May 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

Over the last several years, one of the primary focus areas for EIGS has been outreach and awareness – that is, increasing the awareness about geospatial technology and reaching out to decision makers who can most benefit from the capabilities of Mississippi’s industry cluster. Much of our focus has been market oriented in order to identify and enhance business opportunities for our members.

Part of the EIGS strategy includes educating potential customers about the innovative and cost effective solutions geospatial technologies can provide at all levels of business and government. We are engaged in two-way communication with decision makers in order to better understand the everyday challenges they face and how geospatial technology can be used to address those challenges. This includes decision makers in a variety of private businesses as well as economic development organizations, and all level of government, but cities and counties in particular. And, of course, our ultimate goal is to ensure that these decision makers know that geospatial solutions are available from Mississippi companies!

EIGS serves as a first point-of-contact for customers looking for geospatial products – we are a resource and a referral service for people and organizations seeking geospatial solutions, products, and services. Whether we are attending a trade show, interacting face-to-face with potential new customers, or featuring an advertisement in business publications, we want to reach new markets for our members.

Our most recent effort in this regard is a collaboration with the Mississippi Business Journal (www.msbusiness.com) on an upcoming publication about the everyday uses of geospatial technology in a number of business areas including disaster preparedness, real estate, agriculture, utilities, natural resource management, recreation, transportation, and urban planning among others. This special, magazine-style publication will be featured in the Mississippi Business Journal’s May 22nd issue, Communications and Technology Quarterly. I encourage you to keep an eye out for it. If you would like a copy of the publication mailed to you, please send your name and mailing address to lstone@olemiss.edu. We are excited about this joint effort with the MBJ as we continue to seek new and innovative ways to promote Mississippi’s geospatial technology industry cluster.

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Much of Libya's water supply comes from underground aquifers, which supply the reservoirs shown in this satellite photograph (dark blue color, upper right and at the bottom). In this false-color image taken April 10, vegetation appears red, and the brighter the red, the more robust the vegetation. Image courtesy NASA.

DID YOU KNOW?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued regulations revising the agency’s requirements for the licensing, monitoring and compliance of operators of private Earth remote sensing space systems? These regulations implement the provisions of the Act, as amended by the 1998 Commercial Space Act, and the 2003 U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Policy. They are also derived from experience gained since August 2000 with respect to the licensing of commercial remote sensing space systems, and include improvements that take into account public comments received on the regulations. They are intended to facilitate the development of the U.S. commercial remote sensing industry and promote the collection and widespread availability of Earth remote sensing data, while preserving essential U.S. national security interests, foreign policy and international obligations.

-- Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 25, 2006 / Rules and Regulations

UPCOMING EVENTS

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

May 2-3, 2006
The Mississippi Gulf Coast 7th Annual Smart Growth-Coastal Development Strategies Conference
Biloxi, MS

May 16, 2006
ArcGIS Software Update
Jackson, MS

May 17-18, 2006
FREE Introduction to Geospatial Metadata Workshop
Lafayette, Louisiana

June 4-6, 2006
Southern Innovation Summit
New Orleans, LA

LEGISLATIVE CORNER

The 2006 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature adjourned on Friday, March 31st.
 

SEEN AND HEARD

Several EIGS companies were members of a Mississippi Trade Mission to Canada coordinated by the Mississippi Development Authority's Global Trade Division.

Pictured from left to right:
Tim Brogdon, Air-O-Space International; Clark Love, Forest One, Inc.; Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour; Socorro Harvey, NVision Solutions; Craig Harvey, NVision Solutions; Gray Swoope, MS Development Authority

Mississippi Development Authority’s Trade Mission Continues Strong Relationship with Canada

Vickie Watters of MDA's Global Trade Division introduces Governor Barbour to Tim Brogdon, vice president of Business Development at Air-O-Space, and representatives from the Toronto U.S. Commerical Service during the I.E. Canada Annual Spring Conference.

On April 11, 2006, the Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA) Global Trade Division and Governor Haley Barbour sponsored a trade mission to Canada. Held in Toronto, Ontario, the trip was an opportunity for Mississippi companies to explore investment and trade opportunities with Canadian businesses as well as for MDA to participate in the I.E. Canada (Canadian Association of Exporters and Importers) Annual Spring Conference and Trade Show.

Governor Barbour served as the keynote speaker at the conference luncheon. In his address, the governor highlighted each Mississippi company that participated in the trade mission and reiterated that Mississippi is open for business by updating the group with the latest recovery news. He also discussed the ongoing trade relationship between Mississippi and Canada. Canada is Mississippi’s number one trading partner and has been since data has been recorded.

When asked what Canada can do to help Mississippi with the recovery, Governor Barbour encouraged Canadian businesses to invest in Mississippi and “live and do well while doing good.”

“I was energized by the message the Governor shared. . . and as a testament to the value of the mission, NVision plans a follow up visit later this year” stated NVision CIO, Craig Harvey.

EIGS companies participating in the trade mission included: NVision Solutions, Inc., Stennis Space Center; Forest One, Inc., Jackson; and Air-O-Space, Picayune.

Company Spotlight:
GDM International Services

GDM International Services (GDMIS), also known as GDM or GeoDigital Mapping, a member of EIGS, is a minority-woman owned small business incorporated in 1991. GDMIS provides geospatial database development and analysis as a prime contractor and subcontractor for both large and small Federal Government and State contracts. GDMIS has experience developing all GIS layers for digital databases, including hydrography, parcels, hypsography, man-made structures, vegetative and non-vegetative surfaces, transportation and boundary layers. This experience was gained as a provider of contract support to the U.S. Geological Survey since 1991, and support of the State of Texas in the development of the State’s StratMap Program.

GDMIS focuses its efforts in several, often inter-related business areas including digital base map production, cartography, water resources planning & management, and GIS systems design, implementation and training. GDMIS operates in a multi-discipline work environment with staff primarily consisting of GIS professionals with backgrounds in Geography, Cartography, Geology, Hydrology, Oceanography, Information Technology and Biology. Several members of GDMIS staff have provided extended tours in the conduct of GIS training and education programs in foreign nations, including Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.

GDMIS provides highly specialized GIS applications and analyses services to numerous clients, including wetlands delineation and watershed assessment for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and carrying capacity analyses for land management activities, and assessment of point and nonpoint contamination in Santa Barbara California.

GDMIS is committed to delivering quality products using cost-competitive technical solutions that meet the challenges of complex digital mapping and GIS projects. Over the years, GDMIS has received numerous commendations from USGS for both quality and on-time delivery, including three “Outstanding Performance and High Quality” awards. Fueled by the on-time delivery of high quality mapping and GIS products, GDMIS has grown conservatively over the last 12 years into an experienced geospatial solutions company.

GDM International Services has a proven track record of quality products and services such as, GIS Modeling and Development, Data Collection and Processing, Resource Planning and Analysis and GIS Professional Services. For more information on GeoDigital Mapping and its parent company contact Glade Woods at egwoods@bellsouth.net or 601-749-4919 and by visiting www.gdmcorp.com

Conference Report:
Mississippi Association of Planning and Development Districts
2006 Annual Conference

The Mississippi Association of Planning and Development Districts held its 2006 Annual Conference on April 25-28 at the Grand Convention Center in Tunica, MS. EIGS was a Corporate Sponsor and an exhibitor at the event, with Marty Inman, EIGS Assistant Director for Commercial Operations attending.

The concurrent sessions dealt with the day to day services and operations of the Planning and Development Districts, but the overall theme provided unique perspectives of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. CNN Whitehouse correspondent Kathleen Koch was Wednesday’s luncheon speaker. She was stationed in Mobile, AL when Katrina made landfall. Shortly thereafter, she and her cameraman traveled to her hometown of Bay St. Louis. Kathleen shared with the audience this video of the turmoil and destruction of the Mississippi Coast.

There were 537 registered participants at the conference with over half visiting the EIGS booth at some point during the conference. Among the many visitors were Mayor Russ Espiritu of Puckett, MS; Colonel Don Taylor, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services; and Joel Yelverton, Assistant Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors. This conference proved to be a great venue for increasing awareness about the capabilities of the EIGS industry cluster particularly in the area of GIS for local governments.

Global Perspectives

Map Middle East 2006 Conference

AME Info - United Arab Emirates
The Map Middle East 2006 conference, which was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 26 March onwards concluded with a call to build educational infrastructure in geospatial technology and to integrate geospatial technology with other engineering streams.

Canada's MDA Will Study Three-Satellite Radar Constellation

Aviation Week & Space Technology, 03/20/2006
Edited by Frank Morring, Jr.
The Canadian Space Agency has awarded McDonald, Dettwiler Associates a C$7-million ($6.7-million) contract to carry out conceptual design and definition for a fleet of small satellites to complement the existing Radarsat C-band radar imaging family early in the next decade. The next Radarsat spacecraft, Radarsat-2, is set to be orbited in December from Baikonur. The planned fleet of three spacecraft, known as the Radarsat Constellation, is expected to furnish more timely and comprehensive data to track ice in shipping lanes in the Great Lakes and coastal waters, and to support Canada's contribution to international disaster relief efforts.

China Plans To Launch 18 Earth Observation Satellites

Source: Satellite Today
China will launch 18 observation satellites throughout the next ten years, made up of land resource, environmental, marine and meteorological spacecraft, the People's Daily Online reported. The Sino-Brazil Earth resource satellite 02B will be launched in 2007, and the development plan for the next pair of spacecraft in the series has been approved by China's State Council, according to the China Center for Resources Satellite Data & Application.

Canadian Forces to use commercial satellites

C4ISR Journal
The Canadian Armed Forces have embarked on a low-cost program to use commercial space assets to provide surveillance information to commanders in the field.
The Joint Space Support Project (JSSP) aims to harness the capabilities of soon-to-be-launched commercial imaging satellites, such as Canada's Radarsat-2, for missions at home and overseas. The capabilities to be delivered by the 33.7 million Canadian dollar ($27 million) JSSP include direct in-theater download of commercial satellite imagery via a ground receiver terminal. The imagery would be used in mission planning, tactical reconnaissance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment, according to Department of National Defense officials.

22nd Annual LARSGIS - Bound Together By History: Mississippi’s and Louisiana’s Remote Sensing and GIS Response to Katrina

The 22nd Annual Remote Sensing and GIS Workshop was held April 4-6, 2006, at the Cook Conference Center, on the Campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Chris Harvey, Assistant Director attended on behalf of EIGS. The RSGIS is an excellent venue for viewing demonstrations, exploring the latest research, visiting with vendors, and participating in open discussion forums. This year’s conference included a session entitled "Mississippi’s Geospatial Response to Hurricane Katrina," which was well attended. EIGS members Jay Arnold (3001 Inc) and Craig Harvey (NVision Solutions Inc.) along with EIGS partner Talbot Brooks (Center for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Technologies at Delta State University) provided attendees with information about how Mississippi responded to Hurricane Katrina and is rebuilding using geospatial technologies, data, and tools. Craig Harvey’s presentation entitled Operational GIS in Response to Catastrophic Events discussed NVision’s role in Hancock and Harrison County Post-Katrina.

NWCC and UM Collaborate on GPS Training Courses

Northwest Mississippi Community College and The University of Mississippi recently collaborated in offering two GPS training courses. Attendees included paramedics, community college instructors, fire coordinators, power companies, hospital personnel, city planners, emergency managers, and surveyors. The first five-hour class was held at the Geoinformatics Lab on the Oxford campus of The University of Mississippi. Course objectives included understanding GPS technology, coordinate systems and datums. Class participants collected geographic coordinates with hand-held GPS units and were taught to navigate to specific locations.

An additional five-hour class was offered at the same location with emphasis on transferring coordinates collected in the field to a personal computer and displaying the data in a variety of visualization tools. The class was instructed by Lance D. Yarbrough, EIT, visiting assistant professor, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, The University of Mississippi.

EIGS is pleased to congratulate:

EIGS In the News

Digital Quest Designates STARS Regional Geospatial Training Center...
DirectionsMag.com - Glencoe, IL  April 25, 2006

“Geospatial tech about location, location, location, too”
Special to the Mississippi Business Journal
By Clark Love and Lisa Stone  April 24-30, 2006

Geospatial Competition to Determine Best in the Nation
GISuser.com  April 21, 2006

Two Hancock County Residents Win Top SBA Award
WLOX - Biloxi, MS  April 11, 2006

“Geospatial technology, like real estate, is about location”
By Clark Love and Lisa Stone
Northeast Mississippi Business Journal, page 11  April 7, 2006

SBA Honors Small Business Award Winners During National Small Business Week 2006
Yahoo.com  April 7, 2006

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