Posts Tagged: IGIS

New interactive map identifies meeting and training facilities

Are you planning an ANR workshop, training, or meeting in an area of California unfamiliar to you? Now you can use the newly published online Interactive ANR Training & Facilities Map.

ANR business and office managers and assistants, IGIS (Robert Johnson, Sean Hogan and Shane Feirer) Program Support (Sherry Cooper) and Learning & Development (Jodi Azulai) collaborated to bring you this tool so that you can identify ANR training, workshop and meeting spaces across the state and identify information about:

• Number of rooms in facility
• Room capacity
• Room arrangement availabilities
• Accessibility
• Parking availability
• Nearest airports
• Local lodging information
• Catering recommendations
• Who to contact to reserve your location
• And other details

By using this map, you can also alleviate our very busy Program Support Unit and work directly with the location contact to help you reserve room(s). We would appreciate if you check out the information on your locations and see if you can provide us with any new details! To do so, contact Jodi Azulai at jlazulai@ucanr.edu or Robert Johnson at robjohnson@ucanr.edu.

IGIS plans next steps based on program review

In 2017, an ad hoc committee was appointed to carry out ANR's routine five-year statewide program review of our Informatics and Geographic Information Systems (IGIS) Program. Associate Vice President Powers and I extend a thank you to the committee for their time commitment and thoroughness in examining the program and providing recommendations to UC ANR's Program Council (PC). The time and effort of IGIS Director Maggi Kelly and staff to provide information and PC's review of the report and recommendations are also greatly appreciated.

Given limited personnel and a short time since startup, IGIS has made significant contributions throughout ANR. There is a great need for the program within and beyond ANR, and IGIS personnel have shown impressive results in reaching out to the wider ANR community and external partners.

Here is a summary of the direction and next steps I provided to the IGIS Program Director:

• IGIS should focus on expanding capacity and reach with drones and prioritize investing in new technology.
• IGIS will work with the REC Directors to develop a call process to identify science leads who are interested in taking over full ownership of one or more of the flux towers.
• IGIS should discontinue its involvement with cataloguing dark data, but work with ANR Communication Services and Information Technology office (CSIT) to inform ANR academics that digitized documents are available in the ANR repository.
• Associate Vice President Powers and I will meet with Program Director Kelly to further discuss the proposal to re-characterize IGIS from a statewide program to a statewide academic service.
• IGIS will develop a business plan to continue to scale up services that are in demand by UC ANR academics and offer services in a way that decreases reliance on central funds.
• IGIS should update its website to clearly articulate to whom resources and services are available. When IGIS is not able to provide a service, to the degree possible, it should act as a clearing house and refer clients to other providers.
• IGIS should incorporate evaluation methods that focus on the effectiveness of workshops and services and the extent of IGIS' reach.

I look forward to working with IGIS as it pursues these and other opportunities that may arise.

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

IGIS to host next ANR DroneCamp June 18-21

The UCANR IGIS team will hold its next DroneCamp training June 18-21, 2018, at UC San Diego.

This bootcamp-style workshop will cover the full suite of steps and skills for using drones for mapping and data collection, including:

• UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and sensor technology 
• Principles of photogrammetry and remote sensing 
• Safety and regulations 
• Mission planning 
• Flight operations including hands-on practice 
• Data management, processing, and analysis 
• Visualization 

The fee for this three-day workshop is $500 for University of California employees and students, and $900 for everyone else. A limited number of fee waivers are available based on need.

Additional information and registration information can be found at http://igis.ucanr.edu/dronecamp. Registration requires a short application (no fee) about your background and learning goals. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to submit an application by April 15 for guaranteed early registration.

Apply for IGIS drone bootcamp by April 15

The Informatics and Geographic Information Systems (IGIS) Statewide Program will hold a three-day "Dronecamp" to be held July 25-27, 2017, in Davis. This bootcamp style workshop will provide "A to Z" training in using drones for research and resource management, including photogrammetry and remote sensing, safety and regulations, mission planning, flight operations (including 1/2 day of hands-on practice), data processing, analysis and visualization.

The workshop content will help participants prepare for the FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot exam. Participants will also hear about the latest technology and trends from researchers and industry representatives.

Dronecamp builds upon a series of workshops that have been developed by IGIS and Sean Hogan starting in 2016.

“Through these workshops and our experiences with drone research, we've learned that the ability to use mid-range drones as scientifically robust data collection platforms requires a proficiency in a diverse set of skills and knowledge that exceeds what can be covered in a traditional workshop,” said Hogan. “Dronecamp aims to cover all the bases, helping participants make a great leap forward in their own drone programs.”

Dronecamp is open to all, but will have a focus on applications in agriculture and natural resources. No experience is necessary. The number of seats is limited, so all interested participants must apply before they can register. Applications are due on April 15, 2017. For further information, please visit http://igis.ucanr.edu/dronecamp/.

IGIS offers online office hours

The Informatics and Geographic Information Systems (IGIS) Statewide Program now offers online office hours for all ANR staff and academics. Every Monday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., an IGIS staff member will be hanging out on Zoom hoping to hear from ANR people and discuss all things GIS.

They are ready to discuss issues such as these:

• how to use GIS in your work - needs assessments, research, communication, operations, evaluation, etc.
• where to find spatial data
• going from a question to a GIS analysis
• making a quick and dirty map for print or online
• software recommendations
• ArcGIS tools, workflows, and trouble-shooting
• spatial data analysis with R
• spatial stats
• WebGIS and Story Maps
• tools for mobile data collection
• storing and sharing data
• what you can do with drone imagery, and how to get it
• what you can try yourself, and when you may need to get help
• the IGIS GIS Service Center - what they do and how it works

No question is too big or too small! And while they may not be able to answer every question, they will either find out or point you in the right direction.

Other details:

• Online office hours are for ANR personnel only.
• To help ensure that the most appropriate person is available to talk with you, they ask that you sign up for a time slot, with a brief description of your topic or question.
• Zoom connection information will be sent when you sign up.
• Can't make Monday afternoons? Choose 'Other' as the time slot when you sign up, and they will contact you to set up an alternative time.
• If you have a slow internet connection, you can turn off your web-cam or simply phone in.

 

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