RU Informatics Certificate

Geoinformatics is the integration of science and geospatial technologies. The key element that differentiates Geoinformatics from other areas of information technology is the fact that in geoinformatics, all data is "geocoded." That means that since all things have a position on, in, or above the Earth, the location of an entity thus provides us with a way to inter-relate a wide range of data types and discover possible relationships.

Who uses Geoinformatics, and why?

Planners, emergency management personnel, policymakers, earth scientists, law enforcement personnel, environmentalists, and other land-managers routinely face a number of complex problems that require intensive use of spatial data (also called "geodata") to capture, store, retrieve, analyze and present data. These individuals use geoinformatics to provide integrated analysis for problems such, the...

management of natural resources,
planning and management of land use,
sustainable agricultural development,
assessment of natural disasters,
spatial aspects of delivering emergency supplies,
nature conservation and environmental control, etc.

The challenge is the chaotic distribution of available data sets, lack of documentation about them, and lack of easy-to-use access tools and computer modeling and analysis codes have been major obstacles for scientists, practitioners, and educators alike. Recent advances in fields such as computational methods, visualization, and database interoperability are now providing practical means to overcome such problems. For solving these problems Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly used. This development has resulted in the new discipline of geo-information science, which combines expertise from information and communication technology (ICT), cartography, geodesy, remote sensing, GIS, photogrammetry; with subject-related disciplines, such as land use planning, geography, soil science, etc.

How will the Geoinformatics focus-courses complement the Informatics Certificate

RU's Geography Department will provide two, three credit-hour courses in Geoinformatics. With these courses, the students studying for a certificate in informatics will be able to specialize in the application of geospatial technologies and data to problems with a geographic nature. These courses will culminate in projects in which a student may get involved in the Geoinformatics capabilities of the Geography Department or the RU GIS Center to develop a product supporting their individual interests. Examples of projects might be research on the environmental impact of dumping sites along rivers, the effect of dam failures in VA on downstream communities, the development of a municipal GIS database to help in the development of land use ordinances, the development of an interactive crime GIS for a local governmental entity, etc. In addition, for students wishing additional training, several specialty GIS and Remote Sensing courses interface nicely with the Informatics Certificate.

How will a Certificate in Informatics (Geoinformatics specialization) benefit my career?

Organizations and institutions that are engaged in planning tasks and administration of comprehensive spatial databases, whether in the public or in the private sector, daily rely on the analysis of complex data to understand and solve problems. It is estimated that eighty percent of all data have a spatial component; therefore spatial IT processing requires professionally educated specialists that understand the "Geo" component and can apply the "Info" techniques in order to be able to conceptually design, supply, and manage such complex digital information systems.

For additional information regarding the Informatics Certificate (Geoinformatics), contact:

Dr. Bernd Kuennecke, Chairperson
Radford University, Department of Geography
Phone: 540-831-5558     E-mail:  bkuennec@radford.edu

RU Graduate College, Preston Hall 213, (540) 831-5431 gradcoll@radford.edu
PO Box 6928, Radford, VA 24142