University of Colorado at Boulder

 

Dept Theme

Geographic Information Science


GIS, cartography, and remote sensing

Geographers have an ongoing concern with the acquisition, manipulation, and representation of spatial data. The widespread adoption of digital technology coupled with management of very large spatial data sets has led to the development of Geographic Information Science. Particularly with respect to digital information, the nature of geographical data that vary with scale, time, and spectral characteristics presents unique problems for geographers and environmental scientists. In our world of massive amounts of information, geographers use remote sensing methods for collecting and integrating geographical data. They utilize cartography and geographic information systems to uncover spatial patterns and trends, to reconstruct past environmental conditions and to predict future scenarios. The use of such methods requires expertise not covered in human and physical geography concentrations. Conceptually, the societal, political and ethical implications of geographic information in policy and decision-making are only beginning to be understood, and this forms an important component of study in geographic information science. The dissemination of geographic knowledge at all levels of education forms another important component of this concentration.

Faculty teaching and/or performing research in geographic information science

Barbara
Buttenfield
GIS; Cartographic Generalization; Multi-Scale Databases GIScience
Kenneth
Foote
American & European Landscape History; GIScience & Internet Techniques; Geography in Higher Educ, Human
GIScience
Stefan
Leyk
Spatial Agent Models; Uncertainty in GIScience; Fuzzy Sets in GIS; Pattern Recognition in Maps GIScience
Seth
Spielman
Urban Geography, Medical Geography, Spatial Statistics, GIScience Human
GIScience

Graduate Students in geographic information science

18 students total. TIP: To sort by more than one column, hold down the shift key while clicking an additional column header.

Name Degree     Specialties Advisor
Anderson-Tarver, Christopher Ph.D. GIS Science Buttenfield
Bock, Andrew M.A. hydrologic modelng, limnology, GIS/spatial analysis Leyk
Dickinson, Tom M.A. Land use change, western U.S., environment-society, GIS Travis
Gleason, Mike M.A. Geographic Information Science Buttenfield
Hamerlinck, Jeff Ph.D. geographic information science, decision support systems, resource planning and management Buttenfield
Hong, Jung Eun Ph.D. Visualization; GIS Foote
Jochem, Warren M.A. GIS; disease ecology & spatial epidemiology Root
Lee, Jeana M.A. Geomorphology; GIS Anderson
Maclaurin, Galen M.A. Interactive cartography; Animated visualizations Foote
Norlund, Petra Ph.D. Geographic Information Science Leyk
Parsons, Mark M.A. Data Visualization Buttenfield
Smith, Jeremy Ph.D. Forest Ecology, Biogeography, GIS Veblen
Stauffer, Andrew M.A. cartograhic generalization; GIS Buttenfield
Stum, Alexander Ph.D. spatial predictive model, GIS Leyk
Viger, Roland Ph.D. GIS; Modelling Buttenfield
Wendel, Jochen Ph.D. GIS, Cartography, Self-Organizing Maps, Multimedia Visualization Buttenfield
Wolf, Eric Ph.D. GIS; Remote Sensing Buttenfield
Xu, Li M.A. internet based research on social relations, human mobility Foote

GEOG courses related to geographic information science.

Caution: These lists are incomplete.

Summer 2012

Num Num Sect Title Hrs   Instructor
3053 300 Cartographic Design 4 Maclaurin

 

Spring 2012

Num Num Sect Title Hrs   Instructor
3053 Cartographic Design 4 Buttenfield
4103 5103 Intro to Geographic Information Science 4 Leyk
4303 5303 GIS Programming for Spatial Analysis 4 Leyk
5003 Elements of GIS 4 Foote

 

Fall 2011

Num Num Sect Title Hrs   Instructor
2053 Mapping a Changing World 4 Foote
3053 Cartographic Design 4 Wendel
3930 5930 Internship 3 Pitlick
4043 5043 Cartography II 4 Foote
4103 5103 Intro to Geographic Information Science 4 Buttenfield
4203 GIS Modeling Applications 4 Buttenfield

 

Undergrad Courses Applicable to a Concentration in Geographic Information Science

1000- and 2000-level courses in physical and human geography are prerequisites to all upper-division courses listed below. Additional prerequisites may be listed or permission of instructor required.  

GEOG 2053  Mapping a Changing World 
GEOG 3023  Statistics for Earth Sciences 
GEOG 3053  Cartography: Visualization and Information Design (Restricted to Jr/Sr GEOG/ENVS major) 
GEOG 3093  Geographic Interpretation of Aerial Photographs 
GEOG 4023  Intro to Quantitative Methods in Human Geography (Prereq: GEOG 3023 or equivalent) 
GEOG 4043  Cartography 2: Interactive and Multimedia Mapping  (Prereq: GEOG 3053)  
GEOG 4083  Mapping from Remotely Sensed Imagery (Prereq: GEOG 3093, 4093 or equivalent) 
GEOG 4093  Remote Sensing of the Environment  
GEOG 4103  Introduction to Geographic Information Science (Prereq: GEOG 2053, 3053 or equivalent) 
GEOG 4160  Teaching Geography 
GEOG 4203  Geographic Information Science: Modeling Applications 2 (Prereq: GEOG 4103/5103) 
GEOG 4173  Research Seminar** (Restricted to Sr GEOG/ENVS major) 
GEOG 4303  Geographic Information Science: Programming  (Prereq: 4103 or 5103) 
GEOG 4383  Methods of Vegetation Analysis (Prereq or Coreq: GEOG 4371) 
GEOG 4983  Field Problems  (Restricted to Jr/Sr Geography major)   

**core curriculum course 

 

Undergrad Courses in other Departments Related to Geographic Information Science

Caution: These courses do not count as hours in the Geography Major. 
Check with the appropriate department for the prerequisites for these courses. 

Cartography
CSCI   1200   Introduction. to Programming 1 
ENVD   4152   Computer Graphic Applications 
MATH   4270   Computer Geometry  

Geographical Information Systems: 
CSCI   1200   Introduction. to Programming 1 
CSCI   3287   Database & Information. Systems  

Remote Sensing:  
CSCI   1200   Introduction. to Programming  
CVEN   3032   Photogrammetry  
MATH   1300   Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1** 
MATH   2300   Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2**  
MATH   2400   Analytic Geometry and Calculus 3** 

Geography Education
COMM  1300   Public Speaking  
CSCI   1200   Introduction to Programming  
EDUC   ****    Courses for elementary and secondary social studies certification 

**core curriculum course 

Selected Publications by Faculty and Graduate Students associated with geographic information science

Faculty

 Stefan Leyk

Leyk S. and Boesch R. (2009). Extracting Composite Cartographic Area Features in Low-Quality Maps. Cartography and Geographical Information Science 36(1): 71-79.

Leyk S. and Zimmermann N. E. (2007). Improving Land Change Detection based on Uncertain Survey Maps Using Fuzzy Sets. Landscape Ecology 22, pp. 257-272.

Leyk S., Boesch R. and Weibel R. (2006). Saliency and Semantic Processing Extracting Forest Cover from Historical Topographic Maps. Pattern Recognition 39(5) pp. 953-968.

Leyk S., Boesch R. and Weibel R. (2005). A Conceptual Framework for Uncertainty Investigation in Map-Based Land Cover Change Modelling. Transactions in GIS: 9(3), pp. 291-322.

Leyk, S. and Boesch, R. (in press). Colors of the past: Color Image Segmentation in Historical Topographic Maps Based on Homogeneity. GeoInformatica. doi:10.1007/s10707-008-0074-z

 Seth Spielman

Spielman, S.E. and Yoo, E-H. (2009). The Spatial Dimensions of Neighborhood Effects. Social Science and Medicine, 68(6).

Erdemir, E. T., Batta R., Spielman S. E., Rogerson P., et. al. (2008). Optimization of aeromedical base locations in New Mexico. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40(3) .

Spielman, S.E. and Thill, J.C. (2008). Social Area Analysis, Data Mining, and GIS. Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, 32(2) .

Spielman, S. E. (2006). Appropriate use of the K-function in Urban Environments (Letter). American Journal of Public Health, 96(2).

Spielman, S.E., Golembeski, C.A., Northridge, M.E., et al. (2006). Interdisciplinary Planning for Healthier Communities: Findings from the Harlem Children's Zone Asthma Initiative. Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1). .


Grad Students