News

The CaGIS 2021 Elections are under way and are open until Feb 18, 2021! For this election there is one open board member seat and one vice president seat. 

We have one (1) candidate for Vice President: Xiaobai Angela Yao (Professor, Department of Geography, University of Georgia)

We have a one (1) candidate for one (1) Board of Directors position: Gaurav Sinha (Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Ohio University Athens)

To cast your vote, please visit the election page. Only CaGIS members are able to vote per CaGIS bylaws.

Children ages 15 and under are encouraged to submit a hand made map for the 2021 Barbara Petchenik Children’s Map Competition. First, second, and third place winners are selected in four age categories: under 6 years old, 6 to 8 years old, 9 to 12 years old, and 13 to 15 years old. Six entries will be chosen to represent the United States in the international Barbara Petchenik Children’s World Map Drawing Competition.

This year’s theme, “A Map of My Future World!”, may be illustrated in any way, using pictures, drawings, words, objects, or other graphical elements, but the illustration must include (somewhere) a map of all or a large portion of the world, with recognizable continents, age-appropriate features, and/or representations. The maps should tell a story or convey a message about the world—in this case, the world of the future. This future maybe interpreted as tomorrow, or the world in 50 years, or centuries beyond!

Postmark entries by April 10 to meet the April 15, 2021, deadline!

For more information, please visit cartogis.org/awards/children.

Eric Delmelle will be presenting “Geocomputational Approaches for the Visualization and Detection of Outbreaks of Vector-Borne Diseases in Urban Environments” at the next GeoBytes webinar on Friday, January 29th at 12:00 pm EST. The webinar is FREE for all ASPRS and CaGIS members and $25 for non-members.

Please see the CaGIS GeoBytes page for more information on registering.

Abstract

Infectious diseases have complex transmission cycles, and effective public health responses require the ability to monitor outbreaks in a timely manner. Space-time statistics facilitate the discovery of disease dynamics including rate of spread and seasonal cyclic patterns, but are computationally demanding, especially for datasets of increasing size, diversity and availability. In this presentation, I will discuss high-performance computation techniques for the rapid detection of space-time patterns of vector-borne diseases in urban areas, with an application to Cali, Colombia. Three-dimensional visualization techniques will be presented to gain insight in the shape of these space-time patterns.

Eric M. Delmelle, is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with experience in the development of new, robust geocomputational approaches to deepen the understanding of the dynamics of infectious and non-infectious diseases in space, time and at different scales. His current research includes (1) modeling the co-occurrence of vector-borne diseases (Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya) in developing countries; (2) evaluating the impact of residential mobility on health care access in Florida and (3) space-time variation in the concentration of contamination from private wells in rural North Carolina. His research is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute.

The National Landslide Preparedness Act (H.R. 8810) was signed into law on 1/5/21.  The Act establishes a new National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program and statutorily establishes the 3D Elevation Program, both within USGS.  The text of the Act is here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8810/text.

The 3DEP Program includes the following elements: 

  • Establishment of a 3D Elevation Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee. 
  • Establishment of a new Subcommittee of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee. 
  • Establishment of a Grants and Cooperative Agreements process 
  • Authorization of funding: “For each of fiscal years 2021 through 2024, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $40,000,000 to carry out this section.” 

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