Geographic Information Systems Day celebrates importance of field

<p>Those studying Geographic Information Systems&nbsp;(GIS) are celebrating their degree on GIS Day, officially happening on Nov. 18. The program teaches students how to use software and tools to solve social and&nbsp;environmental&nbsp;problems.&nbsp;<em>PHOTO COURTESY OF GISDAY.COM</em></p>

Those studying Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are celebrating their degree on GIS Day, officially happening on Nov. 18. The program teaches students how to use software and tools to solve social and environmental problems. PHOTO COURTESY OF GISDAY.COM

Schedule:

Wednesday, November 18, 2015, 2 to 4 p.m.

2 to 3 p.m. - Poster competition, Q&A with GIS Knowledge Group, browse info about GIS software and data resources on campus in the Schwartz Digital Complex

3 to 4 p.m. - Public talk in BL 104


The Geographic Information Systems degree at Ball State teaches students how to use software and tools to solve social and environmental problems, according to the Ball State website. GIS Day provides a forum for GIS technology users to show their projects that are making a difference in the world, according to the GIS Day website.

Ball State’s celebration will include a poster contest and a speaker from 2 to 4 p.m. in Bracken Library’s Schwartz Digital Complex. This year’s speaker is Colin Rose from the University of Toronto. According to his academia profile, he is a Ph.D. candidate in the history department.

Angie Gibson, GIS specialist for Ball State University Libraries, said every year speakers from different subject areas speak to celebrate the day.

According to a map from the GIS Day website, there are more than 1,000 registered events taking place worldwide to celebrate GIS. In Indiana, a total of nine events are registered across the state.

The day is also a part of “National Geographic” Geography Awareness Week, which runs from Nov. 15 to 21. The celebration was started more than 25 years ago to help Americans realize the importance of geography in everyday life.

Gibson is part of the GIS Knowledge Group, which includes faculty, staff and graduate students who are interested in the field of study.

“We’re the ones who go through the planning and put it all together,” Gibson said. “This is our third year of putting on some type of GIS Day Event."

Multiple departments across campus use GIS in their studies such as landscape architecture, urban planning, history, archaeology, geology and natural resources, Gibson said.

“It is such a large software; there are so many tools and applications,” Gibson said. “It’s nice for other students to see what other departments are doing with GIS software.”

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