 |
|
|
Urban planning major Jane Sondgerath is mapping out the way to career
success using geographic information system (GIS) technology available
through Ball State University's partnership with Intergraph
Corporation.
Sondgerath is one of several Ball State students working on a GIS mapping project for Shelby County, Indiana, with urban planning professor David Schoen. The students have used the resources of Ball State’s Intergraph Center for Excellence in the Mapping Sciences to develop a computerized database of land maps for the county's tax assessor and planning officials. When complete, the GIS system will help Shelby County calculate tax assessments, analyze zoning and land use, and create other maps more easily and efficiently. The year of technical GIS work will help Jane find a job in her field when she graduates.
"It's a nice added bonus to have on your resume," she says of the extracurricular experience. "GIS is a very popular tool right now, and not a lot of agencies really understand its capabilities and depth. Many agencies are jumping on the bandwagon and want someone who has GIS experience." The Intergraph Center for Excellence in the Mapping Sciences was established in 1995 as a partnership between Ball State and Alabama-based Intergraph Corporation, which provided more than $5 million worth of computer hardware and software for the center. The center is one of four information mapping and design centers created by Intergraph in the United States. Ball State’s center supports research projects that benefit the private sector and professional communities and that lend a greater dimension to students’ educational experiences. Many private gifts to the university contribute equipment or facilities that offer students greater opportunities to enrich their studies and their career options. Sondgerath began working on the Shelby County project after taking Schoen’s GIS course last fall. Student project participants are using Intergraph’s GeoMedia Professional GIS software and other programs in the university’s Professional Development Lab in the Architecture Building. "It is one of the better GIS packages out there," Sondgerath explains. "It really allows us to do all kinds things – create layers and figure out new geometries and so forth. It’s a great tool. And with that we can then determine how to set up the formulas for the tax assessors."
Although urban planning students are encouraged to use GIS technology in studio projects, Sondgerath believes the Shelby County work has given her a more thorough experience. She helped create a mapping database and build a GIS system, rather than just manipulate data in a classroom. "It helps me understand the importance and the relevance of a GIS system and how it can be used – all the different layers that can be input into the system, and how many different departments in a city or a county can use it," she says. "Because I’ve learned the basics, even if I went to an agency that had a different software package, I should be able to adapt easily with a minimal amount of training." Jane would like to work in city or county government, preferably in a community development area where she can interact with neighborhoods and local organizations. GIS technology can be applied to community development planning because it can graphically map population statistics such as income levels and other demographics. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Jane Sondgerath
