PROJECTS

Students who develop a strong interest in GIS may choose to apply their knowledge and skills within their senior project or gain hands-on experience through internship projects. In fact, more than 45 students have incorporated GIS into their senior thesis, while over 20 students have completed GIS-related internships. Examples of GIS in senior projects include constructing a series of driving tour maps to promote ecotourism, determining the effect of land use on phosphorus export within watersheds, and performing sub-surface analysis of Pleistocene-Age glacial deposits. Likewise, examples of GIS-related internships include constructing a historical map of the city of Meadville, estimating the density and distribution of tree species from sampling points, and developing a crop suitability model and database for a local organic farm. The following links provide information regarding GIS-related senior thesis and internship projects:

Over the years, faculty members have used GIS as a problem-solving or decision-making tool in a variety of research projects. Examples of GIS in faculty research projects include generating a series of driving tour maps to promote ecotourism in northwest Pennsylvania, using satellite imagery to model the risk to Lyme disease in northern California, and developing spatial databases of the location and distribution of state and federal managed land, LEED certified buildings, and timber buyers within Pennsylvania as part of forest certification research. The following links provide information regarding GIS in faculty research projects: