GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) CONFERENCE

UNK-Dr. Marc Albrecht, UNK professor of biology, will be presenting a two-day Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) certification on March 15-16 in Bridgeport, Neb. There is a registration fee for this workshop and enrollment is limited.

The program is entitled “Introduction to ArcView” and is geared to professionals who work with land use, such as natural resource and land management personnel.

ArcView is the most popular GIS in the world and is produced by ESRI. It is used in organizations such as FEMA, the Cities of San Diego, Chicago and Lincoln, and the United States, Canadian and Chinese governments.

Those people in the western portion of the state would normally have to obtain training in ESRI in Lincoln or Omaha, but can get certified at the program in Bridgeport.

Albrecht is also hosting a workshop for anyone who is interested in learning more about GIS at the in the Landmark Room of the conference center in Bridgeport at 6 p.m. on March 15. This workshop is free and open to the public.

Anyone from city planners to farmers can utilize GIS for more efficiency and better planning. GIS is a map with thematic layers. One layer may include the buildings of a city and another the streets of the same city. When the layers are placed together, a “reality” map emerges.

“These systems are used for everything from getting ambulances through a large city as quickly as possible to giving meaning to the data from yield monitors and soil samples for precision farming or selecting the best location for a new business,” Albrecht said.

Space is limited in the ESRI certification program. Call Marc Albrecht at (308) 865-8549 for more information.