Mapping system has its day at IU

IU's fifth annual GIS Day mapped its way to the Indiana Memorial Union's Frangipani Room Thursday, celebrating and informing the IU community about one of the country's fastest-growing information technology fields. \nRepresentatives from the Indiana Geological Survey, an applied research institution of IU, the IU Geology Library and the City of Bloomington's Information Technology department gathered at the conference to share the numerous uses of the geographic information and imaging systems and global positioning system. \nRuss Goodman, representative of the City of Bloomington Information Technology department, said Mapping is the biggest usage of the technology today, as well as tracking devices in cell phones and navigation systems in vehicles.\n"People don't always realize how much they use the GIS or GPS technology on a daily basis," he said. "Cell phones, Map Quest and Google Earth all use the GIS and GPS systems."\nBloomington Information Technology has developed a Web site using the GIS system to create different visuals of the city itself and divided them into bike routes, and city, neighborhood and parking planning maps. \nAlso present at this year's GIS Day were representatives from IU's Indiana Geological Survey, creators of a popular Web site offering different visuals of the state of Indiana categorizing population, geography, spatial data and even environmental conditions. \nImplemented in the late 1990s, the Web site's hits reached 1 million this October, said Paul Irwin, GIS and database systems analyst. \n"We have almost 200 layers of interactive Web sites," Irwin said. "We put our data out there and we aren't always sure how people use it." \nAlthough the usage possibilities are almost endless, Irwin said, putting information about different areas and characteristics of Indiana is a security risk -- one they must think about when introducing a new layer to the Web base. \n"We have had to pull a couple of layers in the past about the geology of Indiana," Irwin said. \nAs a fast-growing information technology field, GIS systems are now making an appearance in higher education institutions across the nation. In fact, IU now offers several courses which implement or are directed to GIS systems. \nThere is a large value for those in the fields of business as well as public affairs and environmental sciences for those who can manage people who specialize in GIS, IU associate professor of Geography Tom Evans said. \nAlthough some institutions around the country offer a certificate in GIS, Evans doesn't expect a similar program at IU for another three to five years. \n"IU has a lot of researchers using GIS," he said. "It has much less recognition in the undergraduate programs than in the graduate programs, but it is being made much easier to use"