March 2004

The Director's Cut

“A Functional Family”

EIGS’s industry cluster is a diverse group of companies and state agencies that contribute to the solid foundation that is the basis for Mississippi's leadership position in geomatics. Along with the cutting edge geospatial research being conducted at Mississippi's universities, the company members of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions are forging new ground for this emerging technology sector. 

Variety really is the flavor of the cluster. The industry cluster consists of 1-person operations to a company with 111 employees. There are start-ups and well-established companies. Some companies are headquartered in Mississippi while others are branch operations of larger national corporations. The cluster even has two woman-owned companies. 

From an original seven charter members in 1998, the industry cluster now consists of 34 members and continues to grow with new applications pending. With this growth, the capabilities, services, and products offered by the companies have really expanded. While there is a wide range of applications and products, the unifying factor is the use of geospatial data and technologies to provide new and useful solutions to a variety of decision makers including: farmers, foresters, fishermen, city and county officials, transportation planners, disaster management organizations, weather services, emergency first-responders, homeland security experts, educators, airports, the military, public health officials, and real estate developers.

EIGS’s industry cluster has companies that are satellite data providers, companies that provide data from airplanes, and companies that fly unmanned aerial vehicles to gather their data. 

While there are a large number of companies operating on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, EIGS company members are located throughout Mississippi. There is a concentration of agriculturally focused companies in the Delta. Additionally, EIGS companies are established in the Jackson metro-area, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Oxford, Picayune, Starkville, and Weir.

Though there is a variety in size, scope and products, ultimately what ties these companies together is the goal of working with EIGS to research, develop, and market new geospatial technology products from a Mississippi operation. 

One of the key university programs in the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center (NRSSLC) at The University of Mississippi School of Law, was established in 2000 as a source for creating, gathering, and disseminating objective and timely remote sensing, space and aviation research and materials. The Center serves the public good and the remote sensing and space industry by addressing and conducting education and outreach activities related to the legal aspects of applying remote sensing, geospatial, and space technologies to human activities. The Center addresses space, remote sensing, and aviation issues such as data policies, intellectual property, privacy, liability, international law, use of imagery as legal evidence, environmental issues, and licensing. As the only one of its kind in the United States, the Center is widely recognized as a research, advisory and training resource. 

The National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center recently found its way into the national spotlight. The Seattle Times, Hartford Courant, and the Baltimore Sun ran an article titled, Space Law: Boldly Going Where No Attorney Has Gone Before. 

(View the Hartford Courant article)

A major activity for the Remote Sensing and Space Law Center is the 2nd International Conference on the State of Remote Sensing Law. Originally held in 2002, the next conference is scheduled for April 15-16, 2004, in Oxford, MS. With a prestigious list of confirmed speakers from the private, academic, government, and international sectors, the conference will present panels on the following topics: National Laws, UAVs and Remote Sensing Legal Issues, Implementing NSPD-27, Data Licenses, Legal Issues for Global Observations Systems, Litigation, and Privacy. On-line registration is available by visiting www.spacelaw.olemiss.edu. 

Another major task for the Center is the Journal of Space Law, the only publication in the world devoted exclusively to the legal problems arising out of human activities in outer space. The Center recently resumed publication, where it was founded in 1973 by the late Ole Miss professor Stephen Gorove.
For more information about the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center, contact Professor Joanne Gabrynowicz, Director, at jgabryno@olemiss.edu or 662-915-6857. 

Mississippi as a Model for Remote Sensing Research and Operational Integration 

Technology revolutions have driven the expectations of remote sensing and decision support systems to an all-time high. The new generation of resource managers and policymakers wants broadly accessible resource analysis and management tools that integrate the recent advances in computational and sensor technologies and visualization products. They understand that such tools can lead to increased economic competitiveness and can exponentially increase the economic value of the resource systems they steward. A new Mississippi law, HB 861, clearly allocates public sector responsibilities for implementation in the field of remote sensing and geographic information systems. The coordination effected by this law has uniquely positioned the state to maximally leverage federal, state, and local funds to become the national leader in this rapidly evolving technology.

The law, passed by both houses and signed by the governor in 2003, created the Mississippi Coordinating Council for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems. It directs the new council to “set and assure enforcement of policies and standards to make it easier for remote sensing and geographic information system users around the state to share information and to facilitate cost-sharing arrangements to reduce the costs of acquiring remote sensing and geographic information system data.” It assigns responsibility for implementation of technology—providing broad access to framework remote sensing and geographic information systems data—to two state agencies under the council’s direction and oversight. The clear intent of this landmark legislation is to promote coordination and collaboration rather than parochial competition among the state’s institutions and agencies interested in this technology. The law assigns the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) responsibility for developing seven base data layers of geographic information for the state, referred to as the Mississippi Digital Earth Model (MDEM). It charges the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) with providing the communication infrastructure and an electronic warehouse for these data. The program will be largely self-funding in the long term because of coordinating regular governmental and agency data acquisition plans and efficiencies in coordinating statewide data purchases. 

The new law exempts the research and education activities of the state’s Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) from the Coordinating Council’s purview. However, to assure that the research products of these universities are linked to the implementation of and access to the technology provided through the Council, the law establishes one voting Council member as the appointed representative of the Commissioner of the Mississippi IHL. The Commissioner has appointed the Director of the GeoResources Institute (GRI) at Mississippi State University (MSU) to fill this position. With this link to IHL’s research and educational capacity, the Coordinating Council provides a framework for coordinating and integrating operational needs, private business expertise and resources, and academic research, training, and outreach resources. 

The Council is responsible for development of data requirements and specifications, and the private sector will be responsible for data collection, product development, and integration. It recently approved the hiring of an engineering firm to administer the procurement process for digital flood insurance requirement mapping. Future solicitations will be announced as funding opportunities arise for the other framework data layers.

The Council has appointed several committees who are or have been active since July 2003. These include the Policy Advisory Committee, the Technical Users Committee, the Data Procurement Standards Task Force, and the Education/Outreach Committee. The Council meets on an approximate monthly basis. The various committees meet on an as-needed basis. 

For more information, please contact Dr. David Shaw, dshaw@gri.msstate.edu. 

Company Spotlight

3001, Inc.

Traveling on a river can be treacherous at any time, but especially at night or in dense fog. Imagine you are a river pilot and had real-time updating of chart information at your fingertips to help ensure that you, your boat and your cargo made it to your destination safely and on time. Thanks to 3001, Inc,. that is now a reality. 

3001 collaborated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to convert GIS data sets into an electronic chart format for more than 2,000 miles of the Mississippi River. Data that were traditionally provided only as hardcopy charts are now digital charts for interactive use onboard commercial vessels. So, why is this important? This format allows for near real-time updating of chart information and interacts with the mariner to warn of navigation hazards. The original product was part of a pilot program and became the first inland waterway in the United States available in this format. 

3001, Inc. opened their Stennis Space Center office in 2002 when they joined the Mississippi Geospatial Technology Industry Cluster. Their areas of expertise include airborne data acquisition, land and hydrographic surveying, digital mapping, and GIS. 3001 targets the following markets: environmental planning and management, oil and gas, water and wastewater utilities, electric utilities, telecommunications, transportation, public safety, land management, real estate, and property appraisal.

In the last two years, 3001 Mississippi has grown from 86 employees to 111 employees. Their ability to respond to the demanding and ever changing needs of their customers has put 3001 at the forefront of providing innovative spatial data services and as Mississippi continues to grow as a leader in geomatics, 3001 has become an anchor company for the Mississippi Geospatial Technology Industry Cluster. 

For more information, visit www.3001data.com 

If you have suggestions for future SPOTLIGHTS, please send an e-mail to lstone@olemiss.edu.

Be sure to visit the new EIGS website at

www.eigs.olemiss.edu

Admiral Thomas Donaldson, Director of NASA Stennis Space Center, meets members of the EIGS industry cluster at the semi-annual briefing held on Feb. 26

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 6-9, 2004
2004 ESRI Worldwide Business Partner Conference
Palm Spring, CA

March 22-23, 2004
TUGIS 2004: 17th Annual Towson University GIS Conference
Baltimore, MD

March 29-30, 2004
TNRIS GIS Forum, Texas Natural Resources Information System
Austin, TX

March 31, 2004
Partners for Stennis Regional Coffee Call
Bay St. Louis, MS
Contact: Lynne Chasez, 228-467-9048

April 3-8, 2004
Annual South Central ARC User Group Conference
Irving, TX

April 5-9, 2004
RS-2004 10th Biennial Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference
Salt Lake City, UT

April 15-16, 2004
2nd International Conference on the State of Remote Sensing Law
Oxford, MS

April 18-22, 2004
MidAmerica GIS Symposium
Kansas City, MO

April 25-28, 2004
Geospatial Information & Technology Association 27th Annual Conference
Seattle, WA

April 26-29, 2004
2004 National SBIR/STTR Conference & Small Business Expo
Atlanta, GA

May 10-12, 2004
The 5th Annual Coastal Development Strategies Conference
Biloxi, MS

May 23-28, 2004
2004 ASPRS Annual Conference
Denver, CO

August 9-13, 2004
ESRI International User Conference
San Diego, CA

LEGISLATIVE CORNER

The 2004 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature convened at 12 noon on Tuesday, January 6, 2004. The bill filing deadline just passed on Feb. 24th. Please stay posted for further developments, as we will keep you apprised of pertinent legislation. The session will officially adjourn on May 9, 2004 - SINE DIE.

DID YOU KNOW???

About 97 percent of local governments with populations of at least 100,000 and 88 percent of those between 50,000 and 100,000 people use GIS technology, according to Public Technology Inc., a nonprofit research group that conducted the study in collaboration with several national municipal associations. 

AROUND THE STATE

Gray Swoope has been appointed the Deputy Director of the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and has been named Chief Operations Officer in charge of business development for the agency. 

Technology issues will be coordinated under this umbrella. 

Gray is a well-known economic developer throughout the state. He was most recently President of the Area Development Partnership in Hattiesburg. Site Selection magazine named him One of the Top 10 Young Economic Developers. 

Clay Lewis will be working with Gray in the coming weeks on matters related
to EIGS.

NASA UPDATE

NASA unveiled its 2005 budget request to Congress with the release of two companion documents: the "Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Estimates" and "The Vision for Space Exploration," a framework for exploration of the solar system and beyond. The budget request and vision document are both available on the NASA website.  

Geospatial Technologies: 
In the Headlines

• Judge Allows GPS Evidence In Peterson Case: Defense Attorneys Had Argued That Data Weren't Accurate
  (CNN) -- The judge in Scott Peterson's murder trial ruled Tuesday that evidence dealing with the electronic tracking of Peterson after his wife's disappearance will be admitted in the trial. 

• NASA Technology Helped Investigators In Florida Abduction Case
  (NASA) -- Two NASA facilities, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Ala., and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla., provided technological assistance for law enforcement agencies investigating the abduction of an 11-year-old girl in Sarasota, Fla.

• Parents Turn To GPS Phones To Protect Kids
  (ABC) -- A new kind of cell phone has emerged on the market and no, it is not just another electronic gadget. This phone could assist in protecting your child in an emergency and helps locate children fast. 

For links to more news stories, visit the EIGS homepage www.eigs.olemiss.edu 

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