November brings National GIS Day. UC’s celebration is a collaboration of the Department of Geography & GIS and UC Libraries, and sponsored by the Office of the Provost as part of the Research Nexus Series: Connecting Data, Computing and People. GIS or Geographic Information Systems is a powerful tool for analyzing spatial data to identify patterns, solve problems and better understand the world we live in. Please join us on November 18, 2026 in the Faculty Enrichment Center from 10 am to 2 pm for lightning talks featuring UC researchers across disciplines, lunch, and a careers panel.
Do you want to know more about working with spatial data? Attend the upcoming workshop “Introduction to ArcGIS Online” on October 7 from 1:30 om to 3:00 pm. Registration and workshop details are available in Faculty Onestop. The workshop is free and open to any Bearcat who wants to learn more about the Ersi Platform ArcGIS Online, how to get an UC Esri account, and how to find data with spatial attributes.
Workshop description: This introductory in-person workshop introduces the fundamentals of web mapping and spatial analysis using ArcGIS Online. No previous GIS or ArcGIS experience is required. ArcGIS Online runs directly in a web browser and is available to participants with a UC login.
The workshop will begin with an introduction to GIS and spatial data, followed by a guided tour of the ArcGIS Online interface. Participants will learn how to sign in, navigate Map Viewer, find and add spatial data, work with map layers and attributes, change basemaps and symbology, and explore geographic patterns.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have experience creating and interpreting a web map in ArcGIS Online and will have a foundation for applying GIS tools to their own research or projects.
The workshop will be facilitated by Le Tu, Research and Data Services GIS research consultant. If you want to explore spatial data and GIS resources deeper after the workshop, Le is available for consultations. Visit the GIS Services lab in 412 Langsam.
The UC Libraries GIS research consultants attended the Urbanism Club in support of the club’s Introduction to GIS session. GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems and is the process of collecting, analyzing, and managing data with spatial attributes. Fenley Jones, Kayra Koprulu, and Jaclyn Mauro were great hosts and put on an incredibly informative session that covered access to software, how to increase your knowledge base through trainings, and how they personally use different tools. It was really great to see the various ways students are using GIS resources and how the club supports students who are interested in learning more about GIS. To find out more about the club, visit their campuslink page. And the club will be offering additional GIS sessions on March 9th and April 13th.
The UC Libraries GIS services is available to help students and researchers plan GIS projects, access software, understand how create visualizations such as maps and analyze spatial data. The lab is located in 412 Langsam and is open in the spring during the following hours:
Mon 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tues 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Wed 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Thurs 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Fri 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Weiye Li (Left – Phd student – Geography & GIS) and Andrew Ho (Right – Undergraduate – Planning) look forward to meeting you and learning about your GIS interests.
Weiye is a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of Cincinnati. Originally from Shenzhen, China, he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Land Resource Management at China University of Geosciences.
His research focuses on geospatial data science, socio-environmental sustainability, and health geography, with a particular interest in applying advanced modeling and algorithms to understand human–environment interactions. He has contributed to several projects including land management, nature-based climate solutions, and urban perception analysis using street-view imagery, and has presented his work at academic conferences such as the American Association of Geographers (AAG) annual meeting.
As a GIS Collab consultant, Weiye looks forward to supporting others while continuing to expand his analytical toolkit in GIS-related analysis. He can share information, offer advice, and even partner on certain projects (on a case by case basis).
The Data & GIS collab is located in 412 Langsam with the hours of
UC Libraries welcomes Debal Chen, PhD student in Geography & GIS as our new GIS research consultant.
Debao is a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of Cincinnati. Originally from Hunan province, China, he earned his master’s degree in Human Geography from Guangzhou University. His research focuses on crime geography and spatial analysis of crime, with particular interests in the dynamics between gentrification, Google Street View imagery, and the life cycles of urban retail stores.
Also, Debao has published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, Applied Geography, and Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. As a GIS Collab consultant, he looks forward to supporting others while continuing to expand his analytical toolkit in GIS-related analysis.
The Data and GIS Collab is pleased to welcome two new research consultants.
Andrew is a current student pursuing a Bachelor of Urban Planning at DAAP. Andrew was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, or more commonly called as Saigon, in the tropical land of Vietnam. There, a vibrant fusion of French and East Asian architecture created a facade against the tree-lined boulevards, where modern skyscrapers clashed against centuries-old landmarks. That is also where he developed a loving passion for the urban environment.
Andrew previously worked as an intern at the Department of Planning and Architecture at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Along with planning and design, he got hands-on experience with GIS by working on research with logistical models and transportation networks. He hopes to continually enhance his skills while also helping others with GIS.
Andrew is in the Lab until December 2024 and will return in summer 2025 after his co-op.
Jenna Shultz is a 4th year Civil Engineering student. Jenna has previous GIS work experience through several traffic engineering co-ops and is considering getting a masters in Community Planning. Jenna is currently on co-op and will be in the Collab starting in January 2025.
The Data and GIS Collab
The Data and GIS Collab provides information and consultations on GIS, software, research projects involving spatial data, and workshops on topics such as Esri Storymaps and ArcGIS Online.
Kyle McGill is the new GIS research consultant in the UC Libraries Research and Data Services Unit.
Kyle is a Master’s student in the Department of Geography and GIS. He completed an undergraduate degree in Geography, but also took classes in Urban Planning, both at UC. His primary interests are in remote sensing and environmental geography. He tends to spend his free time reading science fiction, playing video games, or playing with his two cats, Jojo and Nebula (pictures below).
Graduate Student Kyle McGill
Kyle is here to help you understand how to use GIS software, think about project plans, and find data for your project. He can share information, offer advice, and even partner on projects on a case by case basis. Please come by the Data & GIS Collab, located in the Geology Math and Physics Library (240 Braunstein Hall).
Have you ever wondered what it really looks like at the bottom of the ocean? Few people in the world can answer this question, and Dr. Dawn Wright (@deepseadawn) is one of them. In the summer of 2022, she ventured to the deepest point on Planet Earth known as Challenger Deep in a two-person submersible. Through this historic journey, Dr. Wright became the first Black person and only the fifth woman to travel so deep in the ocean. The purpose of the journey was to collect data to add to the efforts to map the entire ocean floor. Currently, researchers have only mapped 24% of the ocean floor.
To learn about the journey and Dr. Wright, visit the Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library, 240 Braunstein Hall, and explore the exhibit on the expedition and Dr. Wright.
A representation of the depth of Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench by John Nelson
UC celebrates International Love Data Week. Feb 14-18, 2022.
UC Libraries will celebrate Love Data Week by hosting several workshops and events around campus.
Love Data Week was started to promote data use in higher education by a collection of academic librarians. It has grown into an international movement where data resources, workshops and collections are showcased during Valentine’s Day week. Learn more about its history and other events at https://myumi.ch/ICPSRldw2022events. #LoveData22
Featuring classes on storage and sharing (GitHub), using GIS to tell a story in a user-friendly format (Intro to Story Maps), data analysis, Introduction to XSEDE Big Data and Machine learning, organizing information (for Grad Students), protecting your own data (Consumer Data Protection), and finding data through patents (Find Patents!), this week will have something for everyone! Continue reading →
