Speakers

Moderator

Presentation Description and Bio: Adena Schutzberg has been involved in geography and GIS for 35 years. She’s provided consulting services as part of a large firm and independently, taught in the classroom and online, worked on software product and marketing teams, and written extensively on geography education and GIS technology. She’s currently an education specialist on Esri’s Tutorial Team focused on developing and enhancing teaching and learning resources for K-university students and educators.

Presentation: The State of GeoAI: Advancements, Opportunities, and Challenges

Presentation Description and Bio:  GeoAI is transforming how we consume geospatial data, what insights we drive from them, and ultimately how we interact with the world around us. This transformation is being expedited by the rapid growth in developing AI foundation models for Earth observations (EO) including multi-modal models that combine inputs from various sensors in Earth orbit. Following more than a decade of research and development in building and deploying supervised and semi-supervised techniques for EO, geospatial foundation models are now changing the paradigm to learn geospatial patterns from raw (aka unlabeled) observations.

In this presentation, I will review the current state of GeoAI by providing an overview of the recent advancements at the intersection of AI and EO, and the applications that have been enabled by these advancements. I will also showcase how advancements in geospatial foundation models can further enhance GeoAI applications. Next, I will demonstrate some of the opportunities that lies ahead and discuss potential challenges such as data quality, model bias, and the ethical implications.

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Hamed Alemohammad is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Geography and Director of Clark Center for Geospatial Analytics at Clark University. He is an interdisciplinary scientist with expertise in remote sensing, earth science, and artificial intelligence (AI). His research interest lies at the intersection of geospatial analytics/AI and geography to use observations to better understand the changing Earth system. Hamed has been the PI for several projects focused on developing novel AI models for multispectral, microwave and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite observations. Throughout the last several years, he has served on multiple technical advisory boards including the Enabling Crop Analytics at Scale, an initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Lacuna Fund. Prior to Clark University, Hamed was the Chief Data Scientist and Executive Director at Radiant Earth Foundation where he established and led the development of Radiant MLHub – the open-access repository for geospatial training data and AI models. He received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT.

Presentation: Lessons from 13 Years of Vocational Cartography

Presentation Description and Bio: I’ve made nice maps using pixels, paper, film and threads for magazines, art fairs, federal agencies, my neighbors, charities, huge corporations, and office walls. In 20 minutes I’ll detail all I’ve learned about the trade of making maps.

Evan Applegate is a Hudson Valley-based cartographer; his creations include maps for National Geographic, wall-sized sculptural illuminated maps, and maps woven into blankets. See his work at https://evanapplegate.com

Presentation: ChatGPT Map Doctor

Presentation Description and Bio: Ian Muehlenhaus, Ph.D., has over 15 years of higher-education research, administrative, and teaching experience in cartography and GIS. He currently works as a Senior Product Engineer for Esri where he helps develop, test, and integrate new visualization tools throughout the ecosystem. Ian’s research background includes publications on persuasive, flow, interactive, and pan-scalar map designs, as well as cartographic ethics and truth in cartography. He is the author of the book, Web Cartography, with a second edition coming out next year. He has served as the Chair of the International Cartographic Association’s Commission on Map Design since 2019. He is also the creator of Map Doctor GPT – a free AI app that provides constructive design feedback on maps.

Presentation: AI in GIS

Presentation Description and Bio:  With over 15 years of experience in both the private and public sectors, Jose Pillich is an interdisciplinary researcher with a specialization in geospatial/data analysis, urban planning, sustainability, environmental studies, financial services, and transportation. He has lived abroad and traveled extensively, cultivating a deep interest in diverse cultures and ways of life. Jose has leveraged his broad experiences in roles such as adjunct professor, consultant, and researcher, presenting at major academic conferences and publishing in reputable journals.  In 2022, Jose founded IQSpatial, a minority-certified geospatial consultancy based in New York City. IQSpatial transforms location data into actionable insights across various industries.   With his company,  he has developed a robust internship program where students utilize the latest geospatial and artificial intelligence technology to create innovative solutions.

Presentation: Digital access to public records

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Presentation: Starting in GIS

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