Geographic information systems expert to speak Feb. 28 at Lab
Talk will focus on how GIS can be used in homeland security efforts

The head of a company internationally recognized for its geographic information systems is scheduled to speak at Los Alamos Feb. 28 on how GIS can be used in the nation’s homeland security efforts.

Jack Dangermond is founder and president of Environmental Systems Research Institute in Redlands, Calif. His talk begins at 3 p.m. in the Cochiti and Jemez rooms on the second floor of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center at Technical Area 3. In conjunction with the talk, there will be a GIS poster gallery from Feb. 25 to March 1 also in the Study Center.

The talk and poster session is open to all Laboratory workers.

“This is a golden opportunity to learn about the importance of GIS science and technology for the Laboratory,” said Paul Rich of Environmental Dynamics and Spatial Analysis (EES-10) and GISLab team leader.

A GIS provides the means to organize, analyze and display information associated with specific geographic locations. GIS overlays different map layers depending on its purpose — finding the best location for a new store, analyzing environmental damage, planning emergency evacuation routes, viewing crime patterns, and so on.

The GIS software developed by ESRI is used by more than one million users and 100,000 organizations in more than 100 countries. The ESRI software has been adopted as the Laboratory standard for GIS.

ESRI provided mapping services for New York City’s recovery efforts following the Sept. 11, 2001, incidents and subsequently has become a key player in homeland security efforts across the nation.

Dangermond, who has been described by some as the GIS world’s equal to Bill Gates, sees GIS evolving into a kind of "nervous system" for the planet; one that is dynamic and changing. “We will require a global GIS community, one that is based on sharing. How you might ask? Picture this: thousands of connected systems. An integrated system that requires standards, standardized data, a policy framework, leadership and enabling technology for easy deployment.”

Dangermond is recognized in both academia and industry as a leader of and an authority on the GIS field. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; a master’s degree in urban planning from the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota; a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University; and two honorary doctoral degrees.

Dangermond also has served on advisory committees to NASA, the National Science Foundation, National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dangermond is the recipient of numerous medals, awards,lecture ships, and honorary degrees, including the Horwood Award of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, the Anderson Medalof the Association of American Geographers and the John Wesley Powell Award of the U.S. Geological Survey.

For more information, contact Paul Rich at 7-1850 or write to pmr@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

--Steve Sandoval

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