How valuable is a map of a city covered with correctly located corporate and small business logos? Quite valuable, according to Elliot Cohen, CEO and founder of CityMaps. Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg looked into it.

A research team at the University of Wisconsin explored a key education research question: Which Web mapping technology should students learn? Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg shares the results and explains why they may suggest a process for those outside of academia to find the “optimal” Web toolkit.

Autodesk University 2012 provided diverse educational opportunities for attendees, but also gave them a unique perspective on how to design better and innovate more, and offered time to “think.” Editor in Chief Joe Francica ultimately found the conference a refreshing change. He explains how attendees were encouraged to use design software for a greater purpose.

Despite the uncertainty of trying to predict future events, especially natural disasters, it’s possible to make well-informed risk estimates by taking into account data on past disasters, asset values and weather trends. The key challenge in this era of big data is coming up with an efficient way of extracting meaningful insights from vast quantities of information. Christopher Guider of GfK GeoMarketing explains how geospatial modeling can accomplish that task.

Symmetry Software specializes in payroll withholding tax solutions. Every week, millions of paychecks are issued using Symmetry Software products. Those checks must have the correct taxes taken out based on the codes of school districts, municipalities and states. That means Symmetry Software needs accurate addresses. Melissa Data’s vice president of marketing, Greg Brown, explains why his company’s rooftop geocoding is part of the solution.

This past spring and summer, NASA DEVELOPstudent interns used NASA’s Earth Observing System to examine spectral characteristics of dust storms in the Middle East. The results of this study aided project partners by implementing the use of remote sensing to enhance their current methodologies.

There are five major areas in chain store real estate practices where industry standards can lead to more efficient decisions and better financial performance. Chain Store Advisor Principal Jim Stone explains why the companies that adopt appropriate industry standard practices as a foundation for real estate planning and site selection will succeed.

Last week I attended Bentley System's "Be Inspired" Awards Conference where the company presents the finalists and award winners for the top engineering and infrastructure projects submitted from around the world. Having adjudicated this competition in past years, I can tell you from personal experiece that the imagination, creativity and hard work that goes into these projects are true examples of human ingenuity.

This past summer, NASA DEVELOP interns partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey and the USDA Forest Service to apply NASA EOS in creating a fine resolution forest cover classification model of Fraser Experimental Forest (FEF), located in northwestern Colorado. DEVELOP students combined Landsat 5 imagery, geospatial data, extensive field work and statistical modeling to create a series of maps to assist Forest Service partners in estimating mountain pine beetle mortality and forest stand regeneration across FEF.

Is predictive modeling a cure or a crutch for retail site selection? Jim Stone of Chain Store Advisors takes us up the “Stairway to Wisdom,” which ultimately relies more on human insights than on computer models.