What
is Geographic Information Science? Over the last half century, and accelerating
in recent years, a suite of technologies has emerged that
substantially improves our understanding of the planet we
inhabit. Starting from a theoretical framework developed in
the 1950’s and developed into computerized systems in
the ensuing decades, these technologies – geographic
information systems, remote sensing, and global positioning
systems – have greatly improved our ability to collect,
store, manage, analyze and use information. Coupled with a
rapidly increasing storehouse of earth imagery provided by
the space program and its offshoots, and with information
communication concepts developed in the venerable field of
cartography, we now have powerful tools that perhaps give
us a chance to save our all-too-small home. These technologies
”penetrate every aspect of our lives from digital maps
in rental and delivery vehicles to the management and maintenance
of city infrastructure, regional agriculture and forest lands”
(University Consortium for Geographic Information Science,
2001). The term Geographic Information Science is now used
to describe the breadth of this rapidly growing field.
What is the Institute for Geographic
Information Science? The Institute for Geographic Information
Science (IGISc), formerly the Multidisciplinary GIS Center,
was established in January 1988 as a center for geospatial
research at San Francisco State University. From it's offices
within the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, the
Institute continues to focus on applying state-of-the-art
information technology to pressing interdisciplinary data,
information, and research. The IGISc works at the intersection
of the social, natural, and information sciences, and specializes
in on-line data and information management, spatial data integration
and training, and interdisciplinary research.
Central to the interdisciplinary nature
of this center is providing access to spatial technologies
accompanied with knowledge, theory, and “hands-on”
experience in order to promote a diversity of geographic and
environmental research. The purpose of the IGISc is to encourage
and foster interdisciplinary cooperation among individuals
and the community in the application of these methods in applied
research. Furthermore, the IGISc is devoted to increasing
campus and community literacy in spatial methods and technologies,
as well as enhancing the educational environment through the
cultivation of research. In order to advance this purpose,
the IGISc shall be engaged in innovations in geographic information
science, research support services, and comprehensive instruction
and training. Feel free to contact us if you are interested
in geospatial technology.
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For more information, contact
the Institute for Geographic Information Science: