Join The "Great British Map Challenge" by Esri UK

Esri UK, the B2B mapping and analytics company, has announced a new contest to find Britain’s best story map. The winning entries will win one of five top prizes and feature on Esri UK’s new story map gallery which will launch in the Autumn.

Story maps combine interactive maps and multimedia content to create a unique user experiences. Since the launch of ArcGIS Online, hundreds of organisations have used Esri’s mapping tools to tell their stories and some of the best examples can be found in Esri’s Story Map Gallery.

Esri UK is encouraging potential story mappers to look at the ‘Great British Summer’ for inspiration. From major sporting events to music festivals, seaside holidays to picnics in city parks, there are many great British summer experiences that can be shared on a story map. Alternatively, entrants can submit story maps they have made previously.

To find out more and to enter, please click here.

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NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge 2013: Registration Now Opens

Registration is now open for teams wishing to compete in the $1.495 million robotics competition known as the Sample Return Robot Challenge, sponsored by NASA and managed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Worcester, MA. Registration for the competition will close on January 7, 2014 with late registration available until March 15, 2014. The competition will be held June 11-13, 2014.

For information about the Sample Return Robot Challenge rules, requirements, and how to register, visit: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={A282D064-383A-8906-2956-A6D67CE2964D}&path=open

"The objective of the competition is to encourage innovations in automatic navigation and robotic manipulator technologies that NASA could incorporate into future missions," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "Innovations stemming from this challenge may improve NASA's capability to explore an asteroid or Mars, and advance robotic technology for use in industries and applications here on Earth."

To win, a team must demonstrate a fully autonomous robot that can seek out samples and return them to a designated point within a set time period. Robots will be required to navigate over unknown terrain, around obstacles, and in varied lighting conditions without human control, or use of GPS, or other terrestrial navigation aids.

This is a Centennial Challenge in which NASA provides the prize purse for technological achievements. The challenge is extended to individuals, groups and companies. Unlike most contracts or grants, awards will be made only after solutions are demonstrated successfully. Since the program's inception in 2005, NASA's Centennial Challenges has awarded more than $6 million to 15 different competition-winning teams through 24 events. Competitors have included private companies, citizen inventors and academia working outside the traditional aerospace industry.

The Sample Return Robot Challenge is part of the Centennial Challenges Program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's investment in space technology, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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NASA Night Rover Energy Challenge - Registration Now Opens

Registration is now open for teams wishing to compete in the $1.5 million energy storage competition known as the Night Rover Challenge, sponsored by NASA and managed by Cleantech Open of Palo Alto, Calif.  Registration for the competition will close October 25, 2013.  The competition will be held January 20, 2014 through March 24, 2014.

For information about the Night Rover Challenge, Challenge rules, requirements, and how to register, visit:
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={22395A3D-DA0E-BB95-4C82-2C50ECD97E08}&path=open

"The goal of the Night Rover Challenge is to stimulate innovations in energy storage technologies of value in extreme space environments, such as the surface of the moon, or for electric vehicles and renewable energy systems here on Earth," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NASA wants this challenge to generate new ideas that will allow planetary rovers the ability to take on a night shift, and possibly create new energy storage technologies for applications of benefit here on our home planet."

To win, a team must demonstrate a stored energy system that can power a simulated solar-powered exploration vehicle that can operate through multiple cycles of daylight and extended periods of darkness.  During the Night Rover Challenge energy storage systems will receive electrical energy from a simulated solar collector during daylight hours. During darkness, the stored energy will be used for simulated thermal management, scientific experimentation, communication, and rover movement.

This is a Centennial Challenge in which NASA provides the prize purse for technological achievements.  The challenge is extended to individuals, groups and companies. Unlike most contracts or grants, awards will be made only after solutions are demonstrated successfully. Since the program's inception in 2005, NASA's Centennial Challenges has awarded more than $6 million to 15 different competition-winning teams through 23 events. Competitors have included private companies, citizen inventors and academia working outside the traditional aerospace industry.

The Night Rover Challenge is part of the Centennial Challenges Program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's investment in space technology, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech.

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OGC Student Map App Challenge 2013 Sponsored By Google

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announces the OGC Student Map App Challenge, sponsored by Google, an OGC Principal Member. The Student Map App Challenge is a contest for students who have programming skills and an interest in maps and location services.

Open standards from the OGC unlock the potential of the "spatial Web," creating opportunities for app developers to make all kinds of location information available to users, independent of platform. The OGC has launched the Student Map App Challenge to make entrepreneurial students aware of the enormous social and commercial potential of these open standards.

Three winning applicants will receive an OGC Student Map App Challenge Award and the opportunity to have their apps featured on the OGC website and in other media channels. The first place winner will:

    - Receive the award at their choice of the next year's OGC Technical Committee meetings (http://www.opengeospatial.org/event?category=ogctcpc), held quarterly in cities around the world. OGC will pay for travel, accommodations and meals.

   - Receive a Nexus Tablet donated by Google.

   - Receive a two-year OGC membership for the student's academic institution

   - Have a dedicated award page on the OGC website and be cited in an OGC press release.

Applicants and their apps will receive the attention of the OGC's 480 public sector and private sector members – government organizations, NGOs, corporations and universities around the world.

Apps can make use of hundreds of public and private sector map data sources that are accessible through server-side implementations of OGC standards. These include weather, navigation, demographics, sensors, webcams, commercial establishments, hydrology, bird counts, accident statistics and many other kinds of data. The OGC Student Map App Challenge page provides search tools that can be used to find these existing OGC service instances. Most of these have no restrictions or few restrictions on their use, and thus they provide countless opportunities for mapping apps and location service apps.

Students don't need to rely on others' data, however. Sources of spatial data that are not now accessible through OGC's open interfaces and encodings can be made accessible by students who develop server interfaces as well as client apps.

Students must register by 15 June 2013 and submit their apps by 15 July 2013. Contestants and the public will be notified of the results on 30 August 2013.

The OGC is an international consortium of more than 480 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the Student Map App Challenge page for details.

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Landsat Contest 2012 Ends June 6th

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the United States' Landsat Earth-observing program, NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are holding a contest that will offer winners customized satellite views of changing local landscapes.

All U.S. citizens are eligible to enter the "My American Landscape: A Space Chronicle of Change" contest. Winners will be announced on July 23 at a Landsat Program anniversary news conference in Washington, which will be carried live on NASA Television. The submissions deadline is Wednesday, June 6.

The Landsat Program has created the longest continuous global record of the Earth's surface observed from space. The images are a critical ingredient in decision making for agriculture, climate research, disaster mitigation, ecosystems, forestry, human health, and water management.

To enter the contest, send NASA an email describing the local landscape changes you are interested in where you live, and what you hope to learn about them from Landsat's four decades of observations from space. Scientists will review the Landsat data archive for the six areas selected and show the changes observed at the July 23 event.

For more information on the contest and details.

The first Landsat satellite rocketed into space on July 23, 1972. The Landsat Program was our nation's first step toward studying in a comprehensive way what was happening across the American landscape and around the world. Landsat satellites have documented our planet ever since in great detail, giving us valuable information about Earth's surface, its ecosystems and the impacts of human activity and natural disasters. NASA is preparing to launch the next Landsat satellite in 2013, which will be turned over to USGS for operations and data distribution.

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GISCI 2012 Poster Contest

Join the GISCI 2012 Poster Contest!

The 2nd Annual GISCI Poster Contest is open through April 15, 2012. Maps should be created from the GISP database available on the GISCI website. A complete set of rules are also available.

The GISCI Outreach Committee will choose the top 12 posters. A panel of preeminent geospatial judges will select the top three winners, and the geospatial public will vote on a People's Choice Award.

Prizes include:

1st $500, 2nd $250, 3rd $100, People’s Choice $500 and Honorable Mentions.

Each winner (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and People’s Choice) will also have their initial certification fee waived if the application is submitted within one year of the date the winners are announced. Current GISPs will have their renewal fees waived at their next recertification date.

Map submittal earns / qualifies for 1 point under the Contribution to the Profession category.

All three of last year’s winners have been exhibited at conferences and in poster contests around the country. Two of last year’s winners have been included in the soon to be published Esri Map Book, earning them points for published maps in the Contribution to the Profession section of the GISP application.

For more information about GISCI and GISP certification, visit www.gisci.org.

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GeoBusiness Award 2011 Candidates to Present at INTERGEO in Nuremberg

For the first time, candidates for the GeoBusiness Award 2011 will present their innovative projects at INTERGEO in Nuremberg. The ideas range from an online platform for forestry information and an iPhone app for species conservation to a portal providing information on cabling for construction projects. The award - which comes with a prize of EUR 10,000 - is presented by the GeoBusiness Commission (GIW Commission) of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in recognition of new business models in the field of geobusiness. The GIW Commission numbers high-ranking associations from the German industrial sector among its members. As a result, the award focuses on extremely interesting business ideas or process improvements that have one thing in common - they prepare local public sector information for the market, says Olaf Freier, Managing Director of HINTE GmbH, the company responsible for organising the trade fair.

Held in Nuremberg from 27 to 29 September, INTERGEO is the perfect place for the candidates for the GeoBusiness Award 2011. At the GIW Commission stand (Stand E41 in Hall 7a), they will have an opportunity to showcase their new geoinformation ideas that have recently been launched on the market. The event gives them access to an audience of industry professionals and will also show just how tough it will be for the judges to select three finalists. The winner will receive EUR 10,000 and a comprehensive PR package. Once the panel of judges has reached its decision, the 3rd GeoBusiness Award will be presented in Berlin on 2 November. INTERGEO also offers the seven candidates an additional opportunity to present their projects. On the Wednesday of the fair, they will take to the stage in the Trend and Media Forum (TMF) at Stand A10 in Hall 6 to explain the innovative ideas behind their geoinformation products. INTERGEO supports the award's goal of promoting intelligent geobusiness ideas and raising awareness in all areas of the German business community. The world's largest conference trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management is the most comprehensive product platform showcasing the industry's ideas and innovative strength.

DVW e.V. - the German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation and Land Management - is the patron of INTERGEO, which is being held from 27 to 29 September 2011 in Nuremberg.

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Join Topcon Video Contest

"How do you Topcon?" is the theme for Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) new video contest aimed at showing how customers put TPS instruments to work.

The contest will run August 1 through October 31, 2011.

Participants will upload a short video (maximum 120 seconds) showing how they use Topcon products and services. Any use of Topcon equipment across all business segments – construction, survey, emerging business and agriculture – will be eligible.

At the close of the contest, social media users (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) will vote on their favorite videos, based on contest rules, which will be posted on the contest page website.

From points received, the finalists will move to the last stage – an independent panel of judges. Points will be awarded for creativity/originality of the concept of the video and also of the final product.

Winners will be notified after December 1. Prizes include: Grand prize, choice of a Topcon product from a selection of products, or iPad 2, or $750 American Express (AMEX) gift card.

The four runners up will get one of either a $500, $250, $100 or $50 AMEX gift card.

“Video of the Week” winners will also receive a $25 AMEX gift card or a “How do you Topcon?” hat and t-shirt.

Winners will be featured in a special edition of Topcon Today, as well as in a national news release and on the TPS website.

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Russia Wins 10th National Geographic World Championship

Defeating teams from 16 other regions, Russia took top honors at the 10th National Geographic World Championship held today at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. Canada, the defending champion, came in second, and Chinese Taipei was third. The biennial competition, in which teams of students answer questions on physical, cultural and economic geography, is organized by the National Geographic Society. Google was the sponsor of this year’s contest.

Russia has entered a team in every National Geographic World Championship since the competition began in 1993. This is the first time the country has won. The Russian team comprised Alexander Bondarchuk, 16, of St. Petersburg; Masha Samoletova, 16, of St. Petersburg; and Egor Shustov, 16, of Sludyanka.

The Canadian team members were Alexander Cohen, 15, of Ottawa, Ontario; Aoife O’Leary, 15, of Surrey, British Columbia; and Alejandro Torres-Lopez, 16, of North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Representing Chinese Taipei were Chen-Luo Cheng, 15, of Taipei; Po-Chen Chu, 14, of Taitung; and Tong-hong Hsu, 14, of Banqiao District, New Taipei City.

In an Olympics-style ceremony, gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the first-, second- and third-placed teams. Alex Trebek, host of the U.S. television quiz show “Jeopardy!”, moderated today’s finals.

Russia, Canada and Chinese Taipei qualified for the final round after obtaining the highest combined scores in a written contest on Sunday and in Monday’s preliminary activity that included a hands-on activity at the San Francisco Zoo.

Students were eligible to take part in the World Championship competition by winning or being a top finisher in the national competitions of their home regions. The 14 other teams competing this year were from Australia, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

John Fahey, chairman and CEO of the National Geographic Society, said the competition was a great way for talented young geographers around the world to match wits against each other and to enjoy a rewarding cross-cultural exchange. “The competition enhances geo-literacy, international dialogue and understanding, and promotes friendships around the globe,” he said.

The World Championship is held every two years. The first contest, held in London in 1993, was won by the United States, which beat teams from the United Kingdom and Russia. The Australians, competing against four other teams, won the 1995 competition in Orlando, Fla. The third championship, held in 1997 at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., was won by Canada, which bested eight other teams. The United States won the fourth competition against 11 teams in Toronto, Canada, in 1999. The United States also took first place in the 2001 contest in Vancouver, Canada; in 2003 at Busch Gardens, Fla.; and in 2005 in Budapest, Hungary. The 2007 competition at SeaWorld, San Diego, was won by Mexico. Canada took top honors in 2009 in Mexico City.

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ESRI International Conservation Mapping Competition Deadline

Enter the International Conservation Mapping Competition 2011. Created in association with Esri and the Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) to bring special recognition to those involved in conservation initiatives, the International Conservation Mapping Competition is open to all nonprofit conservation groups and the individuals who support them. A total of $10,000 in prize money will be awarded in the following categories.

* Grand Prize: Best exemplification of conservation mapping
* Best Traditional Cartography: Best design and art in a static map (hard copy or online)
* Best Interactive Web Map: Best design and usability in an interactive web map
* Best Use of Science: Best design and impact in presenting challenging scientific concepts
* Best Societal Impact: Most compelling impact on society
* Best Innovation: Most creative use of mapping tools to communicate a conservation message

Winners will be announced in the summer 2011 issue of Conservation Magazine.

Exhibition plans for accepted maps include a featured display with SCGIS and the Society for Conservation Biology at the Esri International User Conference, July 11–15, 2011, in San Diego, CA.

Details and Deadlines:

* Entries must be created using Esri GIS as a primary tool.
* An essay describing your map is required.
* The deadline to receive entries is 11:59 p.m. (PST) March 18, 2011.

Enter contest here.

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ESRI 2010 Mashup Challenge - Map Your App Contest

With the theme "Map Your App," ESRI's 2010 Mashup Challenge invites members of the geodeveloper community to stretch their imaginations, test their technical skills and develop creative geospatial Web applications. Guidelines for this challenge are construct a mashup using ESRI’s ArcGIS online content and Web APIs, publish the related URL, shoot a video describing the application and post it on YouTube.

Prize for the first-place entry is $10,000, for second place entry is $5,000 and $2,500 for third and fourth place entries. Judges will choose top entries on the basis of uniqueness, utility, user experience and analytic process.

Michael Gould, ESRI’s director of education for industry solutions, said, “We are looking for applications that depict more than just points on a map. Online GIS is a decision-making tool and its analytic capabilities are fundamental to that process. This competition invites the world to connect new and innovative content and services to active maps.”

The deadline for submission is March 5, 2010. Additional information and details concerning the application process can be found on the ESRI 2010 Mashup Challenge Web page.

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Mapping Awards Contest for best geography ideas

Mapping Awards Contest for best geography ideas! GeoVation, an online initiative aiming to promote innovation with geography, has launched an awards programme with a prize fund of £21,000 available to develop the best entries.

The initiative – supported by mapping agency Ordnance Survey – aims to help individuals, businesses and communities bring their map‑based ideas to life. There are three themes: crime, health and the environment, although good ideas on any subject are welcomed.

John Abbott, GeoVation Champion, comments: “This is all about investing in worthwhile, exciting and innovative uses of geography. We believe geography can play a real part in addressing some of the world’s big challenges and we want to unleash people’s creative potential.

"We are keen to engage with anyone, from technology experts to the wider community."

Awards Programme Submissions need to be made on the GeoVation site before the closing date of 4 January, and entrants are free to suggest the use of any resources, such as Google Maps or OS OpenSpace. Ordnance Survey is not claiming any ownership of the entries submitted.

The initiative comes as the Home Office releases nationwide crime maps, a powerful demonstration of how geography can be used to empower citizens and improve public service accountability. Among the ideas already submitted to GeoVation are a service that lets pedestrians map safe routes based on the location of CCTV cameras and a text alert service where 999 callers are sent the location of their nearest defibrillator. Another idea hopes to encourage people to buy more local produce by publicising nearby availability.

Abbott continues: “Essentially, this is about trying to build something from the bottom up, rather than having a single organisation or business dictate how things should be done.”

The cash will be awarded to four winning entries, with £10,000 to the outright winner and two prizes of £5,000 for the runners-up. A community award, as voted by the audience, will receive £1,000. All the money will go towards developing the ideas.

The closing date for entries is 4 January, and more information is available at the GeoVation website at https://challenge.geovation.org.uk/.

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MAPPS Geospatial Awards Competition 2009

MAPPS, the association of private geospatial firms, has announced that it will host its third annual Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards competition, recognizing the professionalism, value, integrity and achievement that member firms have demonstrated in their projects and technology developments over the previous year.

"The Awards Program is an opportunity for MAPPS member firms to showcase the high-quality work that is being preformed in the geospatial community," said John Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director. "The awards program demonstrates the cutting edge technology and professional expertise that MAPPS member firms implement in projects serving their clients."

The award recipients will be announced and recognized on Wednesday, November 18 during the MAPPS/ASPRS Joint Specialty Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards program has six categories: airborne and satellite data acquisition; photogrammetry/elevation data generation; remote sensing; GIS/IT; small projects; and technology innovation. A Grand Award will be selected from the six category winners to represent the MAPPS Project of the Year.

In 2008, the MAPPS Project of the Year was awarded to Fugro EarthData (Frederick, Maryland) for the "Mapping a Vital Marine Resource in Texas" project. The project, conducted for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Services Center (CSC), created benthic habitat maps to support the Texas Seagrass Monitoring Program. It helped protect the shallow marine environment in the 1,400 square miles of estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. The mapping project involved three elements: high-resolution aerial mapping, object-oriented classification and quantitative accuracy assessment.

The 2008 category winners were Intermap Technologies for "Ultra Long Lines: Increasing Airborne Data Acquisition Rates" in the category of Airborne and Satellite Data Acquisition; Aero-Metric, Inc. for "Interstate 35W Bridge Collapse" in Photogrammetry/Elevation Data Generation; and Photo Science for "Legislative Atlas" in the GIS/IT category. The Fugro EarthData project was the category winner among Remote Sensing project entries.

The 2009 contest is open to all MAPPS Member and Associate Member firms. The deadline for submitting entries is August 7, 2009.

To learn more information about MAPPS and the Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards program visit MAPPS.

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Join the UN photo contest

As part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness about the urgent need for action against desertification and land degradation, the UN is calling on all aspiring photographers to participate in its second international photo contest.

The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is looking for images that artistically highlight either the efforts of people trying to conserve soil, land or water in drylands or the relationship between people and dryland ecosystems.

Drylands cover more than a third of Earth’s land surface and are the habitat and source of livelihood for nearly two billion people. These areas are increasingly threatened by desertification, which puts the health and well-being of over 1 billion people in more than 100 countries at risk.

The good news is that dryland desertification can be remedied, or even reversed, provided information is available on what areas are most at risk. Satellite images can highlight land use change and reveal increased surface reflectivity, temperature, dryness and dustiness.

The view from space can also support authorities in getting an overall picture of key pressures on land, such as burned land due to forest fires and erosion processes and their trends over time. This information, together with climatic data and socio-economic information, provides an overview of the main causes and effects of land degradation.

ESA has worked closely with the UNCCD secretariat for more than six years to develop standardised information services based on satellite observations to assess and monitor desertification and its trends over time.

Photo contest winners will be selected by an international jury led by world-renowned photographer Michael Martin, National Geographic editor Jürgen Nakoff, Mali’s Minister for the Promotion of Women, Youth and Family, Maïga Sina Damba, and French environmentalist Nicolas Hulot, among others.

The first-prize winner will receive 1500 euros and be invited to participate in an award ceremony during the UNCCD’s Convention of the Parties in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The second- and third-prize winners will receive 1000 and 500 euros, respectively.

Photos should be submitted via email by 17 June, which is the UN’s celebration of World Environment Day. This year’s theme, ‘Conserving land and water - securing our common future’, was chosen to raise awareness of the global interdependence of worldwide natural resources like land, soil, water and the climate as a whole.

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URISA student paper competition

The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) is sponsoring its third annual student paper competition. The objective of the competition is to challenge undergraduate and postgraduate students to demonstrate development and effective use of information systems in both their field of study and the community. The competition is open to all eligible students but particularly those interested in careers using geographic information systems, information technology, geospatial technology, planning and/or community development.

The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2009.

URISA will award students cash prizes for best student authored papers. Winners will be recognised at the URISA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, September 29-October 2, 2009.

Following are the categories of prizes for the winners:

First Place - $500 cash. Free conference registration and recognition at the URISA Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA. Paper may be published in the URISA Journal.

Second Place - $300 cash. Free conference registration. Paper may be published in the URISA Journal.

Third Place - $150 cash. Free conference registration. Paper may be published in the URISA Journal.

The following types of papers are encouraged:

1. Comprehensive literature review on a spatial technology and its application.
2. Application of spatial statistics.
3. Application of an implemented spatial technology and its demonstrable impact on a public or private sector organization.
4. Treatment and development of spatial technologies and theory.

Application areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Economic development
• Safety or homeland security
• Environmental planning and resource management
• Geographic information systems
• Infrastructure management
• Remote sensing
• Urban land use planning and management

The URISA Student Paper Committee reviews all papers. Winners will be notified in July 2009.

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Winners: 2008 URISA Student Paper Competition

URISA is pleased to announce the results of its Second Annual Student Paper Competition.

First Place
Arjen Koekoek, Wageningen University - The Netherlands
THE POTENTIAL OF E-PARTICIPATION AS PLANNING SUPPORT SYSTEM

ABSTRACT: The increasing complexity of spatial planning issues and pressure from citizens to take part in designing and deciding on spatial plans result in a need for improved methods to aid communication between governmental actors and citizens. These developments put high demands on participatory Planning Support Systems (PSS); instruments that can aid planners in doing their planning tasks. By using the accessibility of the internet, e-participation offers opportunities as a PSS. Although many advantages are attributed to participatory PSS, its use in the planning practice remains marginal until now. It is argued here that this is partly caused by the lack of empirical studies that demonstrate potential benefits and problems when applying PSS.

This paper provides guidelines for organizations that contemplate on using a participatory PSS. In order to do so, a framework is developed, identifying obstacles that could block effective participation in a PSS. Three planning processes are evaluated to investigate the importance of these obstacles. It is demonstrated that, although e-participation has potential as PSS, the lack of political will blocks effective participation and a more profound link between the citizen input and the decision-making is needed.

Second Place
Claire Brill, Clark University – Massachusetts
Using GIS to Contrast Perceived Versus Preferred Priorities for Brownfield Redevelopment in Worcester, MA

ABSTRACT: This paper compares the perceived priorities of decision-makers with the stated desires of stakeholders concerning brownfield redevelopment in the City of Worcester, MA. Redeveloping brownfields left over from Worcester’s industrial past is held as a critical strategy for the future of this city in central Massachusetts. However, the goals of this strategy vary across stakeholder groups. Key informants were surveyed regarding their perceptions of brownfield redevelopment. An inventory of Worcester brownfields was created from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection records. A multicriteria evaluation was carried out through Geographic Information Systems. This study found that while economic development and job creation are the apparent focus for one set of influential decision-makers, protection of natural resources and public health are important to another group of stakeholders. The outcomes for each end- use objective were examined to determine whether the goals for each could be met while focusing on only one redevelopment strategy. Results reveal the land parcels that satisfy the objectives for only one group, both groups, or neither group. Previously redeveloped sites were evaluated based on the same criteria to determine the extent to which existing and preferred priorities had been satisfied with these revitalization efforts. The results show that focusing on perceived priorities will not accomplish preferred objectives for brownfield redevelopment in Worcester.

Third Place
U. W. Tang, University of Macau, Macau (PR China)
DATA CAPTURE AND DATA MINING OF URBAN AIR POLLUTION: THE BUILDING-BASED APPROACH

ABSTRACT: The method and accuracy of data capture dominate the spatial distribution of urban air pollution. Due to limited budget, installation space, and labor resources, permanent or temporary air pollution monitoring sites are very scattered. Air quality assessment of a city based on scattered monitoring sites may be incorrect because non-homogeneous distribution of air quality is neglected. Therefore, a number of model systems have been developed to estimate urban air quality at unsampled sites.

In this paper, representative air quality model systems, their data captures and their applications are reviewed, which show that the input/output spatial data are commonly stored in regular grids with resolutions of 1-2 km, regardless of the complexity of urban form. Recently, a model system which can estimate air quality (and noise) in front of individual buildings along both sides of the road is developed. Compared with the grid-based approach with spatial resolutions of 1-2 km, the present building-based approach can predict the complex spatial variation of traffic emission, urban geometry, dispersion and air (noise) pollution. The results show that the building-based approach may open an innovated methodology in data mining of urban spatial data for environmental assessment.

Read the winning submissions.

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2008 Data Fusion Contest: MSU team among top five

A Mississippi State University team is the sole U.S. entry ranked among the top five in recent worldwide computing competition attracting more than 2,000 submissions.

MSU also is the only one among the five with an all-student team in the 2008 Data Fusion Contest, a part of the International Geosciences and Remote Sensing Symposium held this year in Boston, Mass.

Final scores were so close and number of entries so large that a 1-5 ranking was not issued. The four other top teams came from France, Italy and Spain.

Representing MSU-and the United States-in the final recognition were Jacob A. Bowen of Belden; Jeffrey S. “Jeff” Brantley and Terrance R. West, both of Meridian; Matthew A. Lee of Millbrook, Ala., and Saurabh Prasad of Starkville.

Bowen and Brantley are senior computer engineering majors; Lee, a doctoral student in computer engineering; and Prasad and West, doctoral students in electrical engineering.

In addition to the team achievement, Prasad received the first-place award for student research papers. His entry in this category was selected over those of peers at Colorado State and Ohio State universities, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and institutions in China, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Using satellite-collected data, the team event required the design and implementation of automated image-processing systems to produce the most accurate groundcover maps.

All of the MSU team members, along with adviser Lori Mann Bruce, work on campus at the GeoResources Institute. Bruce is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and the institute’s associate director.

“All of the other top five teams had non-students, including research faculty members,” she said. “Ours is made up exclusively of currently enrolled students.”

Prasad’s first-place win “also is most impressive when you consider the international field of entrants against whom he was competing,” she added.

Bruce said she and colleagues in the GRI and Bagley College of Engineering “are very proud of our students and the leadership they demonstrated under pressure in the contest.”

Now in its 28th year, the IGARSS symposium is sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and its Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society.

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Join RapidEye satellite-naming contest

With the launch of the RapidEye constellation of five earth observation satellites anticipated sometime in August 2008, RapidEye unveiles a contest today that would allow anyone worldwide an opportunity to name one or more of their satellites.

The contest will benefit the local charitable organization Gollwitz Manor House Trust in Brandenburg an der Havel which strives to support understanding and acceptance between people of different nationalities, confronting the issues racism and xenophobia. “We are currently preparing a project called Share Respect in which students of the city of Brandenburg will work on short films as actors, producers and directors to create media projects which promote healthy, respectful relationships between peers. The money that will be raised by RapidEye's satellite name contest will benefit this project”, says Elke Weisser,managing director of Gollwitz Manor House Trust.

All satellite name proposals can be entered via the official entry form, which is available in English and German on www.rapideye.de/launch2008 .

The contest has very simple rules. Participants will be allowed to submit a name for one or more of the five RapidEye satellites. For each name submitted, RapidEye requests the participant to make a minimum donation of 10 Euro. If two names are submitted, a minimum donation of 20 Euro needs to be made; all the way up to the minimum donation of 50 Euro for submitting names for all five satellites. RapidEye asks that donations are made as soon as the official entry form has been submitted and that all donations are made directly to Gollwitz Manor House Trust. No money should be sent directly to RapidEye. Any additional donations made above the minimum would be greatly appreciated. A contribution receipt can be issued.

The official entry form should be submitted to RapidEye via e-mail, fax or in person.Participants are donating for the “chance” that their name or names will be chosen. Choosing the names from all of the entries submitted will be a task of the RapidEye Management Team.

“We are happy to support Gollwitz Manor House Trust with this contest”, commented Wolfgang Biedermann, CEO of RapidEye. “We are a global company with employees from more than 20 nations. Supporting such projects for young people from Brandenburg gives us a chance to give back to the community which has been very supportive of us.

And of course, the contest has a unique twist. How many opportunities to name a satellite come up in a person's lifetime?”

The contest runs up to 3 business days before the satellites are being launched, at least until August 8, 2008.

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