Celebrate GIS DAY 2020 at UW!

The 22nd GIS Day is coming on November 18th, 2020! Initialized by Esri in 1999, GIS Day is an annual event celebrating the wide use of GIS. On this day, celebrating events will be held by geographers and GIS lovers all over the world.

This year, UW’s Department of Geography will hold an event encouraging people to contribute geographic features of COVID-19 facilities to OpenStreetMap (OSM), the most famous community-based map service in the world. As a free editable map, OSM offers everyone a chance to be a map-maker by allowing users to contribute to the map contents in a timely manner. OSM has been adopted by many big companies including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook, which means that the crowdsourced data will benefit not only the direct end-users of OSM but also many other users who indirectly use the information from OSM. During this special time of the COVID-19 global pandemic, contributing detailed and up-to-date information to OSM will help those who need to make essential travels complete their trips more quickly and safely, thereby helping flatten the curve.

During the event, a workshop on how to contribute geographical data to OSM will be offered (the workshop material can be found here), and then the participants will contribute COVID-19 relevant public health facilities to OSM. We also prepared prizes for those who make substantial contributions – we have three $50 Amazon Gift Cards for the top 3 contributors in our event.

Please register at https://tinyurl.com/uwgisday2020 and join us on November 18th!

Humanistic GIS Laboratory Recruitment 2020-2021

Uncategorized GIScience recruitment AI blockchain vulnerable population Visualization

Looking to get more involved on campus? Seeking to explore careers and passions? Read on for exciting opportunities and helpful resources at the Humanistic GIS Laboratory (refer to https://hgis.uw.edu)!

This Lab is committed to exploring the Digital Earth as the home of humankind. Driven by this common interest, a group of UW scholars and student researchers have been working together (1) to explore innovative methodologies to improve geospatial technologies with the consideration of human experience, (2) to reflect upon the social implications of maps, geovisualization, and other geospatial technologies, and (3) to geo-narrate a variety of geographic phenomena, especially those related to vulnerable populations. Up to now, multiple Projects have been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Geographic, and Google. Below are some featured projects that have been done by HGIS Lab.

Professor Bo Zhao has announced an opportunity for undergraduate students to get involved in some very high-level research projects related to Data Science and Web GIS, the specific projects include, but not limited to, Web Mapping (related to COVID-19, LGBTQ+ spaces, coastal resilience), Point Cloud Visualization, GeoBlockchain for the Vulnerable, and UI/UX Design. We are seeking students who are motivated and willing to! If you are seeking to gain experience with data science and web mapping/web development, our lab is a perfect place for you!

Requirements:

A current undergraduate student at the University of Washington;
Must have the self-motivation to learn new technologies, software, methodologies and assist the team to operate at maximum efficiency; and
Great communication skills and teamwork ethics.

Preferred skills (not required):

Demonstrated proficiency in data analysis and point cloud visualization;
Familiarity with the programming language such as JavaScript, Python; and
Prior experience with website design and web mapping development.

Student volunteers are expected to work at least 3 hours per week. The professor/supervisor will provide necessary guidance related to lab projects. Volunteer can become a former lab member if being nominated by a current lab member. In the past year, most of the former lab members have been 1) admitted to graduate school, 2) got industrial internships or 3) were funded by very high-grade research grants from NSF, NIH or UW. Therefore, if you are interested in this opportunity, please email a short paragraph to Dr. Bo Zhao via zhaobo@uw.edu about yourself and why you would like to serve in our lab and attach your CV/resume. Please submit your statement as soon as possible.

Bo Zhao
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography

Undergraduate Student Research Assistant Recruitment for GeoBlockchain Learning and Development

Uncategorized blockchain gis vulnerable population web mapping

The HGIS Lab (https://hgis.uw.edu) is recruiting two to three talented student assistant volunteers to join our “GeoBlockchain for vulnerable population” project. We are looking for disciplined students to assist in the development of Decentralized Web Mapping Application aimed to support the vulnerable populations in the U.S. Students will get involved in both front- and back-end development of the application. Prior experience in blockchain development is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities:

Attending virtual meetings with the team member led by the Principal Investigator Dr. Bo Zhao.
Developing the front-end side of the application including web designing and UI/UX designing.
Developing the back-end side of the application using Blockchain technology.
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Skills:

A current undergraduate student at the University of Washington
Demonstrated proficiency in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS
Demonstrated proficiency in Server-end JavaScript (e.g., node.js)
Familiarity with blockchain technology and how it works (preferred)
Demonstrated knowledge of Ethereum Blockchain and Smart Contracts (preferred)
Prior experience with website design and web mapping development (preferred)
Must have the self-motivation to learn new technologies, software, methodologies and assist Team to operate at maximum efficiency
Must pay strict attention to details and Information Security

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

This is a volunteer position. Days and hours of work are very flexible, but students are expected to spend at least 5 hours/week and work remotely.

If you are interested in this project, please send an email to Dr. Bo Zhao (zhaobo@uw.edu). It is a limited opportunity; we will prefer to work with students who contact us first.