UCGIS Symposium 2021: Advancing GIScience-informed Policy Solutions
June 7 - June 9, 2021
Sessions
The 2021 Symposium will consist of numerous sessions focused broadly on GIS, GIScience, and their implications for public policy in different applications.
Morning Coffee Lounges
- Description: An open and unstructured time for any Symposium registrant to join for informal socializing and networking. Any registrant will be able to use their audio and video functions to meet and greet others. The open room can hold up to 20 video-sharing participants at a time.
- Session Format: open discussion, no agenda
- Day and Time: each morning from 8:00 am EDT until the first formal session begins
- Organizers: UCGIS
Happy Hour Lounges
- Description: An open and unstructured time for any Symposium registrant to join for informal socializing and networking. Any registrant will be able to use their audio and video functions to meet and greet others. The virtual room can hold up to 20 video-sharing participants at a time.
- Session Format: open discussion, no agenda
- Day and Time:
- Monday June 7, 7:30 - 9 pm Eastern(4:30 - 6 pm Pacific). STUDENTS ONLY. Only those who registered with a "Student" ticket will be eligible to access this session.
- Tuesday June 8, 7:00 - 9:00 pm Eastern (4:00 - 6:00 Pacific). Open to all registrants.
- Wednesday June 9, 6:00 - 9:00 pm Eastern (3:00 pm - 6:00 pm Pacific). Open to all registrants.
- Organizers: UCGIS
Opening Ceremony, UCGIS at 25 Panel, and the Annual Awards Presentations
- Description: Join us for the opening ceremony of the 2021 Symposium. During this session, we will hear from our Executive Director Diana Sinton and then hear from four of our former UCGIS presidents with observations and reflections of key memories covering our 25+ year history. Our Annual Award recipients will also be recognized and make a few brief remarks.
- Session Format: panel and discussion
- Day and Time: Monday June 7, 12:30 - 2:45 pm Eastern (9:30 am - 11:45 am Pacific)
- Organizers: Jeremy Mennis (Temple University), Karen Kemp (University of Southern California), and Diana Sinton (UCGIS)
- Panelists:
- Laxmi Ramasubramanian, San Jose State University
- Shaowen Wang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- John Wilson, University of Southern California
- Award Recipients:
- Research Award: Brian Berry, University of Texas at Dallas
- Education Award: Joseph Kerski, Esri and University of Denver
- Carolyn Merry Mentoring Award: Beth King, Pennsylvania State University
- Recording: Link to the session on our UCGIS YouTube channel
Co-teaching with Librarians: Leveraging Librarian Power to Enhance the GIS Curriculum
- Description: University libraries increasingly include academic staff members with expertise in GIS and related sources of knowledge. By partnering with GIS and map librarians to co-teach, faculty members can leverage this expertise to expand and support their own classroom experiences. This panel will explore opportunities and lessons learned from librarians and faculty members who have collaborated in co-teaching GIS courses or short seminars. Join us to discover ways to propose collaborations and learn best practices for faculty-librarian teaching endeavors. Attendees are encouraged to invite possible teaching partners to begin planning right away!
- Session Format: panel and discussion
- Day and Time: Monday June 7, 6:30 - 8 pm Eastern (3:30 - 5 pm Pacific)
- Organizers/Moderator: Jennifer Swift (University of Southern California), Miriam Olivares (Yale University), Patricia Carbajales-Dale (Clemson University)
- Panelists:
- Patricia Carbajales-Dale, Clemson University
- Jeff Essic, North Carolina State University
- Miriam Olivares, Yale University
- Andrzej Rutkowski, University of Southern California
- Natalia Sianko, Clemson University
- Stacy Supak, North Carolina State University
- Dana Tomlin, Yale University
- An-Min Wu, University of Southern California
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
Environmental Sustainability-based Policy Solutions
- Description: The session aims to bring together academic scholars, practitioners and educators to exchange and share their experiences and research results of policy solutions on all aspects of Environmental Sustainability using GIS and spatial data science technologies. The session also provides an interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovation, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and policy solutions adopted in the fields of Environmental Sustainability and GIS. The topics cover a wide range of policy solution issues such as climate change, renewable energy, water management, water and air pollution, food security, and ecosystems.
- Session Format: paper presentations
- Day and Time: Monday June 7, 3:00 - 4:30 pm Eastern (12 - 1:30 pm Pacific)
- Organizer: Chuanrong (Cindy) Zhang (University of Connecticut)
- Presenters:
- Mohsen Ahmadkhani, University of Minnesota
- Jennifer Bernstein, University of Southern California
- Adam Gallaher, University of Connecticut
- 2nd Place, Paper Award: "Estimating Second-Generation Biofuel Feedstock Production on Marginal Lands in Connecticut"
- Brendan Hurley, George Washington University
- Junghwan Kim, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Chuanrong (Cindy) Zhang, University of Connecticut
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
the Future of GIS Education: Teaching GIS in the Post-Pandemic Paradigm
- Description: In this interactive session, participants will work in mixed groups to grapple with tough questions about how GIS education will continue to evolve as pandemic era restrictions recede and leave behind a new landscape of education ahead. No education is returning to 'normal', but instead transitioning to a new set of dynamics, both in the physical classroom and in remote classrooms. This session will allow for extended discussion and work sharing resources and ideas towards an understanding of practices in different contexts to enable any GIS educator to think through these issues and how to solve them. Topics will include, but are not limited to: How hybrid and online teaching will be part of GIS education looking forward, how to stay 'cutting edge' in GIS instructional topics, how credentials and training play a role in education, and how to build an accessible GIS class for learners of all types.
- Session Format: Interactive Discussion and Workshop. Participants in this session will be welcomed and encouraged to have cameras on, share thoughts over audio and chat, and contribute to shared Google Documents.
- Day and Time: Tuesday June 8, 5:15 - 6:45 pm Eastern (2:15 - 3:45 pm Pacific)
- Organizers: Forrest Bowlick (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) and Eric Shook (University of Minnesota)
- Recording: link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
GIS for Community Health
- Description: The importance of Geographic Information Systems and Science (GIS) in spatial epidemiology and public health has become apparent with the emergence of global epidemics and the growth of noncommunicable diseases. Meanwhile, community forms the nexus for health management, and evaluating community-level strategies by health care systems will enable us to identify social determinants of public health and reduce health disparities. This session will bring together a group of panelists to discuss the various aspects of community health, where GIS and geospatial technologies for data collection, analysis, and modeling play a pivotal role to understanding health challenges and recommending management policies and strategies for various communities. The role of GIS for understanding as well as building community health will be explored.
- Session Format: panel & discussion
- Day and Time: Tuesday June 8, 1:45 - 3:15 pm Eastern (10:45 am - 12:15 pm Pacific)
- Organizers: Yongmei Lu (Texas State University) and Enki Yoo (University at Buffalo)
- Panelists:
- Michael Emch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Debs Ghosh, University of Connecticut
- Russell Kirby, University of South Florida
- Sara McLafferty, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Joseph Oppong, University of North Texas
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
GIScience and Public Policy: Elements for a Professional Ethics
- Description: What is the role of the GIScientist in the public policy arena? This question has been with us since at least the 1990s, with various NCGIA initiatives and a robust debate on critical GIS. Often the conversation has focused on GIS and the technological aspects of GIScience. This session will instead focus on human aspects. The idea is to bring together four GIScience professionals from the academia, the public sector, the private sector, and the GIS industry to discuss the profession. To focus the discussion, participants will be asked to comment on one particular issue to be determined (privacy OR big data OR a social OR environmental issue).
- Session Format: panel & discussion
- Day and Time: Wednesday June 9, 2:00 - 3:30 pm Eastern (11am - 12:30 pm Pacific)
- Organizer: Alberto Giordano (Texas State University)
- Panelists:
- Charles Brady III, representing the GIS Certification Institute
- Katie Cann, American Geographical Society
- Camelia Kantor, the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation
- Marie Price, American Geographical Society and George Washington University
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
GIScience-Informed Evaluations of COVID-19 Policy Responses
- Description: In the absence of a vaccine, non=pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) have been widely employed by government jurisdictions at various levels via guidelines or mandate to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many of these interventions have a geographic component meant to mitigate personal contact among individuals: physical/social distancing, limitations on large gatherings of people, stay-at-home directives, border closings and other travel restrictions, and closures of non-essential businesses, schools, and places of worship, and restaurants and bars. Upon the dissemination of a vaccine, it will be key to assess geographic variation in vaccination rates and efficacy towards stopping the spread of the disease. This panel will address the role of geospatial technologies for monitoring, modeling, and responding to the spread and severity of COVID-19 and for evaluating the effects of NPI and vaccination on mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic..
- Session Format: panel & discussion
- Time and Day: Monday June 7, 10:30 am - 12:15 pm Eastern (7:30 - 9:15 am Pacific)
- Organizer: Jeremy Mennis (Temple University) and Wei Luo (National University of Singapore)
- Panelists:
- Paul Delamater, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Elisabeth Root, the Ohio State University
- Shengjie Lai, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
- Ruiyun Li, University of Oslo, Norway
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
GIScience Applications and Research: Poster Session
- Description: UCGIS will host an online collection of posters as a chance for scholars to share their research and activities. This session may include a chance for authors to share highlights of their work through audio as well.
- Session Format: online digital posters
- Organizers: Suzanne Wechsler (Cal State University, Long Beach) and Diana Sinton (UCGIS)
- Poster Venue: here!
Keynote: Moving from Science to Impact in the World of Geographic Information Science and Policy
- Presenter: Dr. Lea Shanley, Director and President of the International Computer Science Institute
- Description: Geospatial Information Science (GIScience) and geospatial technologies provide powerful tools for assessing, understanding, and addressing critical national and global challenges, such as the climate change, public health, transportation, and social and environmental justice, among many others. As geospatial scientists, we have an incredible opportunity and perhaps a civic duty to use these technologies to help inform public policy. Publishing journal articles and hoping that policy makers will read them, however, is unlikely to move the needle. We must communicate our research findings for a policy audience in a way that is easy for them to act upon. Conversely, science and technology policy can help to support the field of GIScience, from NSF budget priorities to the Geospatial Act of 2018. This presentation will explore the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for working with policymakers and governmental organizations – moving from science to impact!
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube Channel
- Slides: find a set of Dr. Shanley's slides here
Lightning Talks, Session 1
- Description: During this session, students will have a chance to share their GIS-related activities in a focused and brief manner.
- Session Format: Lightning Talks (7 minutes: 5 for a presentation and 2 for questions and answers)
- Day and Time: Tuesday June 8, 12:30 - 1:30 pm Eastern (9:30 - 10:30 am Pacific)
- Organizers: Suzanne Wechsler (Cal State University, Long Beach) and Kevin Curtin (University of Alabama)
- Presenters:
- Gabriel Appiah, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Bo Peng, University of Wisconsin - Madison
- Shannon Ricci, North Carolina State University
- Second Place, Student Lightning Talk Award: Assessment of visitation trends at North Carolina artificial reefs using high-resolution satellite imagery
- Jenna Epstein and Jeff Stern, both from University of Pennsylvania
- Honorable Mention, Student Lightning Talk Award: Predicting Wildfires and Preparing Communities in Southern California.
- Morgan Rogers, University of California, Los Angeles
- Kate Vavra-Musser, University of Southern California
- Myung Sik Cho, Michigan State University
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
Lightning Talks, Session 2
- Description: During this session, students will have a chance to share their GIS-related activities in a focused and brief manner.
- Session Format: Lightning Talks (7 minutes: 5 for a presentation and 2 for questions and answers)
- Day and Time: Wednesday June 9, 12:45 - 1:45 pm Eastern (9:45 - 10:45 am Pacific)
- Organizers: Suzanne Wechsler (Cal State University, Long Beach) and Kevin Curtin (University of Alabama)
- Presenters:
- George Charisoulis, University of Colorado, Boulder
- Shrobona Karkun Sen, Temple University
- Thomas McKeon, Temple University
- Molly Miranker, Texas State University, San Marcos
- Ashleigh Price, the University of Alabama
- Mehak Sachdeva, Arizona State University
- First Place, Student Lightning Talk Award: Why Scale Matters: Simpson's Paradox, MAUP and Local Modeling
- Ye Tian, the University of Georgia
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
Recent Developments, Policy Implications, and the Future of Unmanned Aerial Systems in the Geospatial Field
- Description: Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have witnessed rapid and extensive developments in recent years, becoming more user-friendly, readily accessible, and affordable. The number of new applications and business prospects continue to grow as technologies evolve/emerge. With this growth come policy implications relevant to the geospatial community, including safety, legal obligations and responsibilities, personal privacy, threats and risks, and data integrity, among others. This session will bring together experts from industry, academia, and government to discuss the risks, challenges, and possibilities of UASs, as well as examine prospects for the future of this technology in the geospatial field.
- Session Format: panel & discussion
- Day and Time: Monday June 7, 4:45 - 6:15 pm Eastern (1:45 - 3:15 pm Pacific)
- Organizers: Jane Read (Syracuse University) and Paddington Hodza (University of Wyoming)
- Panelists:
- Lance Brady, USGS - National Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office
- Dean Griffith, Jones Day
- Tombo Jones, Virginia Tech University, Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership
- Adam Mathews, Western Michigan University (discussant)
- Stephanie Rogers, Auburn University (discussant)
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
Smart and Resilient Cities
- Description: Smart spatial data and smart spatial technologies are playing crucial roles to improve the functioning of cities and to enable news forms of policy analysis. Researchers and practitioners are interested in methods to establish intelligent systems for more effective urban governance and more resilient urban environments. This session calls for submissions about research work related to theoretical, methodological, or empirical aspects of smart systems for urban governance and planning. Topics include, but are not limited to, human mobility, social network, healthcare management, smart governance, emergency response, smart urban environment & ecosystems, digital city and smart growth, intelligent infrastructure, and so on.
- Session Format: paper presentations
- Day and Time: Tuesday June 8, 3:30 - 5 pm Eastern (12:30 - 2 pm Pacific)
- Organizer: Angela Yao (University of Georgia)
- Presenters:
- Kenneth Ekpetere, University of Kansas
- Shelley Grant, Emily Cone, Dana Olsen, and Addie Schlussel, all University of Washington
- Xiaojiang Li, Temple University
- Yue Lin, the Ohio State University
- First Place, Student Paper Award: Identifying High Accuracy Regions in Traffic Camera Images to Enhance Density Estimation
- Jinwoo Park, Texas A&M University
- Honorable Mention, Student Paper Award: Measuring Accessibility to ICU Beds under the Uncertainty of Supply and Mobility
- Sarbeswar Praharaj, Arizona State University
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
(Un)Mapping Social and Spatial Inequality: Extending Socio-Theoretically Informed Critical Approaches to Engage Policy
- Description: This session aims to convene a conversation about how socio-theoretically informed GIS and geovisualization are used to engage policy, particularly in relation to difficult questions about social inequality and justice. GIScientists have increasingly recognized and embraced the unprecedented capacities of GIS and geovisualization for researching the spatial dimensions of social issues ranging from urban poverty, housing, disinvestment, and gentrification to struggles for social/spatial justice and equity. How can such socially engaged approaches to GIS and geovisualization extend traditions of critical mapping and geovisualization in ways that are also adequately reflexive and ethically sensitive to the experiences and priorities of the people most impacted while remaining deeply attuned to the broader social and political processes which structure the issues being researched? How might different modes of (un)mapping take up the challenge of researching social structures and issues using multi-epistemological ‘processual’ approaches to engage, produce, and represent spatial knowledge and complexity in ways that do not obscure or shy away from but indeed strive to center these ethical and reflexive aspects in relation to broader relational geographies? How can innovative GIS-based conceptual and methodological frameworks take these considerations on board to understand and confront social and spatial inequality and engage policy and policy advocacy in reflexive and potentially transformative ways? We invite the participation of GIScientists and other geographers doing work related to or attempting to think through these and parallel questions.
- Session Format: panel & discussion
- Day and Time: Wednesday June 9, 11am - 12:30 pm Eastern (8:00 - 9:30 am Pacific)
- Organizers: Jin-Kyu Jung (University of Washington) and Christian Anderson (University of Washington)
- Panelists:
- Rina Ghose, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
- Amy Hillier, University of Pennsylvania
- Marianna Pavlovskaya, Hunter College
- Eric Sheppard, University of California, Los Angeles
- Jim Thatcher, University of Washington
- Stacy Warren, Eastern Washington University
- Recording: Link to the session on the UCGIS YouTube channel
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