uc2002/papers/educ_form.cfm
Announcing the ESRI 2002 Education User Conference
Educators from around the world will gather in San Diego, California, July
5-7, 2002 for the 2nd Annual ESRI Education User Conference (EdUC). Last
summer over 400 K-12 teachers, college and university instructors, school
administrators, librarians, and museum professionals from over 20 countries
shared their experiences of using GIS in the classroom, for research, for
public access, and for planning and administration. For 2002, even more
attendees are expected to participate in nearly 200 presentations, panel
discussions, and hands-on workshops.
Dr. Michael Goodchild of the National Center for Geographic Information and
Analysis (NCGIA) is scheduled to present the keynote address. This year's
event also will include a special track focused on the upcoming
bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark expedition, and the geospatial education
and research activities associated with this important commemoration.
If you are interested in presenting at the 2002 ESRI EdUC, please go to
www.esri.com/educ to submit a proposal through the online Paper Abstract
and Panel Discussion Submission Form. If you do not have Web access,
please e-mail educ2002@esri.com and request an EdUC Call For Papers.
**Mark your calendars: the deadline to submit an abstract is December 7 for
domestic and December 21 for international.
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Avoid Listserv Lunacy by Taking Advantage of Self-Serve Options
by Dawn
Wright
Over the past year UCGIS has had good success with the listserv software
called Lyris which features automatic error mail handling, multiple
level security, and failsafe unsubscribing that prevents those annoying
"get me off this list!" messages. It also has an easier, web-based
interface for subscribers and adminstrators. Below are a few listserv
reminders and/or tips to ensure a pleasant UCGIS emailing experience:
- Remember that a listserv allows you not only to receive messages
as part of your subscription but to send them to all others subscribers
as well. There is no need to ask someone to forward them for you - you
already have the power!
- Many people refer to UCGIS email transactions as coming from "the list."
UCGIS actually has 12 different UCGIS mailing lists for various
levels of communication. They include:
- all@ucgis.org
- lead-delegate@ucgis.org
- delegates @ucgis.org
- members@ucgis.org
- chairs@ucgis.org
These are described at www.ucgis.org/faddresses.html.
There are over 450 people subscribed to "all@ucgis.org" but the majority
of you are ALSO subscribed to at least 1 or 2 other listservs. For example,
the typical UCGIS delegate is subscribed to "all", "delegates", AND
"members."
- Because we have hundreds of people subscribed to our lists, the UCGIS
community is strongly encouraged to take advantage of the "self-serve"
options available via our Lyris listserv software. The easiest way to
do this is begin at
www.ucgis.org/f2acontac.html and click on the link that says "View,
subscribe, or unsubscribe from email listservs via the Web". No password
is required, only your primary email address.
- Please remember that Lyris and other kinds of listserv software identify
you by your email address, so when attempting to post messages to a UCGIS
list you must always use the same email account that matches your subscriptions.
And once again, it is likely that you have more than 1 subscription.
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The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) is a
non-profit association of universities and other research institutions.
The mission of UCGIS is:
- to serve as a unified and effective voice for the geographic information
science community;
- to foster multidisciplinary research and education in geographic
information science; and
- to promote the informed and responsible use of geographic information for
the benefit of society.
Last updated: November 27, 2001.
Challenges is published twice annually by the UCGIS.
For submissions, corrections, comments or questions, please contact
Dawn Wright,
dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu.