No Boundaries
The GeoResource Institute at Mississippi State University (MSU) provides training ingeospatial technology, with the help of award-winning professor Dr. Scott Samson,
a renowned expert in his field. Last year, Samson was named one of the top five instructors for Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), a privately-held consulting firm specializing in land use analysis projects. Established in 1969, ESRI has evolved into world’s leading GIS research and development organization.
Most notably, Samson has used GIS products to assist local and state government agencies with the adoption and integration of GIS in the management of government databases and for disaster preparedness and he spoke recently at an international GIS conference about field support for disaster relief immediately following Hurricane Katrina.
Digital Quest, a Ridgeland-based private development and training-oriented company, and the Institute for Advanced Education in Geospatial Sciences (IAEGS) at The University of Mississippi also offer innovative GIS training opportunities
in the state.
“The Mississippi geospatial community is playing a direct leadership role in the advancement of geospatial technology throughout the U.S.,” noted Eddie Hanebuth, president of Digital Quest.
Growing the geospatial industry dovetails nicely with the state’s goal to grow more higher-paying, high technology jobs. According to the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, the average annual salary for geospatial jobs in Mississippi is $55,000. In the last decade, Mississippi’s geospatial industry has grown from a dozen to nearly 700 jobs. Geospatial revenues have jumped from $15.8 million in 2001 to $75 million in 2006. Last year, state income tax generated from the geospatial industry was $1.4 million; more than $50 million has been invested in Mississippi geospatial companies. Cash investment in Mississippi’s geospatial cluster activity from 1998 to 2006: $208 million.
The statewide economic impact of Mississippi’s geospatial industry cluster during the last eight years is staggering. Even though south Mississippi garners the lion’s share of activity — 19 companies have invested $113.8 million and created 354 jobs — other key areas of the state have also benefited. In the Mississippi Delta, five companies have invested $23.4 million and created 78 jobs. In north Mississippi, near MSU and Ole Miss, five companies have invested $18.5 million and created 48 jobs. In central Mississippi, four companies have invested $53 million and created 150 jobs.
What’s more, the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) reports the geospatial industry is growing at an annual rate of 9-14 percent, based on new technological advances supporting the application of remote sensing to a wider range of disciplines.
“I often equate the growth of the geospatial industry with the advent of micro computers in the early 1980s,” said IAEGS director Dr. Pamela Lawhead. “The need for computer scientists during that time was nearly boundless,” she said.
“A similar need is developing in this area.”
IAEGS was established in July 2001 as a collaborative course development center, with the goal to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers to assume the responsibilities necessary to expand knowledge of the earth from space.
“Initially, we weren’t trying to offer courses simply here at The University of Mississippi, but rather to the whole world from many different institutions,” explained Lawhead. “Since the courses are asynchronous, they can truly be taken any time, anywhere, by anyone wishing to become more familiar with the material in this area. The courses were designed to provide the student with both an introduction to GIT (geospatial information technology) and also to complete an in-depth study of the material in this area.”
IAEGS now offers 28 online courses in geospatial information technology with an emphasis in remote sensing. Courses created in the university’s online virtual portal include subjects ranging from advanced digital image processing to water resources applications. Class representation varies from traditional college students to water department workers in 28 states and 41 academic institutions.
“Our program is unique on many fronts,” explained Lawhead. “First, our delivery system is novel, created for the purpose of delivering those courses in a manner that seeks to provide an ‘equivalence of product’ when compared to ‘face-to-face’ instruction. Second, we’ve cloned the experts. We searched the United States and indeed all of North America, looking for experts in each area to create our courses. We selected our authors based on their level of expertise and their appreciation of the use of the Web in education. Third, we offer the ability for anybody to take the course without ever leaving their desk or interrupting their week by having to travel somewhere to take a course. Fourth, we have a memorandum of understanding with every major software provider so that students taking our courses can have the correct software either for free or for the cost of most standard textbooks. So we’ve removed all barriers to access to a very sophisticated level of knowledge of remote sensing and GIT for most people. Nowhere else in the world can one find the program that we have.”
Several major universities have adopted IAEGS courses, including Virginia Tech, Cornell University and Texas A&M. “Oddly enough, one of the groups most actively interested in offering our courses is the U.S. government itself,” Lawhead pointed out.
Digital Quest, which distributes IAEGS courseware, was established eight years ago as one of the first 12 members of the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative, now known as the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions.
Since then, Digital Quest has established the National SPACESTARS (spatial projects and community exchange/ spatial technology and remote sensing) Training Center in the Geospatial Center of Excellence at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center, where industry professionals and SPACESTARS instructors are trained.
“We’ve created a strategy for communities to expand into the geospatial industry through geospatial hub sites,” said Hanebuth. “These geospatial hub sites are high schools and colleges that implement a strategy to lead their communities into geospatial technology. We set them up with workshop materials, connections to the local geospatial community, direction and courseware.”
Digital Quest, which has 40 geospatial hub sites in 17 states across the U.S., and a satellite office in Lockhart, Texas, has created two main series of curriculum:
- SPACE (Spatial Projects and Community Exchange), one-semester courses that introduce geospatial technology to students through community-related projects involving homeland security, economic development and/or law enforcement.
- STARS (Spatial Technology and Remote Sensing), a series of courses targeted toward professional certification for entry-level GIS/RS (remote sensing) technicians.
“Both series of courses are equally successful with high school students, college students and professionals,” noted Hanebuth. “The STARS certification is designed to be the foundation of all geospatial jobs from agriculture to urban planning. Ninety percent of all geospatial jobs are part of other jobs.”
Last year, a STARS-certified high school student interned with the U.S. Navy at the John C. Stennis Space Center during the summer before his senior year. Another STARS-certified GIS technician received an offer from a prominent electric company to join the GIS department right after high school graduation.
“A STARS-certified chief of police in New Jersey used his geospatial skills to focus investigative efforts on a homicide, which led to the arrest of a suspect,” said Hanebuth.
The Mississippi geospatial community is concentrating
on more high-impact projects designed to further boost educational opportunities.
“The success stories,” noted Hanebuth, “are endless.”
You may contact Lynne at lynne.jeter@gmail.com.