URISA
URISA Digest
May 21, 2013
Current Issue of THE GIS PROFESSIONAL

Big Data, GIS Ethics and more! 

Bits of Interest:

US Open Data Project

Many announcements reported from the Google I/O Conference including:
New Google Maps
Keynote 5 Cool Things

Largest Atlas in the World Created using ArcGIS

Magic Highways of the Future (@HilaryPerkins)

Geography of Hate Map Attracts International Attention

And an addictive geography game which has been all over social media:
GeoGuessr - test your skills!

More Events of Note: 

 

From GISuser: Free webinar on May 29 (1 PM EDT): Rebuilding After Sandy: Surveying the Aftermath      

 

Esri International User Conference 
July 8-12, 2013
San Diego, California
Visit URISA (booth 519), GISCI (booth 517) and GISCorps in the Map Gallery!  

 

Special one-day program at the PRIA Conference in Minneapolis (August 30) to discuss the URISA/PRIA GIS & Land Records Integration Initiative. 

 

GIS in Transit Conference
October 16-17, 2013
Washington, DC
The conference committee is reviewing abstract submissions and the program will be available next month for your review. Registration and sponsor packages are already available.

 

 
Take some time to visit our online calendar for dates and links to many more events.  
Did you know...2013 is GISCorps' TENTH Anniversary! A celebration will take place during GIS-Pro 2013!
giscorps
Click here for the latest GISCorps newsletter and information about the amazing projects in process! 
   

Are you a certified GIS Professional yet? Learn more. 
 
 Contributions to URISA - a 501(c) (3) organization - are tax deductible in the U.S. All contributions will be used to further the mission of URISA through the delivery of existing programs and the development of new programs.   
Join URISA as a 2013 Corporate or Business Partner  
Partnership details are posted online, along with a directory of current URISA partners.  

A special welcome to Somers St.Claire GIS Management Consultants as a new Business Partner!  

Meet The Candidates

URISA members have a direct impact on choosing the next leaders of the association. In this year's election, URISA members are presented with two candidates for President-Elect and five candidates for Director.

FOR PRESIDENT-
  • Carl Anderson, GISP - Spatial Focus, Inc., Sarasota, Florida
  • Geney Terry, GISP - Geospatial Information Solutions, LLC, Placerville, California
FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS-(to fill 3 positions)
  • Jochen Albrecht - Hunter College of The City University of New York
  • Phil Davis - GeoTech Center at Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Texas
  • Amy Esnard, GISP - City of Portland, Oregon
  • Ashley Hitt, GISP - Connected Nation, Louisville, Kentucky
  • Kevin Sato, GISP - City of Cottonwood Heights, Utah

Learn more about the candidates and thoughtfully consider their qualifications and ideas for continuing to move URISA forward here.    

 

Ballots will be distributed to active URISA members next month. 
Vanguard Cabinet Focuses on Increasing Student Engagement

URISA's Vanguard Cabinet is pleased to announce that an Outreach Committee has been established to focus on student engagement within GIS and other geospatial fields. This committee is responsible for outreach to college and university students and for developing programs and events to support students in their academic work and their transition into young professionals.
 

For more information, click here.   
Register for GIS in Public Health Today

2013 GIS in Public Health Conference 

June 17-20, 2013
Miami, Florida

 
 

The conference is honored to welcome Dr. Estella Geraghty, MD, MS, MPH, FACP, GISP, Assistant Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine, University of California Davis as the opening keynote speaker. She will address Big Data and Public Health in her remarks.  


Dr. Andrew Curtis, Director of the GIS Health and Hazards Lab at Kent State University will provide the closing keynote address on Thursday, June 20, discussing the important topic of  "Health, Disasters and Crime: Working geospatially at the "scale" of intervention". This presentation will focus on two topical areas linked by a field-based spatial technologies and analytical perspective: 1) the disasters and health nexus and 2) gun-related violence in "typical" US cities.

Three preconference workshops (limited in size) will be presented and dozens of speakers from across the globe will discuss topics ranging from health care access and technology applications to environmental and chronic disease mapping and modeling.

 

 

Take some time to review the educational program details and register today.  Discounted hotel room rates (only $109 including in-room Internet access) at the Hyatt Regency Miami are available through May 27.    

 

There are still opportunities to participate in the Poster Session. If interested, please contact Pat Francis right away. 

 

Sponsorship Opportunities   
NDGPS Input Requested  

URISA has been notified that the U.S. government is seeking public input on the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) under announcements by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation.  This is an important issue that needs to be addressed by URISA and its members.

Comments are requested by July 15. For more information, click here.   
Respond by May 31 - URISA Invites Comments on its GIS Capability Maturity Model

URISA invites experienced GIS professionals of all kinds - particularly those with management experience - to review and comment on a draft GIS Capability Maturity Model (GCMM). Links to the draft GCMM and an online questionnaire for reviewers are available at http://www.urisa.org/GMI_GCMM_PublicReview. The questionnaire will remain open through May 31, 2013. After the public review period, URISA's GIS Management Institute will review all comments received, make appropriate changes, and publish a fully authorized peer-reviewed version of the model.
Register Early for GIS-Pro 2013

GIS-Pro 2013: URISA's 51st Annual Conference for GIS Professionals

September 16-19, 2013

Providence, Rhode Island


Conference details have been posted and registration is officially open - early registration discounts through July 22...start making your plans.

Marketing & Communications - Call for Volunteers 

Have an interest in volunteering your marketing and communications expertise to support URISA's initiatives? We'd love your participation!

We have several subcommittees that are currently forming:
  • Messaging/Branding
  • Corporate Marketing - encourages business involvement with URISA
  • Student Outreach
  • Chapter Outreach/Marketing
  • Media - including social media

If you are interested in getting involved, please email Wendy Nelson at your earliest convenience and indicate a specific area of interest. The M&C Division communicates electronically and will host a monthly hour-long (max) conference call, utilizing an 800 number.

 
Awards, Competitions & Deadlines


Student Competition (Papers & Posters)  - Submissions due June 3  

 

2013 Locating the Future Conference
GIS & 9-1-1... Location is more than an address.  (November in St Louis) - Presentation proposals due July 1   

 
Thoughts and Prayers with Oklahoma 

Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted this week by the horrific tornadoes which ravaged Oklahoma.
Note that, at this time, URISA's GISCorps has not been contacted to support relief efforts, but when the request arrives, volunteers are ready, willing and able to assist.

Wendy Nelson

(847) 824-6300 

Executive Director, URISA  

    

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