This is G-I-S Day at I-S-U. Spokesman Kevin Kane says Geographic Information Systems are maps with a whole lot more, and gives a D-O-T map as an example. In addition to a roadmap it might include pavement types or accident data over time, and he calls them “Smart Maps” with a computer database behind them. Today’s event is titled “Are you Spatial?” and Kane explains geographic information systems have a lot to offer farmers. He explains how farmers with the right equipment can store info on every square foot of their fields based on their on yields and soil maps, and use the data to fertilize parts of their land accordingly. Kane admits that in the weeks after September eleventh last year, G-I-S organizers looked hard at whether their systems could pose a security threat, including their database of aerial photographs. G-I-S is a promising career field, and Kane says students interested in geographic information systems could choose a major in Geology.That’s where it’s taught at the U-of-I and UNI, though at Iowa State it’s divided among many fields. He hastens to add there’s a program to get students a certification in using GIS. The information day begins at nine in ISU’s Dunham hall, and is part of Iowa State’s annual Geography Awareness Week.
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