GIS Modeling Class, GEOG 3110, Winter Term 2013

 

Class_photo13

 

<.pdf printer version>

 

Student Statements

 

Nicolas

 

I'm an undergraduate student in my senior year majoring in geography and philosophy. I have taken a handful of GIS related courses after the introductory course including GIS analysis and some work in remote sensing. Most of my work has been in ESRI ArcMaps, though I used IDIRISI in remote sensing, so I have some experience adapting to other software packages. I don’t have specific research interests, but am generally interested in learning about the capabilities of GIS and its related fields. My primary objectives for the course are to expand my skill set and improve my post graduation employability.

 

Cameron  

 

My name is Cameron Bentley, but most people just call me Cam. I actually just transferred to DU, so this past fall quarter was my first at DU. I transferred from Elon University in North Carolina where I was an exercise sports science major up until my last semester there. Now I am an environmental science major but would like to try to minor in GIS as well.

I just completed an interterm course in December with Steve Hicks and Heather Hick in Hawaii, and we touched upon GIS during the course. The Hawaii interterm course was a natural disaster/hazards course and I was intrigued how GIS can be applied and utilized in these situations. I know GIS can be used in many situations but I would say I am more interested in how it can be used to help people, similar to how it would be used in Colorado.

This course will be my first full GIS course. I am excited by the challenge of this course, but am also slightly concerned it might present its fair share of difficulties for me as I have actually taken any GIS courses to date. Although, with a small class size it might be easier to follow and digest the material. 

Gustavo 

 

I have a BS in Environmental Engineering from the Federal University of Vicosa in Brazil, and I am currently a second year MS student in the Geographic Information Science program. I have been working with geospatial technologies for about 7 years, through internships and volunteering positions. I am currently working as a Solution Engineer Intern at Esri, and a Remote Sensing Analyst Intern with the USGS.

I have used raster data mostly when working with imagery and not so much in a GIS workflow. For my thesis, I am working with Dr. Michael Daniels and we are going to build an erosion susceptibility model for a site in the Czech Republic. Thus, I am hoping to learn more about  using raster data for environmental modeling purposes, and more importantly, being able to think spatially using an statistical or "Map-ematical" approach when working with this type of data.  I am sure that I will be able to learn a lot from your experience in the field, and I look forward to our first class next week.

James

 

I am a second year MSGISc student. I will be completing my degree this June. I have experience with ArcGIS and remote sensing. Primarily, I have dealt with vector data with the exception of remotely sensed imagery. Last year, I completed an internship with Jefferson County GIS Services. That position involved utilizing ArcMap as a strictly cartographic tool as opposed to an analytical one. At the conclusion of the JeffCo internship, I began working for the USGS, where I am currently employed. I work in the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) systems development branch. My main duties involve working with vector products for The National Map viewer and download framework.  I look forward to the course and working with raster data and conducting more analysis than my previous experience. Best, James

 

Sarah   

 

I'm a second-year PhD student in Geography working with Matthew Taylor. I'm a human geographer, and have not narrowed my dissertation topic as closely as I need to yet -- possibilities include waste-to-energy in Jamaica, hydroponic lettuce in Honduras, or renewable energy and electrification in Nicaragua. All of these topics have inherently spatial themes (but I have some serious focusing to do, asap!). 

I want to take this class because my GIS skills are rudimentary at best, and I'd like to have this as a solid tool as a geographer. I've taken an intro to GIS course during my master's degree, which was in 2005, and I really haven't used GIS since. I did take a three day ESRI GIS basics class in 2009 when I lived in Washington DC; but I've never really used GIS in an applied sense. I am a geographer because I love the spatial aspects of the discipline. I've now taken two graduate level statistics classes for geography, though this is certainly not my strong suit. I'd appreciate your opinion if you think this course will be appropriate for me -- I don't want to be in way over my head (though I do expect a bit of a learning curve). 

Darin

 

Background:  Masters in Landscape Architecture, Current PhD student in Biology department (ecology focus); no previous experience with GIS; introductory statistics; introductory modeling practice; familiarity with AutoCAD.

 

Interests:  Spatial statistics, predictive models, remote sensing, plant community dynamics and human disturbances.

 

Objectives:  Gain working knowledge of GIS and spatial statistical modeling, implement course materials in PhD project and become aware of the range of datasets that are available for spatial modeling of ecosystem dynamics.

Jing

 

I am the newest faculty member in the Geography Department receiving my doctorate in geography from George Mason University last year.  My interests are in 3D/4D Geo-visualization and Visual Analytics, Spatial Temporal Modeling and Analysis, Web-based Geographic Information Science (GISc), High Performance Geo-computation and Spatial Cloud Computing.  I believe auditing the course will be extremely helpful to me.        

 

______________________________