The GIS Program at the University of Akron,
Prepared for University Consortium of Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)

I. Research and Related Activities
 

  •  Northeast Ohio Environmental Data Exchange Network. This project has produced extensive metadata on environment- and land-related data in the northeast portion of Ohio.  These metadata are being made available via a Web site created as part of the project. This work has been done in conjunction with Cleveland State University, Kent State University, and Youngstown State University.

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  •  Digital Base Maps for MetroParks Serving Summit County. This on-going project is developing a series of digital  base maps and GIS data sets for the parks in the Summit County MetroParks system. The GIS information being produced by this project will be used by the park system to support its facility management and property acquisition activities.

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  • The What if? Collaborative Planning Support System. This on-going research uses ESRI’s MapObjects software and Visual Basic programming to develop a GIS-based planning support system that can be used to develop and evaluate alternative growth scenarios and support community-based processes of collective decision making and collaborative planning.

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  • Creating a GIS Spatial History of Tokyo. This on-going research uses GIS to document, visualize, and analyze urban history of Tokyo (including shoreline and river changes, administrative boundary and status changes, population changes, and rail network development), as recorded from historical maps and other spatial and nonspatial data sources. The current research focuses on integrating historical air photos with the historical maps of greater Tokyo area and expanding the topical coverage to include land cover and land development patterns.

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  • Hypothetical City Workbook. This project prepared a student workbook contains GIS-based exercises for teaching land use planning principles and procedures to accompany Kaiser, Godschalk and Chapin, Urban Land Use Planning, Fourth Edition.  The workbook will be published by the University of Illinois Press.

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  • Loosely-coupled Modeling with GIS and a Spreadsheet. This research explores the use of a low-end GIS system, ESRI’s ArcView, and a spreadsheet to produce a loosely coupled gravity model for estimating the effects of changes in the size and location of a region’s shopping centers. 

  • Forest Vegetation Patterns In The Central Upper Peninsula Of Michigan.  This project seeks to reconstruct the distribution of forest species in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula prior to European settlement using data from the General Land Office Survey notes.  GIS is used to compile and map the data and to compare the species distributions to site conditions and current vegetation patterns. 

  • Forest-Site Relationships In The Lake Plains Of Northwestern Ohio Before European Settlement.  The goal of this project is a reconstruction of forest species distributions before European settlement in the swamp forest of northwestern Ohio. GIS is used to map the species distributions, using data from General Land Office surveyors c. 1820, and relate them to digital data on soils, elevation, and other site factors. 

  • Stump Prairies In Northern Michigan:  Nineteenth Century Land Use Practices.  GIS is used to compile historical information about land use, dates of logging, and logging practices, primarily derived from nineteenth century tax assessment and land ownership records.  These maps are then related to patterns of forest regeneration in Alger County, Michigan. 

  • In situ Examination Of Soil Forming Processes Under Forest And Stump Prairie Vegetation. Soil forming processes in northern Michigan are investigated using buried bags of cation exchange and chelating resins.  GIS is used to relate data to existing patterns of forest vegetation.  Of special interest are formerly forested regions where forest vegetation did not return following nineteenth century logging.  Funded by the Research (Faculty Projects) Committee of the University of Akron. 

  • A Soil Development Sequence On Northern Michigan Beach Ridges.  Soils are described and sampled on a sequence of 75 beach ridges with ages ranging from 10 to 5,400 years.  GIS is used to map soils data and relate them to the age of the beach ridge and to information about nineteenth century forest vegetation patterns derived from General Land Office Survey notes.  Funded by the Research (Faculty Projects) Committee of the University of Akron. 

  • Subsurface Lithology Of Glacial Landforms In Southern Michigan.  GIS is used to store more than 9,000 digital water well records and relate patterns of subsurface lithology, as described by well drillers, to known maps of glacial landforms in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

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  • Ward Boundaries for the City of Green, Ohio.  This research was conducted in association with the University of Akron’s Center for Urban Studies and used GIS techniques to develop election ward boundaries for the City of Green, Ohio.

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  • Home Mortgage Lending Patterns for Great Northern Saving Bank, Barberton, Ohio. This research conducted in association with the University of Akron’s Center for Urban Studies and used GIS to describe the home mortgage lending patterns for the Great Northern Savings Bank, located in Barberton, Ohio.

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  • Summit County Council District Boundaries. This research was conducted in association with the University of Akron’s Center for Urban Studies and used GIS techniques to develop boundaries for the Summit County, Ohio, County Council elections.

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    II. Teaching and Curriculum

    3350:405/505. Geographic Information Systems.  3 gr. or ug. credits. Introduction to the principles and concepts underlying geographic information systems (GIS) and their application in professional practice and academic research. Includes laboratory. Offered twice a year. Typical enrollment is 10 undergraduate and 5 graduate students.

    3350: 407/507. Advanced Geographic Information Systems.  3 gr. or ug. credits. Advanced instruction in the theory and application of geographic information systems (GIS), including hands-on experience with both raster and vector GIS. Offered once a year. Typical enrollment is 5 undergraduate and 5 graduate students.

    3350: 447/547. Introduction to Remote Sensing.  3 gr. or ug. credits. Study of aerial photography and non-photographic imagery developed by radar, thermal, multi-spectral, and satellite sensors. Emphasis on their use in geographical, geological, biological, and engineering research.  Offered once a year. Typical enrollment is 10 undergraduate and 5 graduate students.

    3350: 448/548. Automated Computer Mapping.  3 gr. or ug. credits. Study of computer-assisted map compilation and execution techniques. Emphasis on the integration of computer and cartographic skills and techniques. Problems adapted to the specialized interests of students. Offered once a year. Typical enrollment is 15 undergraduate and 5 graduate students.

    3350: 449/549. Advanced Remote Sensing. 3 gr. or ug. credits.  Current research in remote sensing. Applications in the study of human cultural and bio-physical environments. Practice in planning, execution, design, and interpretation of remote sensing studies. Offered once a year. Typical enrollment is 5 undergraduate and 5 graduate students.

    3350: 483/583. Spatial Analysis. 3 gr. or ug. credits. Analysis of mapped statistical data. Principles for the use of mapped data in statistical evidence, prediction, and hypothesis testing. Offered once a year. Typical enrollment is 10 undergraduate and 15 graduate students.

    3350: 544. Applications in Cartography and Geographic Information Systems. Application of analytic and presentation techniques from cartography and geographic information systems to practical problems in geography and planning. Laboratory. Offered once a year. Typical enrollment is 5 undergraduate and 5 graduate students.

    3350: 680. Advanced Spatial Analysis.  Advanced concepts and methods in geographic research. Emphasis on the use of quantitative techniques in geographical analysis including multivariate procedures such as factor and discriminant analysis and multidimensional scaling.
     

    III. Laboratories

    Hardware in the GIS Center:
     

  •  3 NT Servers with a total of 12 GB of storage
  •  20 NT workstations networked to the NT servers
  •  1 SUN workstation
  •  4 large-format digitizing tablets
  •  3 color printers
  •  2 scanners
  •  3 black and white printers
  •  1 large format HP inkjet plotter

    • GIS Related Software:
     

  •  ARC/INFO for Unix and NT: 20 licenses
  •  ArcView with all extensions for Windows and UNIX: unlimited licenses
  •  Other ESRI products on PC: unlimited licenses
  •  IDRISI: 20 licenses
  •  Atlas*GIS: 20 licenses
  •  MapInfo: 20 licenses
  •  AutoCAD 14: 10 licenses

    • IV. Multidisciplinary Connections

    The University of Akron’s GIS Center is housed in the Department of Geography and Planning and includes the GIS Research Laboratory, Center for Cartography and Spatial Analysis, and GIS Teaching Laboratory .  The Center provides GIS education, data, software, and services to the University’s educational units public service organizations. Academic units on campus who make use of  the GIS Center include the Department of Geography and Planning, the Department of Geology, the Department of Biology, and the Institute for Policy Studies.

    V. Staff Resources

    The faculty most directly involved with the University of Akron’s GIS activities are Drs. Linda Barrett of the Department of Geography and Planning, Dr. Leonard Chyi of the Department of Geology, Dr. Richard Klosterman of the Department of Geography and Planning, and Dr. Loren Siebert of the Department of Geography and Planning.  Staff support for the GIS Center is provided by Joseph Stoll of the Department of Geography and Planning.