Geographic information science professionals and others are gathering at Valparaiso University April 17 for a discussion of ethics and other considerations related to the field of high-tech mapping.
VU geography professor Bharath Ganesh Babu is organizing the Moellering Academic Panel on Spatial Sciences, hosted by the Department of Geography, Meteorology and Environmental Science at the Christopher Center Library. The free event, open to the public, begins at 12:45 p.m. and includes a panel discussion at 2 p.m. in room CLR 205.
The event is funded by 1965 VU alum Harold Moellering, who provided an endowment to conduct annual panels on scientific geography. Last year’s panel had a climate science theme.
“The geography department of Valparaiso University is quite old,” Babu said. “It’s a wonderful, long, historical program.”
The university itself has roots that date back to 1859. “We have a long history of developing amazing citizens,” he said.
Moellering’s mother was a music major at VU during the Great Depression. “If we can get through that, we can get through this. How can I help the department,” Moellering said to Babu.
Babu suggested the best way is to help the students by subsidizing their cost of education. Moellering gave money for two scholarships for excellence in geospatial sciences. That prompted the university to create a bachelor of science in geospatial services, which will be inaugurated at the April 17 event. The degree program had been under consideration for a long time, Babu said.
“We are trying to constantly innovate and try to see what is most useful to our students and to their future jobs,” he said.
Babu assembled a panel that includes GIS pioneer Michael Goodchild. “He’s kind of a big deal in the geospatial community,” Babu said.
“These days, his focus is on geoethics. How do we use these tools ethically, and what are the red lines we’re crossing,” Babu said.
Others on the panel include Indiana Geographic Information Officer Marianne Cardwell; her deputy, Stephen Aldrich; T-Kartor Program Manager and VU alumna Ashley Poling; and Purdue University Associate Professor of Data Science Gang Shao.
“We are keeping the panel theme broad,” Babu said. “The theme is going to be essentially where the field is, where it’s going to go in the future.”
Students are preparing questions and moderating the panel themselves.
VU, a designated federal depository, has a large collection of historically unique maps that will be on display throughout the library throughout the day, a reminder of the days before everything was digitized.
“You should know VU graduates have been part of this GIS inception in the United States for a long time now,” he said.
“My goal is to have professionals in the community, whether it’s private industry, or government – local, state, county governments – to collaborate with educational institutions, because this is where your next generation of professionals are coming from,” Babu said.
“I want Valpo to be the incubator for people to come use this facility. We have a beautiful campus, a beautiful library. Come, share ideas. Look at our students, give them jobs, give them internships,” Babu said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
