Former Wyoming Governor Geringer to Speak at UW

Nov. 7, 2007 -- Former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer will deliver the keynote address during the University of Wyoming's annual celebration of International Geographic Information Systems Day (GIS Day).

Geringer, who now works as director of public policy and public sector strategy for ESRI, a California-based company that designs and develops the world's leading GIS technology, will speak from 12:10-1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, in the Wyoming Union Family Room. His presentation is titled "Policy, Technology and Sociology -- From the Farm to the Front Office: Informing Better Decisions -- At Any Level, by Anyone."

The former governor's appearance will kickstart a day that also includes the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center's (WyGISC) annual open house and a series of demonstrations of geospatial technologies.

"Jim Geringer has been a longtime advocate of geospatial technology and having him back on campus to give a keynote address during our GIS Day celebration speaks volumes to the importance of geospatial data and technology in today's world," says Shawn Lanning, a GIS research scientist for WyGISC.

The open house, on the third floor of the Agriculture Building, begins immediately following Geringer's keynote address. Refreshments will be available in Room 301 and demonstrations of GIS technologies begin at 1:30 p.m. in Room 316.

Also, Tosca Hoffmann, who works with Geringer at ESRI, will present "What is GIS&?rdquo; from 2:10-3 p.m.

"GIS and other geospatial technologies, including GPS and remote sensing, playing an increasingly important role in all aspects of our lives, often in unexpected ways," says WyGISC Director Jeff Hamerlinck. "Consider, for instance, the ease with which we can now view maps on the Internet to plan outings. Less obvious are the huge contributions of GIS to everything from community land use planning to emergency management to environmental monitoring."

GIS Day, held annually at UW during Geography Awareness Week, is a global event celebrating GIS, the innovative technology that uses geography to benefit the world and its citizens.

For more information on GIS Day, call WyGISC at (307) 766-2532, e-mail info@wygisc.uwyo.edu or go to the Web site www.wygisc.uwyo.edu/gisday.

Posted on Wednesday, November 07, 2007

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