Esri Technology

Floods are considered the number one natural hazard, causing more deaths and damage year after year.  The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided funding to a college in North Dakota for GIS and remote sensing technology and training.  That college, in turn, created a study to assess risks to local communities and facilities in the path of potential flooding. Jacqueline Stenehjem, former assistant professor at Williston State College, Williston, North Dakota and Dr. Peter G. Oduor, associate professor of geology and geography at North Dakota State University, describe how the grant from NSF benefited that population on many levels.

Last week, Editor in Chief Joe Francica covered Esri’s Federal GIS Conference in Washington, D.C. ArcGIS 10.1 and the company’s ever-increasing emphasis on moving its solutions to the cloud took center stage. Here is a summary of the reports posted from the conference.

Mobile field data collection starts with a reliable hand-held device and software that can be as functional as any desktop GIS. The city of Las Vegas, Nevada found that its existing mobile solution was incompatible with its GIS, which resulted in some redundancies. That problem was mitigated with an ArcPAD solution that was more than up to the task for the city’s Parks and Open Spaces Division.

GeoDesign may be different things to different people but it isn't just about technology or GIS or just a different way to visualize location-based data. It is about interaction and collaboration. It's about allowing those who are not familiar with GIS to "play" with GIS. Editor in Chief Joe Francica attended the third GeoDesign Summit and shares his opinions on what Esri president Jack Dangermond calls an “evolutionary step for humans.”

Exeucitve Editor Adena Schutzberg picked out the top "Directions on the News" podcasts from the last six months. If you missed them the first time around - here's an opportunity to catch up!

Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg picked out the top All Points Blog posts and "Worth a Click" items from the last six months. If you missed them the first time around - here's an opportunity to catch up!

Ninety-five people involved in GIS in the New England states listened to presentations, participated in speed networking with exhibitors and pondered the value of different professional certifications. It was all in a day’s work at NEURISA Day 2011.

Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg boils down all that happened at this year’s Esri International User Conference into just a few takeaways.