by
Jeremy Mennis, Communications Committee, Temple University
The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) Annual
Summer Assembly was held June 28-July 1 at the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver,
Washington. The Assembly convened directly following the
AutoCarto 2006
conference, held at the same venue, which allowed for considerable overlap among
attendees of both meetings.
A number of sessions at the Assembly were devoted to exploring the impacts and
applications of the Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS&T) Body
of Knowledge, a comprehensive treatment of the scope of GIS&T education, which
is to be published shortly by the
Association of American Geographers.
Development of the
Body of Knowledge was led by UCGIS Education Committee chair
David DiBiase. Lynda Wayne, of GeoMaxim and the Federal Geographic Data
Committee, as well as president of the Geographic Information Science
Certification Institute (GISCI), gave the Education Plenary Address. In her
address, titled “UCGIS Body of Knowledge: Benchmark for a Profession,” Wayne
discussed the important role of the UCGIS Body of Knowledge for preparing
students for entry into the geospatial industry.
The focus on educational issues continued with a panel discussion on
applications of the Body of Knowledge and a workshop on the future directions
for the broader Model Curricula project. All agreed that the development and
publication of the Body of Knowledge is an important contribution and milestone
for GIS&T education. An additional session was devoted to the Spatial
Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE) project, a set of
workshops designed to support the integration of geographic information science
into undergraduate social science curricula. The project is administered by the
Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS) and the UCGIS. Leaders of
SPACE workshops at San Francisco State University and the University of Oklahoma
presented on workshop activities.
The research program at the summer Assembly focused primarily on the future of
the ten research challenges and four emerging research themes recently published
in
A Research Agenda for Geographic Information Science, edited by UCGIS board
member Robert McMaster and former UCGIS president E. Lynn Usery. Sean Ahearn,
incoming UCGIS president, gave the research plenary titled “Spatial Temporal
Models: Problems and Prospects.” The Assembly also included six sessions
encompassing 18 student research presentations on a wide variety of geographic
information science topics. Students also participated in the ever-popular GIScience bowl, orchestrated by enthusiastic emcee Harlan Onsrud.
Dr. Frederico Fonseca, Assistant Professor in the College of Information
Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University, was awarded the 2006
UCGIS Research Award. Dr. Fonseca was recognized for his influential work
concerning ontology in geographic information science. The 2006 UCGIS Educator
Award was presented to David Unwin, Emeritus Professor in Geography at Birkbeck
College, University of London. Professor Unwin received the award for his many
contributions to teaching geographic information science, including the early
development of a masters program in the field as well as pioneering work in
online geographic information science education.
The research program at the summer Assembly focused primarily on the future of
the ten research challenges and four emerging research themes recently published
in