Virtual reality stations where participants can take a simulated tour around the planet. “Lightning talks,” where participants can learn how to enhance their research. A chance to win your own drone. Those are just a few of the many exciting offerings that faculty, staff and students can experience during geographic information systems (GIS) Day, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday Nov. 17 at 412 Cooper Library.
GIS Day events begin at 10 a.m. with a workshop showcasing the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV/drone) and LiDAR capabilities and resources available to the university through the Geospatial Center. Provost Bob Jones will kick off a series of lightning talks from Clemson faculty as well as invited speakers from at 1:15 p.m. The talks feature a panel discussion on GIS for emergency and disaster management. This year, there are several GIS Day contests open to Clemson students, staff and faculty with prizes like brand new quadcopter drones, FitBit, ENO hammocks, waterproof Bluetooth speakers, and a football autographed by Coach Dabo Swinney.
Officials say that the annual event is a great opportunity for the GIS community at Clemson to connect with fellow professionals, inspire others with their fantastic work and pique the interest of the general public about GIS and its potential real-world applications. The GIS Day 2017 events include talks from researchers and professionals across the Southeast, contests and prizes, a map gallery, food and beverages, games for all ages, and exhibitors from NASA, Esri, Clemson Geopaths, and the Clemson Mappers.
All GIS Day events are free and open to the public! Find details and a full schedule here.
Part of National Geography Awareness Week, GIS Day promotes geography education and how GIS technology assists users in mapping, displaying and analyzing large and small areas for things like real estate site selection and efficient directional routes. It also helps planners function in advance of a crisis with evacuation planning.
Clemson faculty and staff can use GIS for planning, facilities, managing Clemson infrastructure, locating buildings, analyzing energy usage. Faculty can use it in their research visualize or analyze spatial data and communicate using Story Maps.
GIS Day at Clemson is sponsored by the Clemson Libraries, the Clemson Center for Geospatial Technologies (CCGT), the Center of Excellence (COE), and Clemson Computing and Information Technology (CCIT).
