January 2005

What's Inside This Month's  Sensor:

Regular Features:

• The Director's Cut

• Company Spotlight: DigitalGlobe, Inc.

• Image of the Month

• Upcoming Events

• Legislative Corner

• Seen and Heard

• Did You Know???

January Articles:

• Keeping Mississippi’s Best and Brightest at Home: NVision Solutions Hires Three New Software Developers

• The Delta Business Journal's Top 50 Business Leaders

• MARIS: Serving Mississippi’s GIS Needs Since 1982

• News Item of Interest: Counting Elephants From Space

Robin Buchannon Director, EIGS

The Director's Cut

With the start of a new year, I thought this would be a good time to remind our readers about the EIGS mission and objectives and how we fit into the big picture of Mississippi’s long term economic development plans. Consider it something of an EIGS Primer.

At the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions (EIGS), we are focused on supporting geospatial research and business development with the primary mission of growing the research-based, world-class geospatial technology industry cluster in Mississippi. 

We have 3 primary functions that include: growing and serving the Mississippi Geospatial Industry; identifying research dollars and assistance to industry members for the purpose of developing marketable products; and ensuring that the industry has the workforce necessary to grow and prosper in the State of Mississippi.

Among our specific objectives, we strive to:

1. Provide specific business support and services to the high technology geospatial cluster.

2. Facilitate networking opportunities among the cluster members.

3. Promote the cluster to the state and nation via trade shows, conferences, meetings and other outreach efforts.

4. Recruit new, complementary industries to the state and cluster.

5. Seek to enhance infrastructure for product development, evaluation and testing.

6. Promote and support, as appropriate, geospatial-related research at the MRC universities which addresses the needs of the industry cluster and aligns with the appropriate and applicable federal or state programs. 

Many of you know that cluster-based economics are a strong way to create good jobs, increase wages, and improve the standard of living for citizens. Often times, innovation is driven at local and regional levels from industry clusters. In Mississippi, the development and support of the geospatial industry cluster directly addresses the findings of the McCoy Working Group to:

• Develop strategic partnerships between higher education and industry that will lead to economic development; 

• Generate and transfer ideas and technologies from research to commercial applications; 

• Equip our college graduates with the knowledge necessary for today’s knowledge-driven economy; and finally, 

• Build our communities and enhance the quality of life to attract and retain business and industry.

Additionally, the cluster development addresses the goals of Blueprint Mississippi to “diversify and improve Mississippi’s economic base,” and the pursuit of high-value, high-growth business. And these all contribute to Momentum Mississippi’s long-range economic development plans to help Mississippi become a major player in the global marketplace resulting in more and better jobs for Mississippians. 

NASA, the State of Mississippi, Ole Miss, and the educational community had the vision and foresight to recognize that the establishment of this cluster was not only sound economic policy, but creative and innovative. Mississippi has set a precedent for the development of such high tech clusters and continues to reap the benefits.

DigitalGlobe Incorporated is an Earth imagery and information company headquartered in Longmont, Colorado, that offers the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery, the largest image size and the greatest on-board storage capacity of any commercial satellite imagery provider. DigitalGlobe Mississippi Operations, a member of the EIGS Industry Cluster since 1999, is one of the primary bases of operations for DigitalGlobe’s Civil Government Programs sales, business development and R&D activity. DigitalGlobe helped build the foundation for Mississippi’s geospatial technology cluster and continues to play a key leadership role in its development.

In 2001, DigitalGlobe launched what remains the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite today, QuickBird. QuickBird has collected and stored in its ImageLibrary hundreds of thousands of Earth image scenes covering over 100 million square kilometers, and collects an additional 1 million square kilometers each week. These new and historical images are essential for customers who map and plan for change in our world.
QuickBird imagery is being used by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR) in its suite of geographic information system (GIS) data to help manage and protect a variety of coastal marine resources while promoting economic growth. DMR is using QuickBird imagery to identify and delineate features such as new development areas, land use/land cover, and impervious surfaces. DMR will be providing government agencies and the public with Internet access to the imagery. (www.dmr.state.ms.us)
DigitalGlobe is now looking forward to the launch of its next satellite. Scheduled for launch no later than 2006, WorldView will be the world’s only commercial satellite to snap pictures of the Earth at 50-centimeter resolution. The satellite’s higher orbit of nearly 800 kilometers will allow it to revisit collection areas more frequently, letting customers repeat their image acquisitions about once a day. DigitalGlobe’s imaging constellation combining WorldView and QuickBird will be capable of collecting more than 4.5 times the imagery of any current commercial imaging system. By late 2006, WorldView alone will be capable of collecting nearly 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) per day of half-meter imagery.

Among the exciting developments for DigitalGlobe in late 2004 included the unveiling of a revolutionary new way of doing business with the civil government market. U.S. civil government customers at the state and local level now have the freedom to use, distribute and modify QuickBird satellite imagery products without penalty. This new civil government licensing model represents a pivotal change in the commercial remote sensing industry’s traditional treatment of product licensing. 

“DigitalGlobe continues to push the envelope to provide customers with the highest quality and highest spatial resolution satellite imagery and information products commercially available. We look forward to continue growing our business in the State of Mississippi and throughout the U.S. by providing a wealth of geospatial information and a wide range of solutions to meet our customers’ needs and project requirements,” stated Mr. Brett Thomassie, Director of Civil Government Programs and President of DigitalGlobe Mississippi Operations.

DigitalGlobe is a regular contributor to The Sensor’s “Image of the Month” feature. For more information about DigitalGlobe, contact Brett Thomassie at bthomassie@digitalglobe.com or visit www.digitalglobe.com. 

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Unalaska Island, Alaska
Image of the broken Selendang Ayu freighter collected December 13, 2004

This image provided by DigitalGlobe, an EIGS member company.

DID YOU KNOW???

There is an up-to-date, comprehensive listing of geospatial products and services available on-line from Geospatial Solutions Magazine. Based on an extensive survey of spatial technology firms, the Geospatial Solutions Buyers Guide for 2005 provides a comprehensive listing of geospatial products and services now available on the market. With more than 240 companies responding, this year's Buyers Guide is the largest compilation ever.

NEWS ITEM OF INTEREST

Counting Elephants From Space

Scientists with the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have recently been counting their zoo animals from a lofty perch: namely, outer space.
Using high-tech cameras fixed to an orbiting [DigitalGlobe QuickBird] satellite 280 miles overhead, a WCS scientific team tallied some of the zoo's own animal collection to see if satellites can help count wildlife populations in remote locations throughout the world... READ MORE

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 19-20, 2005
Mississippi Business & Technology Expo
Jackson, MS

January 19, 2005
Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 Luncheon
Jackson, MS

February 17, 2005
EIGS Annual Meeting
Details TBA

March 6-9, 2005
GITA's Annual Conference 28:
Crossing Boundaries
Denver, CO

March 7-11, 2005
ASPRS 2005 Annual Conference -
Geospatial Goes Global: From Your Neighborhood to the Whole Planet
Baltimore, Maryland

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LEGISLATIVE CORNER

The 2005 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature convenes at 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, January 4, 2005. The session will last 90 days with SINE DIE scheduled for Sunday, April 3, 2005.

SEEN AND HEARD

From Governor Haley Barbour’s Press Release Unveiling Momentum Mississippi:

“It should be no surprise that Momentum Mississippi will be a top priority for this Administration. Job creation is our state’s most urgent need. With innovative ideas from the private and public sector, this economic development strategy will help Mississippi become a major player in the global marketplace," he added. "Our focus… will be on results - results measured in more and better jobs in Mississippi."

The Delta Business Journal's Top 50 Business Leaders

In November 2004, Michael Seal, President and CEO of InTime, Inc. was announced as one of the Delta Business Journal’s top business leaders under 50.

Michael was born and raised in Hancock County, MS. He attended Pearl River Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi. He has degrees in Electronic & Computer Engineering. He began work at the Institute for Technology Development (ITD) in 1992 and worked up to a Vice President position in 2000, managing the Agricultural Program. 

Michael was one of the developers of InTime, Inc. in 2002 that now services agricultural products in 11 states. Through innovative uses of geospatial technology, including digital aerial pictures, InTime, Inc. is helping farmers save time and money. InTime takes digital aerial pictures from 12,000 feet that are processed into ‘scout maps’ that identify 7 different levels of crop development. These images are made available within 24 hours to growers on InTime’s easy-to-use website. Farmers and consultants download these ‘scout maps’ from InTime’s Internet Website for use in their crop scouting to help make real-time decisions about how best to treat these levels of development. 

InTime, Inc. is an active member of Mississippi’s EIGS geospatial industry cluster and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ms. They have demonstrated results of 30-50% savings in a farmer’s application of chemicals and a direct cost savings to the farmer through increased labor efficiency and reduced chemical costs. While the primary focus has been on cotton, InTime is turning their attention to other crops including rice, corn, soybeans, wheat, peanuts and tomatoes. InTime currently serves Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and California. 

Michael enjoys having the opportunity to work with an outstanding team at InTime, Inc. “Our team is truly our reason for our success. Not many job opportunities afford a person the ability to be surrounded by such a supportive and dependable team. Our team is truly our best asset at InTime, Inc.,” said Michael Seal.

One of Michael’s major accomplishments has been achieving early success and rapid growth. InTime, Inc. has added new high tech jobs in the Delta that have injected the local economy with dollars that are important for small town growth. InTime, Inc. has allowed people from Mississippi and educated in Mississippi to stay at home, which is important to the state’s well-being and overall economy. 

MARIS: Serving Mississippi’s GIS Needs Since 1982

The Mississippi Automated Resource Information System (MARIS) serves as the legislative mechanism within Mississippi state government to provide for the systematic arrangement, availability, and use of digital natural and cultural resource information as well as encourages compatibility of Geographic Information Technology (GIT) and data distribution within state government. Created by Executive Order in 1982 and established by the state legislature in 1986, MARIS continues proving the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to manage and apply geographic information to a wide range of natural and cultural resource programs in Mississippi. MARIS promotes coordination through sharing of the resources, funds, and talents required to develop a unified, comprehensive approach to geographic information technology.

Additionally, MARIS serves as the state government clearinghouse for digital geospatial data about Mississippi. This is an ongoing process that continues now in partnership with ITS and all other collaborating entities to build and enhance information in the Mississippi’s Geospatial Infrastructure.

The day-to-day capacity to carry out the MARIS program resides in the Technical Center. The Technical Center not only supports the administrative and planning operations of MARIS, but implements a wide-ranging technical GIS program. The MARIS Technical Center maintains a professional staff composed of GIS/remote sensing specialists and systems analysts. The type of project work the Technical Center performs can be grouped into three broad categories: 

• GIS Technical/Policy assistance. The MARIS staff consults with entities as they prepare to upgrade to or acquire GIS capabilities. MARIS can assist in many ways including requirements definition, system design, standards, industry trends, and possible personnel characteristics. 

• Education-Training-Outreach. MARIS provides regular training opportunities to the user community on a regular basis as both formal technical training and informal professional development meetings. MARIS is available to discuss GIS and answer GIS questions both to the public everyday and as formal speakers.

• GIS Coordination/Facilitation. MARIS Supports the efforts of the Mississippi Coordinating Council for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems by hosting multiple disciplinary workgroups focused on coordinating state & local GIS efforts. 

“MARIS has been serving Mississippi’s GIS needs since 1982 by providing mapping, geo-data, education, and service,” states Jim Steil, MARIS Director. “It is a continual honor to be able to collaborate with so many of the outstanding GIS professionals we have here in Mississippi.” 

For additional information about MARIS or to access their online data warehouse, visit www.maris.state.ms.us. 

Keeping Mississippi’s Best and Brightest at Home:
NVision Solutions Hires Three New Software Developers

EIGS member, NVision Solutions Inc. recently added to their strong geospatial programming team with the hiring of three Mississippi State University graduates. Kevin Bupp, Doss Dingli, and Taylor Young received their degrees in December 2004 and immediately came to work with NVision to help develop the next generation of NVision’s industry solutions for Homeland Security, Precision Agriculture, Logistics, and Utilities.

From left to right, starting in back: Taylor Young, Kevin Bupp, Doss Dingli, Chris Bupp and Craig Harvey

Kevin Bupp, originally from Layton, Utah, graduated Summa Cum Laude from MSU with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and a minor in Software Engineering and Mathematics. Bupp joins NVision with four years of part-time work experience with NVision team members including 3 ½ years of participation in MSU’s Coop program.

Doss Dingli is a native of Gulfport, Miss. and graduated with a B.S. in Software Engineering. Before joining NVision he worked for several companies as a student including Henkel's & McCoy, Farley Technologies/Triad Design, Inc., and NorthStar Communications Group.

Taylor Young, from McComb, Miss., also graduated with a B.S. in Software Engineering. Young served as a systems support specialist, system administrator, and web application programmer for McNeil Nutritionals, EBI communications, and MDT Products Inc. before signing on with NVision.

NVision continues participation in the MSU Coop program with the hiring of Chris Bupp, Kevin Bupp’s brother, who started his second semester with NVision through the program this week. He is majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics and plans to graduate in May, 2007.

EIGS congratulates Kevin, Doss, and Taylor for joining the dynamic and hardworking NVision team. And hats off to NVision for contributing to the availability of high tech jobs in Mississippi and keeping our best and brightest here in the state.

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