April 2006

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 

Director's Cut

“Small businesses are the engine that drive our economy. Just look at the facts: small businesses employ about half of our entire work force. They provide more than half of the nation’s private gross domestic product and are the primary creator of new jobs. Their history of success has created jobs, been a leading source of innovations, built communities, and inspired others to take on the challenges of pursuing their dreams.”

- U.S. Small Business Administration

This month I want to take a moment to reflect on accolades garnered by members of Mississippi’s geospatial industry cluster. Many of you have recently read or heard about the selection of Craig Harvey of NVision Solutions as the 2006 Small Business Person of the Year for Mississippi. But did you know that last year, in 2005, Allen Hines of Applied Geo Technologies (AGT), another EIGS member company, was selected as the Minority Small Business Person of the Year for Mississippi as well as the Minority Small Business Person of the Year for Region IV? Further down in this month’s newsletter you can read about another AGT honor of being named a finalist for “Best Places to Work in Mississippi.” And let’s not forget about Forest One winning the Small Industry Award and NVision Solutions being awarded Innovation of the Year at the 2005 Business & Technology Expo.

While these are certainly individual and company successes, I think they should also be counted as successes for the industry cluster as a whole as well as the state of Mississippi. These small, high tech businesses are being recognized for the significant impact they are having on our economy. This is particularly noteworthy for Mississippi which has historically been a manufacturing and agricultural state. But for those of you familiar with the Small Business Survival Index, this is probably not a big surprise. Over the last several years Mississippi has consistently ranked as one of the top ten entrepreneurial-friendly states by the Small Business & Entrepreneurial Council (www.sbecouncil.org). And I think we can all agree that the entrepreneurial sector of our economy is so vital to economic growth, innovation, and job creation.

It is against this backdrop that Mississippi is in such an enviable position to further develop its assets in high tech, knowledge-based industries. Mississippi can do more than just compete in a 21st Century economy; we can excel and lead the way. And it is the small businesses, like the members of the geospatial industry cluster, that are the hallmark of Mississippi’s turning point in creating and sustaining better paying, higher quality employment opportunities.

I want to close with a quote from Craig Harvey from a recent Mississippi Business Journal article that succinctly describes the importance of the industry cluster structure in Mississippi to the successes of small, entrepreneurial businesses:

“It’s not very often that you see a single large tree growing on a wind-swept hill,” said Harvey. “The best way to grow large is to grow a forest. Small companies simply cannot compete with larger, more mature companies, and unless you exist on handout contracts, the only way to compete effectively is to build a team — not a good team, but a great team. It’s taken years to develop the types of trust relationships within the geospatial cluster that allow us to team effectively and work together efficiently. Not all companies subscribe to this mentality, but those of us that do are enjoying growth and prosperity in … Mississippi’s technology sectors.”

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Image of Tropical Storm Glenda taken March 27 off the northwestern coast of Australia.  Glenda caused only minor damage to the largely uninhabited coastline. Image courtesy NASA's Earth Observatory.

DID YOU KNOW?

The annual growth rate for the geospatial technology industry is 35 percent with an annual growth rate within the commercial market of 100 percent? Source: Workforce³ One Geospatial Industry Webinar, February 15, 2006. http://www.workforce3one.org 

SEEN AND HEARD

“A good number of our member companies are engineering firms who use geospatial technology on a daily basis…From work in site development, transportation, surveying, planning, public works, and homeland security to name a few, engineers use geographic information to more efficiently and effectively design and manage projects.”

-- Lisa Stone, Acting Director of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions (EIGS),
speaking of the exciting ways that engineers are using geospatial technology to solve everyday problems.

Source: Mississippi Business Journal
March 06, 2006-March 12, 2006

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 3-4, 2006
5th Annual Southern BioProducts Conference
Choctaw, MS

April 4-6, 2006
22nd Annual Louisiana Remote Sensing & GIS Workshop
Baton Rouge, LA

April 10-12, 2006
1st Geospatial Integration for Public Safety Conference
Nashville, TN

April 25-28, 2006
Annual Planning & Development District Conference
Tunica, MS

May 1-5, 2006
ASPRS Annual Conference
Reno, Nevada

LEGISLATIVE CORNER

The 2006 Legislative session officially adjourned on Friday. The following is a summary of bills passed related to Hurricane Katrina:

• Tougher building code standards for Jackson, Harrison, Hancock, Stone and Pearl River counties;

• Authorization of bonds to be issued to pay for hurricane damage to electric utilities;

• Homes destroyed by the hurricane still qualify for the homestead exemption for two years;

• School districts can borrow federal Community Disaster Loan funds to cover losses

Conference Spotlight:
7th Annual Coastal Development Strategies Conference

Smart GROWTH
Southern Mississippi on the Move… Tools for Smart Growth, Sustainable Development, Social Well-Being and Economic Recovery

This dynamic, practical and timely conference will provide the decision makers of South Mississippi with the most successful smart growth and development tools, strategies, ideas and experiences from cities and leaders from around the nation. The conference this year will be held in Biloxi at the Saenger Theater, May 2-3, 2006.

This year because of the profound and widespread impact of Hurricane Katrina on the region the conference registration fee of $125, has been waived and there is no charge to attend this year. However, registration forms are still required for meal plans and public accounting purposes. Download registration forms or call (228) 374-5022 and a form will be faxed or mailed to you.

Guest Speakers include:

• Keynote Speaker: Joseph Riley, Jr., Mayor, City of Charleston, South Carolina

• Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, Renewal: Ricky Matthews, The Sun Herald

• National Heritage Development: John Cosgove, Alliance of National Heritage Areas

• Coastal Mississippi’s Natural Resources: Vernon Asper, University of Southern Mississippi

• Disaster Recovery: Bruce Beckham, Tourism Cares for Tomorrow

• National Response: Brenda Barrett, National Heritage Areas & the National Park Service

The 7th Annual Coastal Development Strategies Conference is being brought to you by The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Comprehensive Resource Management Plan (CRMP) and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce.
 

Time Out for Humor

GPS technology can be used to find almost anything, but what about... the bathroom?  A professor in New York is doing just that, using GPS mapping to locate public restrooms in Manhattan.

Read the New Yorker Magazine story.

AGT Selected As “One of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi”

Applied Geo Technologies, Inc. (AGT), an EIGS member company, was recently selected as one of the elite sixty-seven Mississippi companies who made the final cut for the first-ever Best Places to Work recognition program. At the Mississippi Business and Technology EXPO 2006 kick-off breakfast on January 18, three companies in each of the four size categories were recognized as attaining the pinnacle of workplace success.

“We were awed by the response to the inaugural year for Best Places to Work in Mississippi,” said Robbie L. Bell, vice president of business development for the Mississippi Business Journal and director of the EXPO. “The quality of the participating companies is the most notable observation I can offer. In fact, there was a ‘wow!’ factor to the list of participants, and even more so to the list of finalists and winners.” MDA executive director Leland Speed delivered a rousing message, telling business leaders about opportunities on the horizon for Mississippi post-Katrina, and eyes-wide-open entertainment was provided by The Vernon Brothers, acclaimed throughout the Southeast for their special brand of bluegrass.

Southern Research Group, a program partner, analyzed the data from online surveys completed by employees of each nominated company. Winners and finalists were selected from the participation levels and scores tallied from the employee surveys. “The Best Places to Work idea is national in scale,” explained MBJ publisher Joe Jones. “We’ve admired the program for several years and decided to bring it to Mississippi this year.”

“As AGT continues to grow, we are impressed by the drive and determination of our employees. Their commitment to our success makes it possible for AGT to be listed in this elite group of companies and we appreciate their support of this nomination. We value their dedication and congratulate every member of the AGT team on this achievement,” said Allen Hines, president of AGT.
“This is another feather in the cap of the AGT team. This award speaks volumes about AGT’s leadership and dedication to their employees,” said Lisa Stone, Acting Director of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions.

AGT is the premier, tribally-owned provider of aerospace and defense services. AGT is owned by Chahta Enterprise, one of the largest tribally-owned manufacturing firms in the United States, and is backed by the strength and leadership of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI). AGT has been certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as a Tribally-owned 8(a), HUBZone, and Small Disadvantaged Business. AGT is also ISO 9001:2000 certified. Please visit www.appliedgeotech.com or contact cmckay@appliedgeotech.com to learn more about AGT.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is a federally recognized American Indian tribe of 9,500 enrolled members. Today, the Tribe is the third largest private employer in the State of Mississippi with existing manufacturing facilities in six separate industrial parks in the United States and Mexico, and businesses that range from manufacturing to high technology.

Conference Report:
2006 Governor's Homeland Security Conference

The 2006 Governor’s Homeland Security Conference was held March 13-15, 2006, at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, MS. The purpose of the conference was to continue providing cutting-edge education and information to the first responder community to assist in the successful completion of their missions. Marty Inman, Assistant Director of Commercial Operation for EIGS exhibited at the conference. Joining him at the booth were Skip Wright and Robert Galiano of Air-O-Space, International, an EIGS member company.

The conference featured two keynote speakers: Lt. General Russel Honore, Joint Task Force Katrina Commander and Assistant Undersecretary Tracey Henke, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The conference was very well attended by members of the first responder community including sheriffs, police chiefs, fire chiefs, EMTs, EMAs, and MEMA and FEMA personnel.

The EIGS booth was a hub of excitement with Air-O-Space’s 72-inch UAV as part of the exhibit. Skip Wright of Air-O-Space was featured in an interview for local television station WLOV Fox 27 out of Tupelo, MS. EIGS was also able to make a number of solid contacts with state and local agencies interested in the cluster companies and their capabilities.

Global Perspectives

Researchers use GIS, GPS to find French battlefield site

Source: http://tennessean.com 
Researchers have discovered a site in France, they believe to be the battlefield where U.S. soldier Alvin C. York and a few other soldiers captured an entire company of German soldiers during World War I. Thomas Nolan, director of the R.O. Fullerton Laboratory for spatial Technology at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), U.S. led the research team, which located the battlefield site using GIS, GPS, and historic maps.

Antarctica losing ice to oceans

By Richard Black, Environment Correspondent, BBC News
A new space-based study of Antarctica shows its ice sheet is shrinking. Researchers used satellites to plot changes in the Earth's gravity in the Antarctic during the period 2002-2005. Writing in the journal Science, they conclude that the continent is losing 152 cubic km of ice each year, with most loss in the west. In recent years scientists have found other evidence that West Antarctic ice is melting, which could contribute to sea level rise.

European Union Satellite Center Expects Access to Helios-2 Imagery

Source: Space News
The European Union Satellite Center in Torrejon, Spain, anticipates that it will be allowed access to imagery from France’s high-resolution Helios-2 optical satellite by 2006 and at “favorable rates”. It is expected that, as was the case in the 1990s with Helios-1, the center will be granted conditional access to the imagery with an annual quantity limit. For the Helios-1 images the center was charged approximately $40,000 per image however the center’s director, Frank Asbeck, stated that the new purchase terms are more advantageous but declined to specify the terms.

Eurostar To Launch Arabic Digital Satellite Receiver

Source: Satellite Today
Eurostar is launching what it claims is the world's first Arabic digital satellite receiver along with the Eurostar Home Media Center PC (HMC-3000), the company announced March 6. The HMC-3000 offers users a range of functions, including the capability to receive standard-definition and high-definition programming.

Researchers convinced satellites are helpful in tracking epidemics

Source: ESA
The amount of data acquired by satellites is increasing at an exponential rate, and researchers are learning about the value of this data in fighting epidemic outbreaks as a result of the ESA's Epidemio project.

"I was negative about the role satellites could play in addressing epidemics, but now I am positive," Penelope Vernatsou of the Swiss Tropical Institute in Switzerland said. The ESA-funded Epidemio project was developed in January 2004 to illustrate the benefits of remote-sensing data for studying, monitoring and predicting epidemic outbreaks. By using data which focuses on a region's landscape - rainfall, vegetation, water bodies, elevation, dust mapping and temperature - researchers are able to pinpoint climatic conditions which are favorable for harboring various epidemic hosts, indicating where people are at greatest risk.

Venezuela kicks off space effort

By Greg Morsbach, BBC News, Venezuela
Venezuelan scientists are going to China to begin work on Venezuela's first satellite - the first step on the way to a national space program. President Hugo Chavez has earmarked around $0.5bn (£287m) to get the space agency off the ground in 2007. The 30 scientists will be joined by another 60 next year to build the satellite along with China. Venezuela's government hopes to use it to broadcast many of its own radio and TV programs throughout Latin America.

World Water Day: space tool aids fight for clean drinking water

According to the UN, safe drinking water remains inaccessible for about 1.1 billion people in the world. To address this global dilemma, the UN Millennium Development pledged at the World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002 to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015. Meeting this goal will demand reliable, current data and information about how much water is stored in large lakes, rivers and reservoirs around the world - which radar altimetry can provide.

Congratulations to Digital Media on Recent Feature in Spinoff, NASA’s Annual Premiere Publication

For more than 40 years, NASA has been facilitating the transfer of NASA technology to the private sectors. Digital Media, Inc. has now made a name for themselves by successfully commercializing technology to help fishermen pinpoint specific locations for game fish. In fact, they have been so successful that they have been featured in NASA’s annual premiere publication, Spinoff, which showcases successfully commercialized technology. Since 1976, Spinoff has featured between 40 and 50 of these commercial products annually.
To read the article in its entirety, visit http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2005/ch_8.html

EIGS Partner News

UM Geoinformatics Center Engineers Train Global Representatives to Use Technology in Disaster Preparation

21 countries to be represented at World Vision session in Brazil

by Edwin Smith
OXFORD, Miss. - A University of Mississippi team of geological engineers continues to train World Vision International staff from around the globe in the use of high-tech equipment to prepare for natural disasters.

Greg Easson, associate professor of geology and geological engineering, develops and tests field-mapping solutions to support disaster preparedness and mitigation in developing countries. Easson and two graduate students recently demonstrated the technology to World Vision workers in El Salvador, helping map the country's populations and regions.

The team has been invited to conduct a two-day session next week at the World Vision Humanitarian Emergency Affairs Regional Forum in Recife, Brazil. Approximately 25 workers from 21 countries are expected to attend the April 3-7 session.

James Jones, Emergency Programs officer for World Vision/LACRO, expressed enthusiastic support for the UM team's participation.

"This is great news," Jones said, noting the meeting brings together for the first time World Vision HEA national directors from all 14 countries in the region. "This is a unique opportunity to present the LumiMap project to an entire regional team and get everybody on the same GPS point. Truly, this is a rare occurrence and an excellent chance to look at this GIS system and its practical applications in disaster response for this side of the hemisphere."

Three weeks ago, the UM team spent a week in El Salvador assisting World Vision with plans to develop a Geographic Information System database of the entire country. The LumiMap/UM project is a joint venture between UM and World Vision International. The project called for gathering information in El Salvador, including GIS data, and funneling it through an Internet mapping site at UM, then making it available to World Vision for use in
creating maps illustrating present conditions as well as possible scenarios following a disaster.

"Using the LumiMap/UM technology, we were successful in collecting data and making it available on the server within 12 hours," Easson said. "On this trip we'll only have Tuesday and Wednesday for training, which means not as much time for fieldwork."

At the upcoming forum, Easson is to be accompanied once again by geological engineering graduate research assistants Justin Janaskie of Hot Springs, Ark., and Jasmine Karlowski of Clearwater, Fla. Both students found their trip to Central America to be an eye-opening experience.

"There's very diverse housing and qualities of living in San Salvador," Janaskie said. "We stayed in a very nice hotel down the street from the American Embassy. In the neighboring area there are well-constructed roads, shopping malls and car dealerships."

Out in rural areas, however, the team saw a starkly different picture. "There were families living in tin huts with dirt floors," Karlowski said. "What I was amazed by most was their hospitality and generosity. They all treated us with the utmost kindness, offering us what they obviously could have used themselves."

Easson said the team is anticipating a return visit to El Salvador in June during the "wet" season.

"Tropical storms and rains are expected to cause floods and such around that time, so we'll have ample opportunity to see exactly how effective this technology really is during a natural disaster," he said.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling causes of poverty. The agency serves the poor regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

For more information, contact Easson at 662-915-5995 or geasson@olemiss.edu. To learn more about the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering at UM, visit www.geo.olemiss.edu.

EIGS In the News

SBA names Harvey Small Business Person of the Year

HANCOCK COUNTY — Craig Harvey, chief information officer and executive vice president of NVision Solutions Inc., has been named the 2006 Mississippi Small Business Person of the Year. He is the chief information officer and executive vice president of NVision Solutions Inc., a member of Mississippi's Geospatial Technology Industry Cluster at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center. Read more at http://www.msbusiness.com/article.cfm?ID=2804

Mississippi Business Journal
March 7, 2006

Digital Quest and IAEGS partner to develop and distribute on-line GIS/RS courses

Jackson, MS – Digital Quest, Inc. and the Institute for Advanced Education in Geospatial Sciences (IAEGS) announce that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development, marketing and distribution of online GIS and Remote Sensing courses. This strategic partnership will result in a wider distribution of already existing courses as well as the creation of new courses to better address needs in academia, industry, and government. Read more at http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/8512/

GISuser.com
March 28, 2006

Cell booster helps after hurricanes

The next time South Florida faces a communications crisis after a disaster like Hurricane Wilma, at least one local company hopes to have better prepared clients. CellAntenna Corp. in Coral Springs has been working on solutions that boost cell phone reception so they can connect with cell towers 20 or 30 miles away in the event of a disaster…"In any situation, you can set this up in a building and, within minutes, have full cell phone communications," he added. CellAntenna lent one of those systems to NVision Solutions, of Bay St. Louis, Miss., days after Hurricane Katrina struck, said Craig Harvey, CIO of the mapping company. The hard lines were down in Mississippi and the flooding forced NVision and Hancock County's emergency operations center, which the company works closely with, to move to a school building. However, the old structure had horrible cell service inside, Harvey said. CellAntenna's repeater system provided cell service for his company and the emergency operations center for four weeks, he said. "It had a significant impact on our ability to communicate and function," Harvey said. Read more at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11920605/

MSNBC
March 19, 2006

WorldWinds has good business from bad weather

A Stennis Space Center-based company is doing very good business from very bad weather. WorldWinds, Inc. provides accurate, high-resolution weather forecasts customized for specific applications, including storm surge models and time series plots. Elizabeth Valenti, WorldWinds owner and CEO, said that even before Hurricane Katrina changed the shape of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the company’s business was picking up.

The Stennis News, March 21, 2006

Engineers Putting Geospatial Technologies to Work

In today’s brave new world of technology, engineers are using geospatial technology in exciting ways that have practical applications. Michael Baker Engineering, an EIGS member, uses this technology, and Larry Cowart is project manager for geospatial technologies of the 60-year-old Jackson firm. He said geospatial technologies are used to provide mapping data and is incorporated into various software for people to use. Michael Baker Engineering partnered with FEMA to help the disaster agency capture data and post it to its Web site regarding updates of flood maps.

Mississippi Business Journal, March 6-12, 2006

To sign up to receive The Sensor, visit www.eigs.olemiss.edu
To unsubscribe please send an email to eigs-out@pfidc.com with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line and your email address in the body.