Representing Reality:

Imagery in the Cognitive, Social, and Natural Sciences

The use of imagery in representing reality has become pervasive throughout our world. With the advent of publicly-available geographic services such as Google Maps, advanced medical technologies for rendering genes and cells, and a multitude of satellites amassing data from remote locations, spaces and objects that were once abstractions can now be perceived in new and tangible ways.

The GIScience IGERT at the University at Buffalo will be hosting a conference May 12-15, 2010, at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo, NY, that will address the theory and application of imagery across academic disciplines. In particular, this conference aims to attract Ph.D. students and faculty from IGERT programs, as well as researchers from a wide range of subjects, who incorporate innovative image resources into their research or address the conceptualization of reality as a digital format. The agenda will include featured speakers, research presentations, poster sessions and specialized breakout discussions.

Additionally, target objectives for the conference include forums and discussions for future IGERT collaborations in this genre, advantages and disadvantage s of an interdisciplinary approach to image analysis, and question and answer sessions featuring IGERT alumni, on the special challenges facing interdisciplinary students in the academic workforce.

We will be accepting abstracts on the following topics:

- Integration of Imagery with Geographic Information Systems
- Imagery of Natural and Urban Environments
- Issues in the Digitization of Reality
- Imagery Cognition
- Digital Imagery Processing
- Imagery and Spatial Ontology
- Sensor Technology and Data Collection
- Misinterpretation of Imagery
- Public Participation in Imagery Analysis

Deadline for submission of abstracts is January 31, 2009
Funding support of up to $1,000 will be provided for 30 enrolled IGERT students to cover travel and conference expenses including registration, meals and lodging, local transportation and airfare to Buffalo, NY. Priority will be based on participation in an IGERT program with an imagery focus, a dissertation topic related to the field, and recommendation from the student's IGERT P.I. Funding applications and required supporting documentation must be submitted no later than January 31, 2010. Applicants must submit an abstract for a presentation or poster and also prepare a poster highlighting the achievements of their particular IGERT program to share at the conference. The fundin g application can be accessed through the link below.

For more information, please email giscience.igert@buffalo.edu

The programs will be scheduled as follows:

4:15 Registration (Coffman Union, Mississippi Rm)
4:30 General Session with a Transportation Industry Panel (Presidents Rm)
6:00 Exhibitor Reception
7:15 Adjorn

We hope you will encourage your students to attend and also include the Career Expo in your syllabus next semester. More information about this event can be found online at http://www.cts.umn.edu/Events/CareerExpo/. Student flyers will be mailed to faculty and posted around campus at the start of spring semester. Feel free to contact me directly at 612-625-5608 or haag0025@umn.edu with questions.

* Tom Goerger will present "Dealing with Disaster: Emergency
Management in GIS" from 10-10:30 am on Wed., Dec. 16 in Blegen 445.

* Rachel Jordan will present "Interactive Visualization Applications
for Hydrologic Data" from 10-10:30 am on Thursday, Dec. 17 in
Blegen 445.

* Clay (Cottingim) Austin will present "Distributing GIS
Functionality over the WWW: A Technical Review of Web Mapping and
the MN Department of Natural Resources Tagged Fish Reporter" from
10-10:30 am on Friday, Dec. 18 in Blegen 445.

* Mike Kasel will present "Proactive Maintenance and Increased
Efficiency in Utility Management: City of Rosemount Streetlight
Inventory Project" from 1-1:30 pm on Friday, Dec. 18 in Blegen 445.

Would appreciate you forwarding this to any students that might be
interested or other professors you know that might have interested
students.
________________________________

OFFICE LOCATION
Minneapolis, MN
ABOUT US
The Nature Conservancy is the world's leading conservation
organization, working in all 50 states and more than 33 countries.
Founded in 1951, the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve
the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity
of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to
survive.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Nature Conservancy is entering its fourth year of offering
internships intended to increase the diversity of our staff. Our 2010
Summer Diversity Internship program seeks to enrich and diversify the
field of conservation through paid internship opportunities to students
currently underrepresented in the conservation field. The internships
offered cover a wide range of fields and are available in locations
throughout the U.S. and will begin June 7, 2010.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
The 10 week internship will result in the update of 4-6 site
designs, with an emphasis on prairie sites. The essential steps are as
follows: 1) review existing manual files, including old site design files and
TNC's Conservation Action Plan for the site which identifies the site's
conservation targets, threats to those targets, and strategies to abate
those threats; 2) analyze those designs in the context of more recent GIS data
including areas of biodiversity significance and aerial photography; 3) tour the site with TNC preserve managers to get a greater
understanding of the area; 4) interview TNC preserve managers (and potentially partner
organizations and agencies) on threats and opportunities; 5) update any missing parcel data for key parcels; 6) use all the information to produce draft maps of the "desired future
preserve design" for high priority sites; 7) work with Director of Habitat Protection to schedule meetings with
relevant staff and partners to review draft updated preserve designs; 8) make necessary revisions.
The end product for each preserve will be a map with areas outlined for
proposed TNC acquisition, TNC conservation easement, and/or partner
conservation. These preserve designs will be used to help focus
proactive outreach to landowners to facilitate future conservation
transactions. Companion products may also include databases of
priority landowners ready for mail-merge letters and/or brief write-ups
(1-5 pages) about the site explaining the preserve design rationale and
key issues for consideration during implementation.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
* 3+ years education in conservation biology, natural resource
management, geography, planning or related field. * Experience doing research and analyzing data required. * Experience in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) required. * Experience looking at data from different sources and applying that
information to a map.
ADDITIONAL JOB INFORMATION
The State of Minnesota will spend $70 -100 million per year over
the next 25 years on habitat conservation. The MN chapter of TNC needs
to be prepared to submit proposals to utilize these funds for protection
of high biodiversity sites. To help position the Chapter to be able to
leverage these funding sources, we need to update many of our nature
preserve designs. The Preserve Design intern will help us update the preserve designs to
highlight areas of conservation significance and identify those
properties that should be protected in the future. Many of our existing
preserve designs are outdated and do not take full advantage of the
extensive GIS information that is available. Many also do not reflect
recent changes that have occurred on the landscape. Most of the work
will be done in the Minneapolis office, and the intern will travel to
see a few of preserves in Greater MN.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS: Three + years education in conservation biology, natural resource
management, geography, planning, or related field. Bachelor's degree
preferred, but not required. Good analytical skills and research
experience required. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) skills
required including basic map design and data analysis tools. Experience
looking at data from different sources and applying that information to
a map.
COMMUNICATIONS/INTERPERSONAL CONTACTS: * Ability to interact with general public and convey basic information
about The Nature Conservancy. * Demonstrated experience working compatibly with other people. * Ability to function productively as a member a work team.
BENEFITS
The Nature Conservancy offers competitive compensation,
excellent benefits, flexible work policies and a collaborative work
environment. We also provide professional development opportunities and
promote from within. As a result, you will find a culture that supports
and inspires conservation achievement and personal development, both
within the workplace and beyond.
SALARY INFORMATION
Undergraduate: $10/hour Graduate: Beginning at $12/hour
HOW TO APPLY
To apply to position number 11455, submit resume AND cover
letter as one document, including at least 3 references. All
applications must be submitted in the system prior to midnight Eastern
Time on November 13, 2009.
Failure to complete all of the required fields may result in your
application being disqualified from consideration. The information
entered in the education and work experience sections are auto screened
by the system based on the basic qualifications of the position.
You must click submit to apply for the position. Click save if you want
to be able to return to your application and submit it later. Once
submitted, applications cannot be revised or edited.
EOE STATEMENT
The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer.


________________________________

Michael Pressman
Director of Habitat Protection - MN, ND, SD

mpressman@tnc.org
(612) 331-0706 (Phone) (612) 308-6172 (Mobile) (612) 331-0770 (Fax)
nature.org

The Nature Conservancy
MN Field Office

1101 West River Parkway, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55415-1291

This innovation prize aims to encourage students to contribute to the development and practical realization of innovative concepts in the field of Geoinformatics. In return, the students gain valuable, practical experience working in an international team of researchers and developers, benefit from a new social environment, individualized supervision and support for their work, and acquire additional qualification resulting from successful completion of the work.
This call is open to all students of geoinformatics, computer science, business informatics, media informatics and other fields associated with geoinformatics, who have not yet completed a master's degree or diploma in geoinformatics/informatics/computer science. Students are invited to apply, as individuals or in small teams (2 - 3 members).

A jury of prominent members of the GI community will evaluate the submissions and choose the winner:

Prof. Dr. Edzer Pebesma, Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Muenster
Prof. Dr. Menno Jan Kraak, ITC International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
Dr. Ir. Rob Lemmens, ITC International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
Dr. Andreas Wytzisk, con terra GmbH
Günther Pichler, ESRI Europe
Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Streit, 52°North Initiative.
The winning team has the unique opportunity to further develop its concept together with 52°North students and academic personnel from the sponsoring organizations. Their work should culminate in the implementation of a fully functioning open source software program as a proof-of-concept. A stay at the 52°North Initiative in Muenster is intended for this purpose. Prize money of 1,000 Euros per team member and a maximum of 3,000 Euros per team will be awarded. The prize money is to be paid upon successful completion of the entire work (see applicant information).

More information

Apply to:

Human Resources
TeamWorks International, Inc.
4801 Highway 61, Suite 106
White Bear Lake, MN 55110

Email: jiml@teamworksintl.net
Website: www.teamworksintl.net
Fax: 651.429.7782