On November 20th, 2013, GIS Day was held at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in the H.F. DeLuca Forum. The event attracted over 70 participants. Unlike past GIS Days, this year the event was a half-day (10am – 2pm) and took a different spin that focused on emerging careers for current students, focusing on new job areas within the realm of geospatial data, applications and systems.
Four keynote speakers demonstrated how geospatial technology is being used for indoor location mobile mapping, health analysis, unmanned aerial systems, the transportation industry, and problem-solving and education. UW-Madison and UW-Eau Claire students, faculty and staff, along with local and state agency employees and members of the general public, attended the event.
The event also hosted exhibit booths that included university departments, government agencies, and private businesses educating participants about geospatial technologies and career opportunities.
The four keynote speakers captured the audience with their thought-provoking and inspiring presentations. Greg Tracy, co-founder and CTO of Propeller Health presented, “Uncertainty is the new black. Embrace it”; Liz Eversoll, CEO of SOLOMO Technology presented, “Indoor Location – The Uncharted Frontier”; Paul Braun, VP Sales & Marketing of Continental Mapping presented, “UAS and the Wild Wild West: The Emerging Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Market and its Impact on the Geospatial Industry”; and Ray Mandli, founder of Mandli Communications presented, “GIS Visualization in the 3rdDimension”.
For those who did attend the event, we would like to know your thoughts and opinions to help us better plan future GIS Day events. Please take a moment to fill out the GIS Day 2013 Survey.
The next geospatial event on UW-Madison campus will be the Geospatial Summit, which will likely be held in April, 2014. More information will be available here or on the Geospatial Alliance site as the date approaches.