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EPSCoR |
The University of Maine's EPSCoR Initiative to Enhance Maine's High-Technology
IndustriesIntelligent Spatial Technologies Module
Intelligent
spatial technologies research is providing spatial information in ways that meet
user choices of concepts, language, and style of interaction.
UMaine is forming an Intelligent Spatial Technologies Institute which will
provide a focal point for research and advanced education in intelligent spatial
technologies.
The Institute will bring together multidisciplinary experts who collaborate to
solve core scientific, engineering, and legal problems involving intelligent
spatial information systems.
Recruitment Activity
A critical component of an EPSCoR infrastructure-building initiative is
building the research team.
The intelligent spatial technologies project has recruited three new faculty.
- Dr. Michael Worboys, Professor of Spatial Reasoning
- Dr. Anthony Stefanidis, Assistant Professor of Digital Image Analysis
- Dr. Silvia Nittel, Spatial Database Systems.
Training and Development Activity
- Several new or revised degree programs have been put in place at UMaine
with intelligent spatial technologies faculty as leaders:
- A cross-disciplinary masters of science in information systems program
involving graduate courses from Spatial Information Science and Engineering,
Computer Science, and the Maine Business School.
- A graduate certificate in Information Systems for students who do not
want to pursue a full-load graduate degree.
- A graduate certificate in GIS.
- Pending — a proposed bachelor of science program in
Information Systems Engineering.
- Enrollment in graduate programs in spatial information
science and engineering is up to 50, with 20 Ph.D. students.
Outreach Activity
- UMaine intelligent spatial technologies faculty have co-organized a new
international conference named GIScience (http://www.giscience.org).
UMaine's Dr. Egenhofer served as co-chair of the first conference in 2000,
which had 300 attendees.
Dr. Egenhofer co-chairs the second GIScience conference scheduled for
September 2002.
- Other recent and planned outreach activities include:
- Image-Based Geospatial Databases research workshop, Munich, Fall 2001,
co-organized by Peggy Agouris and Anthony Stefanidis.
This workshop was held in conjunction with the DEXA conference.
- GIS Day, November 2001, a high school student and teacher event
organized by Kate Beard and Constance Holden.
- Visions of our Planet's Atmosphere, Land and Oceans, June 5, 2002, a
middle and high school student event organized by Karen Kidder and Harlan
Onsrud.
- Action-Oriented Approaches in Geographic Information Science research
workshop, November 2002, organized by Mike Worboys and Kathleen Hornsby.
Other Accomplishments
- Three new faculty members have been hired.
- Collaborations have been initiated with The Jackson Laboratory, the
Brazilian Institute for Space Research, Virginia Commonwealth University,
University of California Santa Barbara, SUNY Buffalo, and Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology.
- Significant research and educational opportunities are being provided for
students at various levels.
- Investments are being made in the development of new GIS-based computer
software products and systems, technology transfer to existing Maine
companies, and the recruitment of GIS companies to Maine.
- Investment are being made in new technologies:
- Advanced field surveying technologies.
- Global positioning systems.
- Digital photography.
- Remote sensing technologies.
- Easy-to-use spatial data management tools for use by all levels of Maine
government, Maine's surveying companies, and the military.
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