The University Libraries will host an Open House from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, in ARKU 504 in celebration of GIS Day, an annual, internationally recognized event promoting Geographic Information Systems technology and its applications. The Open House is an opportunity to communicate knowledge, explore collaboration with other departments and learn how different disciplines at the university use GIS and geospatial technologies in their research and beyond. This event is free and open to the campus community. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend, and are welcome to come and go as their schedules allow. 

“We’re looking forward to hearing from speakers representing a range of disciplines on campus,” said Mary Leverance, preservation, conservation and teaching coordinator. “They’ll be talking about projects that have brought about real-world changes and have furthered research as a result of GIS and geospatial technologies.”

The Open House will feature presentations, posters, a book display and light refreshments. 

Event Schedule:

  • Opening Remarks, 11 – 11:15 a.m.
  • Session I Presentations, 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.        
  • Break for posters, book display, and refreshments, 12:30 – 12:45 p.m. 
  • Session II Presentations, 12:45 – 1:50 p.m. 
  • Closing Remarks, 1:50 – 2 p.m. 

Session I Presentations:

  • Joshua Youngblood, instruction and outreach librarian, University Libraries Special Collections
    Unfolding Map Research: Using Old Books for New Investigations
  • Greg Herman, associate professor of architecture, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design
    The Fay Jones House: An Alternative Blueprint for an American House
  • Noah Billig, assistant professor of landscape architecture, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design
    Using GIS as an Analysis Tool to Inform Designs in Landscape Architecture Studios
  • Rachel Linck, graduate student, geosciences (co-author: Shelby Linck, public history)
    GIS Mapping of Arkansas’ Historic Buildings Potentially at Risk for Flooding During Extreme Rainfall Events
  • Michael Popp, professor, and Karen Lindsay, research associate, of agricultural economics and agribusiness
    Economic Feasibility of Tractor Guidance Systems: An Interactive Spreadsheet Tool Approach to Analyzing Feasibility

Session II Presentations:

  • Amanda Ashworth, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences/USDA-ARS
    Spatially Variable Landscape Attributes Impact Preferential Grazing in Silvopastoral Systems
  • Phillip Owens, faculty, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences/USDA-ARS
    Digital Soil Mapping for Central America to Improve Small Holder Farm Production
  • Kabindra Adhikari, post-doctoral associate, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
    Geostatistical Mapping of Metal Element Distributions Across the Conterminous USA
  • Taslima Akter, graduate student, civil engineering
    Data Displays for DOT Applications: Truck GPS Data
  • Ken Kvamme, professor of anthropology
    GIS as a Geophysical Data Processor
  • Seth Price, graduate student of environmental dynamics
    Raster Processing and Spatial Analysis: Classic Methods Improved by GIS

Posters:

  • Kristine Nagy, graduate student in geosciences
    Geospatial Analysis of the Influence of Wastewater Disposal on the Recent Seismicity in Oklahoma
  • Hafid Nanis, graduate student in geosciences
    Hazard Assessment for the Construction Site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam