GEO 465/565 - Lecture 1
Introduction

GEO 465/565
Geographic Information Systems

This Class Vs. Others

• this class is about theory & basic fundamental concepts
• general coverage by necessity - the world of GIS is too big now to cover everything
• term paper, project, on-line resources are your chance to go more in depth

• On the OSU campus:
  • GEO 265 is the software-training, hands-on class; includes short projects
  • GEO 580 is Advanced GIS in the Geosciences
  • for hands-on projects, GEO 265 and 580 are your chance
  • also FOR 421/521 - Advanced GIS in Forestry
  • grad students should remember that this is a combined grad/undergrad course

Who is Dr. Wright?

Snoopy, Calvin and Hobbes fan
Competitive cycling
Animation / Foreign film buff
Pasta / Ben & Jerrys ice cream
Lydia
Crash Test Dummies, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, U2, Elastica, Erasure, Celtic music
Lego® maniac
For latest info see dusk.geo.orst.edu

Research Interests

• Application and analytical issues in GIS for oceanographic data
• Seafloor-spreading / subduction
• analysis and interpretation of bathymetric, towed camera, &submersible data
• tectonic, volcanic, hydrothermal processes

• spatial data clearinghouses and metadata
• web-based GIS
• emerging technologies for higher education
• coastal resource geography
• marine protected areas

Some Committee Involvement

• OSU EIST committee
• OSU Symposium on Graduate Study in Science for Women
• UCGIS
• AAG, Coastal & Marine Specialty Group, GIS Specialty Group
• AGU, Tectonophysics section, Information Technology Committee

Who Are YOU??

• Your name & email address
• Your CLASS level and Major
• Your Comfort Level with Computers
• Your Expectations for this class (i.e., what do you want to get out of this class, besides a good grade??)

Syllabus and Textbook info covered

What Will I Learn?

• An overview of GIS
• GIS software and its functionality
• How GIS data are captured, stored, retrieved, analzyed & displayed
• Where the field of GIS is going
• Where to go for more information about GIS
• How to use a basic GIS (ArcView and Idrisi)

Lecture Format

• beware of PowerPoint
• 2 quarters of material will be crammed into 1
• good note-taking skills essential
• facility with web browsers a plus
• computer format is curse/blessing - information is all there for you so don't space out in class - challenge yourself and me with questions and discussion

Internet Access Important

• "Web Sites of the Week" will be announced
• http:/dusk.geo.orst.edu/gis

Labs

• Purpose is to give you a BRIEF hands-on experience
  • what the software can do
  • what kinds of studies can be done with it
• in reality, learning curves to gain full expertise will be longer than the 10-week quarter
• labs will NOT follow lectures closely
• 8 labs

  Exams & Grades

• GEO 465
• Midterm = 30%
• Final = 40%
• Labs = 30%

• GEO 565
• Midterm = 20%
• Final = 30%
• Labs = 20%
• Paper/Project = 30%

• Weighted Percentages for both GEO 465 and GEO 565
  • A = 95 -100
  • A- = 90-94
  • B+ = 85-89
  • B = 80-84
  • B- = 75-79
  • C+ = 70-74
  • C = 65-69

http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/gis/lec01.html
Return to GEO 465/565 Syllabus