UCR Library’s GIS Day Poster Exhibition opened on Thursday, November 3, 2016 in the atrium of Orbach Science Library, showcasing the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The 2016 display includes submissions from a diverse variety of contributors, including external community agencies as well as faculty, staff, and students of UC Riverside.

“I was really pleased with the diversity of departments that contributed posters this year,” stated Janet Reyes, Geospatial Information Librarian and the GIS Day Exhibition curator.

A number of posters focused on UCR biogeographic research. The Center for Conservation Biology produced a vegetation map of Dos Palmas Conservation Area in Coachella Valley, part of a habitat conservation plan. Environmental Sciences’ display used GIS to estimate groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration. A student in Soil and Water Sciences displayed locations suitable for irrigating avocados with recycled water.

The exhibition clearly demonstrated the application of GIS across the social science disciplines. The Psychology department submitted two posters. One shows how GIS can be applied in psychological sciences. Another is from a sibling and twins study that tracks environmental factors associated with cognitive performance from childhood to the cusp of middle adulthood.

A Public Policy poster demonstrates the relative prosperity of ethnic, minority-owned enterprises in the United States, based on location. Another poster with aerial photography of Vietnam shows how the Vietnam War affected the country’s landscape. An Anthropology graduate student created a map to show the language of origin for place names in a specific region of Mexico.

UCR administrative units contributed posters demonstrating the use of GIS for operations management. Agricultural Operations showed how GIS is used to manage UCR’s agricultural research land, and Capital Planning submitted three posters presenting information about the School of Medicine, the Sustainability Program, and the R’Garden. The Riverside Police Department contributed posters mapping crime data and demonstrating how they perform analysis on crime data.

This poster exhibition usually happens every November, in connection with GIS Day. Reyes added, “I think we’re going to see more GIS used on campus as time goes by, so that will make next year’s offerings more varied and informative. In the future, we might add workshops, live presentations, and other interactive, hands-on activities.”

Faculty and staff who contributed to this year’s event included: Hoori Ajami, Environmental Sciences; David Biggs, History; Chandra Reynolds, Psychology; Qingfang Wang, School of Public Policy; Steve Ries, Agricultural Operations; Roxann Merizan, Lynn Sweet, Bob Johnson, James Heintz, and Cameron Barrows from the Center for Conservation Biology; Elizabeth Munoz Diaz, postdoc scholar, Psychology; and Karen Jordan, Capital Planning. UCR Students included: Jenessa Stemke, Soil and Water Sciences; Joshua Lieto, Anthropology; Paige Trubenstein, Psychology; and Omar Staben, Psychology.

Reyes has initiated an ongoing monthly Brown Bag GIS Lunch for those interested in discussing the various ways that GIS can be applied across multiple disciplines at UCR. For more information, contact Janet Reyes (janet.reyes@ucr.edu).