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
Spring 1999 Headlines
Vol. 1, No. 2
AGILE Conference in Europe
Open GIS Consortium
National Geodata Forum
- Washington, D.C., June 7-9
UCGIS CONGRESSIONAL RECEPTION AN OUTSTANDING TRIUMPH!
Please Submit Articles to Geo Info Systems!
all articles written by Greg Elmes, except where indicated
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Minnesota Meeting: UCGIS Summer Assembly 1999
The UCGIS Summer Assembly begins on June 23rd and runs through the
26th. We are hugely optimistic about its success, following as it does on a
truly impressive showing at the Congressional Reception in Washington on
June 8th. Expect to enjoy working hard and be fully involved in the
development of UCGIS positions on the application topics. Please consult
www.ucgis.org for the draft White Papers on the themes for the working
sessions. We will consider Transportation, Water Resources, Urban and
Regional Planning, Disaster Response, Health, Crime and Public and
Community Participation. The UCGIS process depends on the leadership
provided by the teams and their chairs and also on your participation. Even
if you are not going to be in Minneapolis you can contribute to the
development of a serious assessment of the research and educational
challenges posed by these applications of geographic information science.
I ask all teams to think about engaging your audience not as listeners but as
active participants and contributors. Lets keep the presentations to the
absolute minimum necessary to stimulate creative debate and constructive
outcomes. Anyone with unusual or innovative ways to enlist the
participation of the entire group is encouraged to contact the team
leaders, or send ideas to Greg Elmes or Richard Wright.
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Committee Reports
Neither the President nor the Executive Director are enthusiasts of
marathon business meetings! Your current President believes firmly that the
Board and Council Meetings at the Summer and Fall Assemblies are for
decision-taking rather than for basic intra-consortium communication. To
that end will all committee and working group chairs prepare a report of
their activities. This can be distributed electronically and in hard copy and
will obviate the need to devote time to reading reports and free more time
for discussion and identifying action items.
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Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe
AGILE has 60 members representing 21 European countries. The
European Union considers AGILE to be the representative of the
geographic information research universities. This has benefits for members
applying for funds under the EU 5th Framework, especially under the
Directorate General 13, Information Societies Technologies program.
More than 100 participants gathered at the University of Rome "La
Sapienza" for the scientific program, annual banquet and business
meeting. A variety of session formats were held over three days. Each day
featured plenary sessions with demonstrations and papers of work ongoing
in the laboratories. Two sessions comprised many, very brief presentations,
permitting students and others to showcase their work. A great variety of
experience and research was presented reflecting the considerable
variation of geographic information development within Europe.
The keynote speaker was Frank Mastroddi who detailed funding
opportunities under the 5th Framework IST program. Europe is seeking to
advance research in systems and services for the citizen, in fields such as
health (telemedicine), for special needs groups such as the elderly and
disabled, in public administration, for environmental management,
transport and tourism. Great emphasis is placed on electronic commerce,
new methods of work, flexible remote tools, new management systems and
trading. Multimedia and tools are seen to be critical to education and
training. Europe is emphasizing cultural content as its advantageous niche
in the information society. (see www.cordis.lu/ist).
The AGILE Business Meeting was held April 17 1999. Greg Elmes was
able to detail the working in progress at UCGIS and examine joint actions
for the two organizations in future. The opportunities for joint AGILE /
UCGIS work include:
- Parallel, coordinated funding from EU / NSF
- A new series of international seminars or workshops building on the
success of the NCGIA / GISDATA summer schools
- Development of a student exchange registry
- Joint session at annual meetings.
AGILE proposes Working Groups on the following topics:
- Response to the EU Green Paper on "Access to Public Information"
- Education and training
- Data usability
- Interoperability
- Environmental Modeling
Minutes of the business meeting are posted at the AGILE web site:
www.uniroma1.it/DICE/AGILE.htm.
Gregory Elmes
President UCGIS
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Open GIS Consortium, Atlanta, 4/11 to 4/12/99
UCGIS has been invited to be a participant observer in the Open GIS
Consortium's Management Committee Meeting. Greg Elmes was able to
attend the April meeting to investigate possibilities for a formalization of
UCGIS / OGC relationships. OGC is a very active organization with an
intensive agenda for setting standards. The completion of a GIS testbed
was a principal topic of discussion. A full report on the OGC agenda will be
made at the upcoming Council Meeting.
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National Geodata Forum, Washington, D.C., 1999
The 1999 National Geodata Forum, Making Livable Communities a
Reality, held at the Marriott at Metro Center, June 7th through June 9th,
attracted more than 400 participants, many from the federal agencies.
There was also large and geographically-dispersed representation from
state and local governments as well as from the private sector and
academia. Participants were welcomed by Mark Shaefer, Deputy-Assistant
Secretary for Water and Science, Department of the Interior, who
introduced his boss, Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, Representative
Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania, Morely Winograd, Senior Policy Advisor
and Director of the National Partnership for reinventing Government, Office
of the Vice President, and Dee Hock, Founder and CEO Emeritus of the
Visa corporation. These highly visible and well-respected speakers set the
challenges and the tone for the entire meeting. At lunch, a smaller group
heard Mr. Lane, Presidential Science Advisor, discuss the vital national
role of geographic information, in the US and global economic, in
national security and defense and as an element of science policy.
Seven "Threads", conferences within a conference characterized Tuesday's
program, where the emphasis was on collective work in facilitated sessions.
UCGIS sponsored a thread on Geodata Challenges for Research and
Education for the 21st Century. One very evident challenge is to better
engage the federal and other government agencies in our work and goals.
The session was productive but sparsely attended by participants outside
academia. UCGIS owes a debt to Steve Ventura (U. Wisconsin at Madison),
Jeff Hamerlinck (U. Wyoming), Jeff Bapp and Will Rose (Virginia
Commonwealth U.) and David Mark (SUNY at Buffalo) for their discussion of
research issues. In the afternoon the presentations turned to education.
Richard Wright (San Diego State U.) brought us up to date on the major
developments of the UCGIS education program, Duane Marble discussed
the Geographic Information Science Curriculum Project and Todd
Bacastow (Penn State U.) invited the audience to debate the role of
outreach in GIS education and the possible differences between the
education of students in intern and the perspective of some in the private
sector that universities present unfair, subsidized competition. This topic is an important but convoluted ethical issue that UCGIS should address.
Many other UCGIS members were well in evidence throughout the Forum.
Barbara Buttenfield, Mike Goodchild and Harlan Onsrud were deeply
involved in the Accessing Data thread. One major outcome of Geodata
Forum is that UCGIS has established itself as the primary liaison to the
federal sector, and we have great opportunities to replicate that success
with states, counties and the private sector if we continue to work
cohesively and towards well focused objectives.
The conference concluded with a graphical review of the main message
that emerged during the previous 48 hours and a round table, featuring the
Governor of Wyoming, Mayor Ann Azari, Congressman Kanjorski, and chief
executives from Oracle, Intergraph and ESRI among others. Although not
part of the official agenda the real climax of the Forum was held on
Capitol Hill, at a hearing of the Subcommittee for Government
Management, Information and Technology, chaired by Congressman
Stephen Horn. Mr. Horn gave geographic information its first formal hearing
and the session was packed with an appreciative audience. Three panels
of witnesses gave evidence on the significance and impact of geographic
information in effective government; reducing costs and increasing
performance in private firms, and as a factor in which the US leads in the
global information economy.
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UCGIS CONGRESSIONAL RECEPTION AN OUTSTANDING TRIUMPH!
A Governor, a representative, dozens of congressional staff, hundreds of
federal and state officials and other VIPs crowded the National Geographic
Society Tuesday evening, June 8th, to participate in the 1999
Congressional Reception. The evenings events and displays were an
unmitigated success and represent a high point in the ever more impressive
organizational outcomes of UCGIS and its members. I want to recognize
the efforts of the 23 member Universities of UCGIS who voluntarily
contributed their time and energy to provide the displays and presentations
at the 1999 Congressional Reception, and were the backbone of the
reception's success. The visual impact was outstanding and the work spoke
very loudly about our contribution to livable communities. Let's build on
this remarkable achievement as we enter our Summer Assembly and
continue to build towards greater participation in the year 2000
Congressional outreach. We can feel extremely proud of our consortium's
visibility and accomplishments.
I wish to thank some very special people for the event's success. The 1999
National Geodata Forum provided space for us in the program, and FGDC
staff, Kathy Covert and John Moeller accommodated us very well. Senator
Collins staff member, Mr. Julian Haines, and Dr. Harlan Onsrud worked very
hard on all our behalf. Our Executive Director, Mrs. Suzy Jampoler, put in
long hours in her tireless efforts in making the evening a success. Please
join me in taking any opportunity you have to thank Senator Collins of
Maine, and our other honorary co-hosts, Senator Boxer of California and
Representative Gutknect for Minnesota and the other members of
government present at the UCGIS Congressional Reception, including
Governor Geringer of Wyoming and Representative Kanjorski of
Pennsylvania, in taking time out from their busy schedules to show their
support for our initiatives. If your legislative representatives sent staff, please
find a means to thank them by way of a follow-up. This is a continuing
process NOT a single event!
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1999 UCGIS Congressional Reception Transcripts of Talks
Greg Elmes
"Governor Geringer, Representative Kanjorski, Congressional staffers,
Agency personnel, GeodataForum participants, guests, colleagues, and
friends: Welcome to the 1999 UCGIS Congressional Reception. My name is
Gregory Elmes, and I am the President of the University Consortium for
Geographic Information Science. I am also a Professor of Geography at
West Virginia University.
The UCGIS was formed in 1995 through the highly-motivated, volunteer
efforts of university faculty. It was created for three primary functions:
- To serve as an effective, unified voice for the geographic information
science research community;
- To foster multidisciplinary research and education; and
- To promote the informed and responsible use of geographic information
science and geographic analysis for the benefit of society.
The UCGIS currently has over 50 member institutions, including a high
proportion of the leading U.S. research universities that specialize in
Geographic Information Science, as well as a number of professional
organizations, national laboratories, and private firms.
What are the main points that we want to convey to you this evening? Let
me refer you to the left pocket of the folder handed out at the door.
First, uses of geographic information and associated technologies pervade
all sectors of U.S. society. Right now, geographic information systems are
being used:
- by thousands of businesses in a variety of commercial, industrial, and
service activities
- by government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels
- by scientific researchers in a variety of disciplines
- and by individual citizens in the workplace, in the schools, and at
home.
Many billions of dollars are being spent on this technology and affiliated
databases each and every year in this nation. Mr Lane, the President's
Science advisor, reported to us yesterday that, directly or indirectly, it is
estimated that geodata are involved in 50% of the United States's GNP.
Second, recent events have shown that national security, emergency
response, and hazard mitigation depend increasingly on rapid access to
accurate geographic information.
Third, advances in geographic information science are critical for meeting
the nation's social, economic, and strategic objectives. Accurate spatial
and temporal qualities of geographic information are an essential element
in their use.
Fourth, impediments to the advancement of geographic information
science are impediments to the advancement of the Nation, and
Fifth, all sectors of U.S. society and all citizens will benefit from focused
programs of funded research in geographic information science and
engineering at U.S. universities.
The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science was formed
by organizations dedicated to addressing precisely these pressing issues
- by conducting research in geographic information science
- by educating the next generation of researchers and practitioners, and
- by disseminating results through publication and through practice."
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1999 UCGIS Congressional Reception Transcripts of Talks
Harlan Onsrud
"As we have been hearing over the past several days and again this
evening, business, government, industry, citizens and scientists all make
daily heavy use of geographic information technologies. The social and
economic ramifications of the technology are critically important. The
market in geographic information technologies has become so large and
the ramifications of the technologies so important to the nation, that
geographic information science should no longer be funded solely from
the margins of other sciences. It makes sense to fund explicit programs that
will allow this field to advance in order to benefit our nation.
What are some actions you and I might support this year in furtherance of
the advancement of geographic information science?
- In terms of "Basic Research in Support of Long-term Scientific Needs,"
UCGIS believes we should continue to support ongoing initiatives at the
National Science Foundation to thoroughly investigate the value of
geographic information science to the nations long terms scientific needs.
In the back pocket of the folder you received this evening you will find a
report from a workshop held at NSF which recommends an explicit cross
disciplinary funding program for geographic information science on the
order of $40 million dollars per year.
- In terms of "Mission Focused Research in Support of Critical Industry and
Government Needs," UCGIS believes we should support current and future
collaborative efforts to expand the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.
One such effort is the Community/Federal Information Partnership budget
initiative (CFIPS) being proposed by the 17 federal agencies that make up
the Federal Geographic Data Committee in cooperation with organizations
from state, local and tribal governments, the academic community and the
private and non-profit sectors. Again, you will find in the back pocket a
page describing the CFIPS initiative.
- Finally, UCGIS supports substantial research efforts not only in our
universities and national laboratories but also in those agencies responsible
for the creation, maintenance, and use of geographic information -
whether at the federal, state or local levels."
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UCGIS continues to enjoy a fruitful partnership with Geo Info Systems, currently the #1 trade journal devoted
specifically to applications in GIS and related spatial technologies, as well as market trends. Molly Trudeau, editor of Geo Info Systems, has once again issued a strong invitation to UCGIS researchers to use the journal as an outlet for short articles about our work. Specifically she is looking for authors for the column "Academic Pursuits". Recent contributors to
"Academic Pursuits" include
Barbara Buttenfield ("Delivering Geospatial Data: The
Future of the Spatial Information Infrastructure", June 1997), Karen
Kemp and Richard Wright ("UCGIS Identifies GIScience Education Priorities",
September 1997 and
Mike Goodchild ("Uncertainty: The Achilles Heel of GIS?", November 1998). The March 1999 issue focused on education,
training, research and GIS on the Internet, and featured an article by Dawn Wright on the recent UCGIS Virtual Seminar. Slots past March 1999 are completely open.
Please contact Molly for more information:
Molly Trudeau
Editor, Geo Info Systems
859 Williamette Street
Eugene, OR 97401-6806
Tel: 541/984-5259 Fax: 541/344-3514
mtrudeau@advanstar.com or
editorial-gis@geoinfosystems.com
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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: June 13, 1999.
Challenges is an occasional publication of the UCGIS.
For submissions, corrections, comments or questions, please contact
Dawn Wright,
dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu.