April 2005

Welcome to The Sensor -- the newsletter of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions (EIGS) bringing you the latest developments from Mississippi’s emerging geospatial industry cluster. Please feel free to share this with friends and colleagues. To subscribe, visit www.eigs.olemiss.edu

For further information, or to submit story ideas, please contact Lisa Stone - lstone@olemiss.edu 

What's Inside This Month's  Sensor:

Regular Features:

April Articles:

Robin Buchannon
Director, EIGS

The Director's Cut

Warning! Warning! Warning! What follows is a shameless plug… 

One of the keys to the success of any group or organization is effective communication and information-sharing. We all place a high value on being “in the loop” and being kept aware of the latest developments and opportunities. With the geographical diversity of Mississippi’s geospatial companies and partners, the need for an effective means of information-sharing is especially true. The obvious mechanism in the information age is a website and I am encouraging you to use the EIGS website (www.eigs.olemiss.edu) as a one-stop portal to keep abreast of goings-on in the statewide as well as national geospatial arena. 

The EIGS team has worked hard to build and sustain a dynamic website that is easy to use and is constantly being updated and improved. If you visit the website with any regularity, you will notice that we are continually looking to add new features and sections to increase the value of the website as a geospatial resource. Some of the current website components include: 

  • News headlines about the geospatial industry -- updated daily

  • Calendar of events and upcoming activities – updated regularly

  • Links to geospatial resources –- including geospatial publications

  • Legislative updates

  • Ask EIGS – find who offers specific geospatial products or services

  • Past issues of the EIGS newsletter, The Sensor

  • Information about EIGS companies and partners

The EIGS website is a fantastic resource – Bookmark It! Set it as your homepage! Use it!

Company Spotlight

Dungan Engineering, P.A., one of the newest members of the EIGS geospatial technology industry cluster, is not a newcomer to developing high-quality geospatial solutions for its customers. As an established source of civil engineering, surveying, GIS mapping, construction materials testing, electrical power line services and geo-technical engineering, Dungan Engineering is keeping “Mississippi Moving Ahead” by improving communities through excellence in engineering. 

Named as a Mississippi Fast 40 company, Dungan currently serves as County Engineer for 5 South Mississippi counties. A key focus for Dungan Engineering is working with communities to help them grow smartly through the use of geospatial technology. Dungan’s primary geospatial focus areas are: 1) addressing homeland security through the development of the “Regional E-911 Call Center” concept; 2) Modernization of county tax mapping procedures for improved community planning and cross-governmental data sharing; and 3) Rural utility consolidation to improve water quality and wastewater treatment. 

Dungan Engineering has been working with Marion County, Mississippi, to apply geospatial data to critical community functions such as quickly routing emergency responders to the scene using accurate digital maps. By building the county an accurate intelligent map or “Smart Map” of all roads and structures in the county, Dungan is helping the county reduce emergency response times by more efficiently routing emergency responders to the accident site, integrate with the Sheriff’s PSAP wireless phase I & II plans, and improve intra-governmental activities that the E-911 system supports.

In working on this project, Dungan developed several key products including:

  • Deployment of required GIS infrastructure including training

  • A comprehensive geodatabase of structures in the County

  • A spatially accurate address-ranged road centerline that can be used in the dispatch center to display the location of E-911 calls and cellular calls

  • A complete set of reproducible and maintainable road and structure maps for emergency responders

With offices in Columbia and Picayune, Dungan serves the needs of a wide variety of clients including: NASA; MS Department of Transportation; Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; Municipalities; the MS Bureau of Buildings, Grounds and Real Property Management; 
Ducks Unlimited; and a number of rural water associations, contractors, and real estate developers. 

For more information about Dungan Engineering, visit www.dunganeng.com or contact Brooks Wallace, 601-799-1037, brooks@dunganeng.com.

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Iceberg B15-A, the largest floating object on Earth, courtesy of the USGS' LANDSAT Project. Its gradual drifting endangers an Antarctica science base and local penguins. Taken January 21, 2005.

SEEN AND HEARD

Lisa Stone, EIGS Associate Director, awarded an EIGS-sponsored scholarship at the 2005 U.S. Academic Decathlon in Mississippi to Keith Luke, a senior at Madison Central High School who has been accepted to the Ole Miss’ Croft Institute for International Business. Photo taken March 5, 2005, at the JSU E-Center. The Academic Decathlon in Mississippi is hosted by EIGS Partner Mississippi Technology Alliance.

“It’s all in a hard day’s work,” said Chris Harvey, Assistant Director of EIGS and member of the Stennis Rotary Club, referring to the 2nd Annual Rotary Golf Tournament held March 18, 2005, at Milbrook Country Club in Picayune, MS. The Stennis Rotary Club cleared over $6,100 to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Mississippi and Louisiana.

A number of EIGS companies participated in the Golf Tournament, including Northrop Grumman (left), whose team took first place. The NVision Solutions/ DigitalGlobe team (above) placed second. Other EIGS companies supporting this event included Diamond Data Systems, Radiance Technologies, and PSI. 
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 19-20, 2005
Louisiana Remote Sensing and GIS Workshop
New Orleans, LA

April 28-29, 2005
NASA Focused SBIR and Other Opportunities Workshop
Long Beach, MS

May 15-18, 2005
National Business Incubation Association's (NBIA) 19th International Conference on
Business Incubation
Baltimore, MD

July 25-29, 2005
25th Annual ESRI International User Conference
San Diego, CA

LEGISLATIVE CORNER

The Mississippi Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on April 3, 2005. However, several lawmakers are predicting they will be called back for a special session by Governor Haley Barbour to resolve the budget crisis. For further information on specific bills, please visit http://www.ls.state.ms.us/.

DID YOU KNOW???

Under a contract with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Satellite and Information Services Division, Global Marketing Insights Inc., has launched a comprehensive research study of international remote sensing markets for aerial and satellite data technologies. This study includes a five- and ten-year analysis of the political, economic and technical trends impacting the remote sensing industry globally. The surveys encompass political and economic trend information impacting the remote sensing industry, as well as technology information concerning the aerial film, aerial digital, aerial sensors, satellites, and remote sensing hardware and software sectors. Individuals from all segments of the worldwide aerial and satellite remote sensing industry are invited to participate in the study by logging in here. The final research project will be publicly available and will be completed by the end of 2005.

Brett Thomassie of DigitalGlobe, an EIGS member company, recently participated in the MARIS Task Force Meeting held March 23, 2005, in Jackson, MS. Brett provided an overview and update on DigitalGlobe. Download his presentation (20mb pdf)

Partner Profile: Gulf Coast Geospatial Center

One of the keys to Mississippi’s success as a recognized leader in the geospatial arena is the number of organizations dedicated to providing innovative geospatial solutions and support for the industry. One such organization is the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center, an EIGS partner. Housed within the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, MS, the Center employs geospatial technologies to support marine research and analyses of resources (primarily biological) of the Mississippi gulf coast area. 

The Center’s specific goals include:

  • Create a world-class geospatial center;

  • Develop a digital database environment to support faculty research and projects requiring GIS or Remote Sensing support;

  • Stimulate the use of GIS and remote sensing technologies in the gulf coast region;

  • Directly support Southern Miss and local government’s geospatial projects and applications

The Center has been awarded a number of geospatial research or applications projects since its establishment. One project completed in 2004 involved the development of a vegetation classification map for the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge’s Fire Management Center. This map was designed to be used by the fire management team in planning prescribed burns within the Refuge. The prescribed fire program at the Refuge strives to restore pine savannas to their natural condition, providing improved habitats for the Sandhill Crane and native plant communities.

For the past 2 years, the Center has hosted and organized the Annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Geospatial Conference. Providing a venue for the exchange of ideas on how geospatial technologies can support community endeavors, last year’s conference brought together over 200 federal, state and local professionals from across the nation all focused on sharing ideas about the latest technologies and cutting-edge applications supporting the work. Details about the 3rd Annual Conference, to be held October 19-21, 2005, will be coming out soon. 

Among their future plans, the Center intends to expand their operations to service the entire gulf coast region. Additionally, the Center intends to provide direct processing support for government agencies and entities; establish a certified geospatial training program for both university and private users; and provide beta evaluation of new geospatial software products. The Center will also be seeking out collaborative opportunities to support research projects for private industry. 

For more information about the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center, visit http://www.usm.edu/gcgc/flash/index.php. 

Digital Quest Holds STARS Geospatial Forum

On March 10, 2005, EIGS member company, Digital Quest, Inc., convened a Geospatial Forum at NASA’s Stennis Space Center with representatives of the geospatial industry, government and educational community to discuss the need and support for the STARS Geospatial Certification. 

STARS (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing) is a fully-developed "turn-key" certification program for high schools, colleges and universities as well as career professionals looking to integrate GIS tools into their on-the-job skill set. Through STARS, students master the use of software and tools standard in the geospatial industry.

Major participants included NASA, the Department of Labor, private geospatial businesses, and the Geospatial Technology Apprenticeship Program. One of the keys to the success of the Forum was participation by geospatial companies including DigitalGlobe, ESRI, 3001, Inc., NVision Solutions, Radiance Technologies, and GeoTek Management. 

Another key component was the participation by EIGS Partner, the Geospatial Technology Apprenticeship Program (GTAP) of the University of Southern Mississippi. The STARS certification has been mapped to the Geospatial Technology Competency Model which has identified the required knowledge, skills and abilities for geospatial practitioners. 

To show how well the STARS certification translates from the classroom to the real world, the forum featured presentations from current STARS students and a STARS-certified Police Chief. Presentations were given by three students from the William F. Goodling Advanced Skills Center from York, Pennsylvania, which is in the process of implementing a Department of Labor grant that will use the STARS certification to train over 100 geospatial workers over the next two years. Police Chief Edwin Wood of the Medford, New Jersey Police Department recently completed his STARS Certification and discussed how he has integrated GIS into crime and disaster management strategies. 

Calling For Concept Papers… Deadline Approaching

The Space Studies Board, in consultation with the National Research Council (NRC), has begun a study to generate prioritized recommendations from the Earth and environmental science and applications community regarding a systems approach to the space-based and ancillary observations that encompasses the research programs of NASA and the related operational programs of NOAA. The study will also consider such cross-agency issues such as the development of an operational capability for land remote sensing.

The study will be carried out over a two-year period and seeks to establish plans and priorities within the sub-disciplines of the Earth sciences as well as an integrated vision and plan for the Earth sciences as a whole. It will also consider Earth observations requirements for research and for a range of applications with direct links to societal objectives. 

An open web site http://qp.nas.edu/decadalsurvey has been created to describe the study and to provide an opportunity for community input throughout the study process. 

Input is being solicited from the broad community, especially ideas for missions or programs that are directly linked to societal needs and benefits. The ideas and concepts received will be reviewed by one or more of the Survey’s seven study panels, which are addressing the following themes: Earth Science Applications and Societal Needs; Land-use Change, Ecosystem Dynamics, and Biodiversity; Weather (including chemical weather and space weather); Climate Variability and Change; Water Resources and the Global Hydrologic Cycle; Human Health and Security; Solid-Earth Hazards, Resources, and Dynamics.

Based on their potential to contribute to research and/or applications and societal needs, each panel may select one or more of the concepts for further technical and cost assessments. The Panels will recommend, in priority order, a number of proposed missions for carrying out over the period 2005-2015, taking into account a set of established criteria as described below. The Executive Committee of the Decadal Study will interleave the Panel Recommendations, to produce a final set of recommended missions, in priority order.

You are invited to write a concept paper for a new space-based mission or measurement, from existing or new vantage points, that promises to advance an existing or new scientific objective, contribute to fundamental understanding of the Earth system, and/or facilitate the connection between Earth observations and societal needs. Concepts that will range from free-flying spacecraft to instruments that might be included in follow-ons or as additions to the NPOESS and GOES series of spacecraft are anticipated. Constellations of spacecraft or spacecraft that fly in formation with existing, planned, or future satellites may also be considered.

All responses will be considered non-proprietary public information for distribution with attribution. The concept papers should be no longer than ten pages in length. For further information on guidelines, please contact anthes@ucar.edu or b.moore@unh.edu. For full consideration, please submit the concept paper by April 15, 2005 via e-mail to: rfi@nas.edu. Questions about the RFI may be directed to the study director, Art Charo (acharo@nas.edu), 202 334-3477, or by fax at 202 334-3701.

Two Views On Public Access To Geospatial Information

There are currently two conflicting views about access to remote sensing data that are collected by the government through satellite and aerial reconnaissance. One side is proposing that the data should be more fully and openly exploited in the public interest. The other view proposes limiting access in the interest of homeland security. Proposals are now pending in Congress and the executive branch.

Geospatial data that are acquired for scientific and national security purposes "also can have important applications to help meet societal goals," according to a bill introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO). See H.R. 426, The Remote Sensing Applications Act of 2005, introduced January 26 and referred to the House Science Committee (http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_cr/hr426.html)

The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) is considering a proposal to withdraw various categories of aeronautical information from the public domain. The public comment period on the NGA proposal extends through June 30, 2005. www.nga.mil/NGASiteContent/StaticFiles/OCR/nga0411.pdf

EIGS in the News

NASA Chooses NVision Project
Mississippi Business Journal - March 15, 2005

NVision Solutions Named ESRI New Partner of the Year
Directions Magazine - March 20, 2005

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