UCGIS Conducts Congressional Breakfast Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) hosted its 2004 Winter Meeting on February 5–6 in Washington, D.C., featuring a congressional breakfast on Capitol Hill focused on the role of geographic information science (GIScience) in strengthening homeland security. The program brought together more than 100 participants, including congressional staff members, federal agency representatives, senior administrators, and delegates from UCGIS member institutions.

Centered on the theme of homeland security, the congressional session presented seven research initiatives demonstrating how geospatial technologies support national preparedness, emergency management, and risk mitigation. The presentations showcased federally funded research from multiple universities, highlighting practical applications of GIScience in addressing complex security challenges.

Among the projects presented was a spatial decision-support system for border security developed by researchers at San Diego State University with NASA funding. The system integrates advanced imaging and mapping technologies to monitor sensitive border areas, predict smuggling routes, and support interdiction planning. Another project, led by George Mason University and funded by NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, demonstrated the integration of atmospheric models, GIS, and near-real-time remote sensing data to predict hazardous atmospheric releases and communicate risks through Internet-based GIS platforms.

Evacuation planning research from the University of Minnesota, funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Federal Highway Administration, introduced algorithms designed to optimize evacuation routes and schedules under limited transportation capacity. Researchers from the University of Maryland presented an agent-based modeling framework for epidemic control, funded by the Office of Naval Research, enabling simulation of disease spread across cities and supporting vaccination prioritization strategies.

Additional presentations included work by the University of California, Santa Barbara, on protecting critical infrastructure by identifying facilities whose protection would minimize disruption during hazards, and a University of Southern California project funded by the National Science Foundation focused on rapid integration of online and geospatial data sources to improve response to unexpected events. The program concluded with a presentation from the Association of American Geographers outlining a research agenda addressing the geographic dimensions of terrorism.

Following the congressional breakfast, representatives from several federal agencies—including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), NASA, and the Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA)—provided briefings on research priorities and funding opportunities for geographic information science. The event underscored the growing importance of GIScience in supporting national security, emergency planning, and coordinated responses to complex threats.