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Posted 11/18/02, by Tamara Steinert
Self-described "GIS evangelist" Daniel Karnes says that mapping technology is increasingly being used across the academy
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New position supports use of GIS in curriculum
A new position created in Academic Computing will give faculty members greater resources for integrating geographic information systems (GIS) into their teaching and research.
Daniel Karnes, Research Assistant Professor of Geography, recently was appointed as GIS Curricular Consultant. The half-time, three-year appointment will enable Karnes to promote and facilitate the use of GIS in the classroom.
"Daniel's appointment is a milestone in at least two respects," said Malcolm Brown, Director of Academic Computing. "First, it is indicative of the growing use of GIS at Dartmouth in general and especially in the curriculum. Also, the Geography Department recently hired a new faculty member whose specialty will be GIS. Hence it is timely for us to launch support in this area. Interest spans all three Arts and Sciences divisions."
Karnes, who describes himself as a "GIS evangelist" says he is excited about the possibilities for expanding the use of the technology in the curriculum.
"As a field of study, geography considers an amazing variety of things. It looks at not only what is where but why it's there and how it got to be that way. Because it synthesizes knowledge of disparate phenomena, you could say that it's the original cross-disciplinary discipline. And GIS is one of the tools of the geographic trade. It's a technology that allows us to integrate information about things based on location," said Karnes.
"Here at Dartmouth, within the College, geographic information systems are already being used in research projects in geography, biology, earth sciences, and anthropology. At the medical school, the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences has been using GIS for some time now to investigate the geography of health care. In other universities, it's also been used in history, archaeology, linguistics, education, even in art, so there's really lots of opportunity for us to expand our use of GIS here on campus," he added.
In addition to providing curricular support, Karnes plans to offer workshops, maintain a campus GIS website and host special events to bring awareness of GIS to the campus community. The first major event, the celebration of GIS day on Nov. 20, will bring together GIS professionals from both on and off campus. (See " A GIS in the Upper Valley ")
Karnes received his doctoral degree in geography from the University of Washington and previously taught GIS there as well as at Dartmouth. He also has done GIS work for the U.S. Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory and has worked as a cartographer for Microsoft.
More information about GIS at Dartmouth can be found online at www.dartmouth.edu/~gis.
- Tamara Steinert
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