Date: 2008-11-11
You are viewing a printer friendly version. If you want to view the original release please click the link below:
Original Article: http://media-newswire.com/release_1078767.html
Distributed by: Media-Newswire.com
Discover what geography at Texas A&M University is all about. The Department of Geography and University Libraries will host a variety of events November 17-21 for Geography Awareness Week/GIS Day 2008. The celebration will kick off Monday with games, activities, and free giveaways at a booth in the MSC Plaza from noon to 2. Tuesday, students can go on a geocaching treasure hunt; Wednesday – national GIS Day – Evans Library will host Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Google Earth demonstrations, and Thursday will bring a free showing of the surfing movie “The Endless Summer” at the ongoing Geography Film Festival. The week’s activities culminate Friday with the Haynes Lecture, given by Dr. Harvey Miller, professor and chair of the Department of Geography at the University of Utah. All activities are free and open to the public.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Discover what geography at Texas A&M University is all about. The Department of Geography and University Libraries will host a variety of events November 17-21 for Geography Awareness Week/GIS Day 2008. The celebration will kick off Monday with games, activities, and free giveaways at a booth in the MSC Plaza from noon to 2. Tuesday, students can go on a geocaching treasure hunt; Wednesday – national GIS Day – Evans Library will host Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Google Earth demonstrations, and Thursday will bring a free showing of the surfing movie “The Endless Summer” at the ongoing Geography Film Festival. The week’s activities culminate Friday with the Haynes Lecture, given by Dr. Harvey Miller, professor and chair of the Department of Geography at the University of Utah. All activities are free and open to the public.
“Our geography department has been the ‘Geographical Center’ of Aggieland since 1969,” said Dr. Daniel Sui, professor of geography and coordinator for the event. “We decided it was time to remind the campus community of who we are, where we are, and how much we have to offer, so we’re observing Geography Awareness Week in a big way this year.”
“Geography is maps, yes, and so much more than maps,” said geography lecturer Kate Lucchese who teaches a large section of World Regional Geography. “Mapping data and analysis through GIS are all a big part of geography and generate a lot of jobs in government and business, but I am personally fascinated by the interactions between landscapes and the ways of life they generate, the cultural patterns that have developed in certain places, and the spread of ideas. Pretty much everything about geography is interesting!”
On Monday, Geography will host a display table near Rudder Fountain. Green and blue balloons will mark the spot for students to demonstrate their geographic abilities by sharing personal shortcuts on a huge map of Aggieland to win a reusable grocery-bag loaded with information, free movie tickets and a designer cookie from an Aggieland bakery, since local food is key to cultural geography! They can also quiz coastal geomorphology experts on finding the best surf on the Texas Coast, take a “Locationally-Challenged” challenge, check out historical mapping equipment, and pinpoint their favorite places on a giant map of the world.
On Tuesday, students can discover geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with global positioning system (GPS) devices. Aggieland Geocaching will meet in Evans Library Room 204E at 11:00am and then head out to explore campus. Treasure hunters will use GPS units to comb campus for hidden prizes. For more information or to pre-register for Aggieland Geocaching contact Nikki A. Williams at nwilliams@geog.tamu.edu.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Pre-registration is not required but is recommended since participation is limited to 40 students.
Wednesday November 19 is national GIS Day. GIS demonstrations will be held in the lobby of the West Campus Library from 10 to 11:30 and in Evans Library lobby from 12:30 to 2. A panel discussion showcasing GIS in research and the community will be in Room 204E, Evans Library, from 3 to 4:30. The panel includes Dr. Sam Brody of the College of Architecture’s Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center, Drs. Robert Washington-Allen and Soren Popescu from the Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, and Gustavo Roman, information technology director for the city of Bryan. The day’s activities will conclude with Google Earth demos from 4:30 to 5 in Evans Library Room 204E. For more information contact Kathy Weimer, k-weimer@tamu.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Miriam Olivares, olivares@tamu.edu.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
"The University Libraries have outstanding collections of print maps and GIS data sets. With over 250,000 maps of the world, and GIS data to match, the library's Map and GIS Collections and Services staff support a wide variety of information requests. We are pleased to be part of Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day events," states Kathy Weimer, associate professor and coordinator of Map and GIS Collections and Services, TAMU Libraries. For more information about the library's map and GIS resources, see library.tamu.edu/maps-gis.
Thursday evening, the free Geography Film Festival will highlight Oceania and coastal geomorphology with the “righteous” 1966 surfing movie classic “The Endless Summer” in which two surfers follow the perfect wave around the world. The session begins at 6:00 p.m. in Room 410 of the Evans Library Annex (Educational Media Services, 4th floor). A brief discussion of the science of the film will be held before the 95-minute showing, followed by an optional discussion group at an off-campus location. For more information contact Kate Lucchese at klucchese@tamu.edu.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
The Haynes lecture will be held on Friday at 4 p.m. in Room 112 of Eller O&M. Dr. Harvey J. Miller from the University of Utah will explore the concept that social and economic theories should be looked at through what he calls a “people-based” perspective in his lecture “Place-Based Versus People-Based Accessibility.” The Haynes Lecture Series is held annually to honor Reta A. Haynes. It was established in 2000 by Dr. Daniel Sui, professor of Geography and holder of the Reta A. Haynes Chair in Geosciences. For more information contact Sui at sui@geog.tamu.edu.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Geography Awareness Week has been held the third week of November since 1987 for the purpose of promoting geographic education. It was signed into legislation by President Ronald Regan. GIS Day is an outgrowth of Geography Awareness Week. Always held on Wednesday, GIS Day seeks to encourage users and vendors to showcase real-world applications of this technology.
More information on Geography Awareness Week can be found at www.mywonderfulworld.org. The GIS Day official website is located at www.gisday.com. To learn more about the study of geography at Texas A&M University, visit the department website at geography.tamu.edu or contact Student Recruitment Director Sonia Garcia at 979-845-3651 or gracias5@tamu.edu.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it