September 2007

GUEST CORNER: The Northern Gulf Institute

September 2007

by Glade Woods, Co-director of the Northern Gulf Institute, Stennis Space Center, MS
 

Glade Woods Co-director Northern Gulf Institute

The Gulf of Mexico, the ninth largest water body in the world, accounts for half the wetlands in the United States and is teeming with sea life, ranging from killer whales to unexplored deepwater corals living thousands of feet below the surface. With some 3,400 miles of shoreline from Cape Sable, Florida, to the tip of the Yucatan peninsula, the Gulf is bordered by Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas to the north, Mexico to the west, and the island of Cuba to the southeast.

Given the vastness of the Gulf of Mexico, it is no surprise that the Northern Gulf of Mexico offers significant social and economic resources. That combined with a burgeoning coastal population and the continuing threats of onshore storms and inland flooding, attention is required to help decision makers and management agencies better understand the linkages between ecosystems and human societies in order to reduce the vulnerability and enhance resiliency of these linked systems. To this end, the Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) was established in October 2006. As the newest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute established, NGI will address the need for ecosystem level approaches to research and management of our oceans in response to the ocean health recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Commission. NGI’s mission specifically includes support for important national and regional initiatives, including the President's Ocean Action Plan, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, and the Gulf Coastal Ocean Observing System.

The NGI, a consortium of universities led by Mississippi State University, includes partnerships with the University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana State University, Florida State University, and Dauphin Island Sea Lab. With core program activities based at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center, NGI focuses on the geographic region as well as taking full advantage of collaborative opportunities.

The fundamental philosophy of the NGI is integration: integration of the land-coast-ocean-atmosphere continuum; integration of research to operations; and integration of individual academic institutional strengths into a holistic research and educational program specifically geared to the needs of Northern Gulf of Mexico users. Its mission is to design, develop, and maintain a Northern Gulf of Mexico research and transition program that fills priority gaps or reduces limitations in current awareness, understanding and decision support between upland-watershed systems and practices and coastal waters, coastal habitats, coastal ecosystems and coastal hazards in the region.

NGI works closely with partners who share Gulf of Mexico interests and concerns and conducts collaborative research with NOAA researchers and other NOAA partners under four scientific themes, focusing on the northern Gulf of Mexico including:

(1) Ecosystem Management - Characterize Northern Gulf of Mexico coastal wetland and fisheries habitats, including restoration strategies;

(2) Geospatial Data Integration and Visualization in Environmental Science - Develop significant results at the intersection of inland/watershed-coastal waters and resources, with a particular focus on the research, development, prototype testing and transition of scientifically-based geospatial observations, integration and improved access to data, and increased use of effective visualization technology;

(3) Climate Change and Climate Variability Effects on Regional Ecosystems - Contribute to Northern Gulf of Mexico climate assessment and impact models; and

(4) Coastal Hazards - Strengthen the integration of watershed, estuarine and coastal models in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

NGI research supports all five of NOAA’s Mission Goals including to: (1) Protect, restore, and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through an ecosystem approach to management; (2) Understand climate variability and change to enhance society's ability to plan and respond; (3) Serve society's needs for weather and water information; (4) Support the nation's commerce with information for safe, efficient, and environmentally sound transportation; and (5) Provide critical support for NOAA's mission.

NGI has specific research activities planned on a number of levels with the primary focus of these efforts in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, from the Sabine River on the west to the Suwannee River on the east. However, a Basin-Scale of interest for the NGI encompasses the entire Gulf of Mexico coastal and ocean region, and conceptually at least extends as far inland as the Mississippi River drainage basin, which impacts more than 30 states and 40% of the U.S. landmass. The Basin-Scale of NGI interest links its Northern Gulf of Mexico work and products to the broader bio-physical and institutional context of the entire Gulf of Mexico.

The cooperative institute builds upon the appropriate linkages of its members with the Gulf Coastal Ocean Observing System, large scale climate and weather processes (e.g., with NOAA's Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center), and to national and international level concerns with marine transportation, pelagic fisheries, energy development, and national defense.

Dr. David Shaw serves as the NGI Director and coordinates activities from the NGI Executive Office on the Starkville campus of Mississippi State University. For more information on the Northern Gulf Institute, please visit www.NorthernGulfInstitute.org.

FEATURED ARTICLE

DigitalGlobe Announces WorldView Launch Date

DigitalGlobe, the provider of the world's highest-resolution imagery and geospatial information products, recently announced delivery of its WorldView-1 satellite to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for its scheduled launch on Tuesday, September 18, 2007. WorldView-1 is the first of two new next-generation satellites DigitalGlobe plans to launch.

Upon launch on September 18, WorldView-1 will undergo a calibration and check out period and will deliver imagery soon after. First imagery from WorldView-1 is expected to be available prior to October 18, the sixth anniversary of the launch of QuickBird, DigitalGlobe's current satellite. WorldView-1 will have an average revisit time of 1.7 days and will be capable of collecting up to 750,000 square kilometers (290,000 square miles) per day of half-meter imagery. The satellite will also be equipped with state-of-the-art geo-location accuracy capabilities and will exhibit stunning agility with rapid targeting and efficient in-track stereo collection.

"This is a momentous milestone that brings us one step closer to the launch of our next-generation satellite system," said Jill Smith, CEO of DigitalGlobe. "The addition of WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 in the coming months will bring the total number of satellites DigitalGlobe has in orbit to three, completing a constellation of spacecraft that will offer the highest collection capacity, more than 1 million square kilometers per day."

> More information
 

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

An 850,000-square-foot rendering of a Purple Heart medal is shown in a New York park.

HAMPTONBURGH, N.Y. — An artist has mowed an 850,000-square-foot rendering of a Purple Heart medal into a park field to honor the 75th anniversary of the medal that commends service members killed or wounded in action.

source: foxnews.com
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 11, 2007

Why Some Entrepreneurs Would Love To -- Kiss an Angel Good Morning -- (or at least shake hands!)
Jackson, MS

SPEAKER: Dr. Randy Goldsmith, President and CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance

As the U.S. shifts to an innovation-driven economy, private equity capital becomes more essential to economic development strategies. The Mississippi Seed Fund is designed to provide funding for startup and early stage ventures and stimulate local capital formation.

Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to hear first-hand about the Mississippi Seed Fund for entrepreneurs!

TIME: 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

SITE: Dennery's Restuarant / Jackson

COST: $30 per person / lunch included / networking included / please register by Thursday, September 6

See registration form and make online payments at www.medc.ms or call 601-352-1909 or email carol@medc.ms

October 7-10, 2007
ESRI Health GIS Conference
Scottsdale, AZ

October 15-17, 2007
Rocket City Geospatial Conference
Huntsville, AL

November 5-7, 2007
2007 ESRI Homeland Security GIS Summit
Denver, CO

DID YOU KNOW?

Last month’s “Did you know” segment highlighted the fact that there are only 1,621 GISP-certified (geographic information systems professional) experts in the world. But, did you know that people with GIS certification average about $12,000 more in annual salary than non-GIS-trained people doing the same type of work? They earn incomes from $60,000 to more than $100,000.

Source: GIS Certification Institute in Chicago

RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT

URISA’s Salary Survey Results Published

Park Ridge, IL (August 1, 2007) More than 2,400 individuals participated in the latest URISA Salary Survey, a significant increase over the previous three surveys released in 1998, 2000 and 2003. The latest publication includes a much wider-range of detailed information. Additions include more job titles and questions pertaining to the increase/decrease of department size, professional certification, specific computer skills and soft skills, salary fluctuation, and zip/postal codes for better geocoding.

> Learn more


The publication (available on CD-ROM) is available for purchase on the URISA website. The 500+ page document includes comprehensive results and cross-tabulations according to job title, location, certification status and more. Raw data from the survey is included on the CD-ROM.

BREAKFAST WITH AN INNOVATOR

Craig Harvey of NVision Solutions Featured “Innovator” at
MTA Networking Series

In’nō·vā·tŏr, n. one who introduces novelties, or who makes changes by introducing something new. (From Webster’s Dictionary)

Innovation is the name of the game these days. It’s how you compete; it’s how you grow; it’s how you succeed. All around us businesses, government agencies, and universities are cultivating ecosystems of innovation by infusing it into their thinking, products, processes, and people. But how do we identify innovation? How do we recognize innovators?

Identifying the innovators in your midst is a little bit easier if you have an organization in your state dedicated to driving innovation and technology-based economic development in order to help entrepreneurs, manufacturers, communities, and investors. Luckily, Mississippi has just such an organization in the Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA).

In order to highlight the culture of innovation in Mississippi, MTA sponsors a networking series called, “Breakfast with an Innovator” around the state. Most recently, “Breakfast with an Innovator” was held on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and featured Craig Harvey, chief information officer & executive vice president of NVision Solutions, Inc., a member of Mississippi’s geospatial technology industry cluster.

Started in 2002, NVision Solutions is located at the NASA Stennis Space Center and the Stennis Technology Park in Hancock County. Since its founding, NVision has quintupled in size and garnered numerous industry awards including the 2006 Tibbetts Award for Excellence in federal research, Technology Innovator of the Year awards for both Mississippi and Louisiana, and a number of industry-leading ESRI awards including Business Partner of the Year and Special Achievement in GIS.

Harvey has been one of the key factors driving the success of NVision. After serving six years in the United States Marine Corp, he began 15 years of public service at the USGS/Water Resources Division in Iowa and Mississippi. In 1998, Harvey left public service to help found PixSell, Inc., and in 2002 helped found NVision Solutions. Harvey consistently and strategically situates the NVision Solutions team so that they can play a critical and leading role in the deployment of geospatial technology. He has been recognized nationally for his leadership of Mississippi’s Geospatial Industry Cluster and most recently he was selected as the SBA Small Business Person of the Year for Mississippi.

During his “Breakfast with an Innovator” presentation, Harvey discussed some of the steps NVision takes to stay competitive without stifling the innovation process. He emphasized the importance of attracting and retaining good employees. When asked about specific personnel practices at NVision, Harvey explained, “Our benefits package is our foundation. We offer fully paid insurance and vacation and sick days, both of which are available from day one. Our employees are also vested in a 401K from day one. We have a well-defined, proven bonus/profit sharing program, a family-like work environment, flexible scheduling, career development plans, and an open management program where anyone can go straight to the top.”

Harvey also discussed his experience and best innovations in the highly dynamic field of geospatial technology and specifically outlined some of the factors involved in innovating such as:

• Problem – Need to address some issue

• Motivation – Reason to address some issue

• Action – Willingness to DO something

• Determination – When others tell you no

• Perseverance – When its HARD

• Reward – What is the payoff? Fame, Fortune, Respect, Self Content

“Craig and his company are an outstanding example of why innovation is alive and well in Mississippi,” said Heath Hall, Vice President for External Affairs and Marketing for MTA. “As we see in Craig, it starts with an idea and a drive to succeed, then by tapping into the resources Mississippi has to offer, the potential is unlimited.”
 

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

High-speed supernet's growth 'slow'
New Zealand Herald - New Zealand

Robert Gibb, a geospatial informatics expert at environmental research organisation Landcare Research, said KAREN had the potential to revolutionise how...
 

Farmers to receive agricultural forecast
India PRwire (Press Release) - India

The minister said the two ministries under him - related to science and technology and earth sciences - seek to contribute in realising the challenging goal.

Israel accused of blocking commercial satellite imagery deal with Venezuela
Florida SPACErePORT

Israel's Ministry of Defense and some of the country's leading industry executives repeatedly squashed Venezuelan bids to buy high-resolution commercial satellite imagery, twice by sabotaging potential procurement deals and more recently by ignoring a personal offer…

NASA to assess how tropical storms influence global warming
NewKerala.com - Ernakulam,Kerala,India

Professor Toon, who heads the university's atmospheric and oceanic sciences department, said the project would involve about 400 scientists, students and...
 

EIGS IN THE NEWS

Digital Quest and SkillsUSA Announce 2007 Geospatial
Technology Champion
GISuser.com

Ridgeland, MS -- Digital Quest, Inc. and SkillsUSA are pleased to announce the gold medalist in the Postsecondary Geospatial Technology Challenge at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference and Competition that was held in Kansas City, Missouri.

> More information
 

Forest One Merges with The Westervelt Company,
Changing Name to Lanworth
Mississippi Business Journal - August 14, 2007

Jackson, MS -- Forest One, Inc., a leading provider of land and real estate business intelligence services, has merged with Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based The Westervelt Company.

> More information


NVision Unveils New Homeland Security Tool for
Counter-Terrorism Exercise
GeoCommunity

Kent, WA –- NVision Solutions Inc., The Boeing Company, and NAVTEQ recently demonstrated a prototype emergency management “common operating picture” at the 2007 Pacific Northwest Asymmetric Warfare Initiative.

> More information

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Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions - 100 Barr Hall - University, MS 38677