Community Asset and Development Information System (CADIS) Program. The CADIS Program brings together the private and public sector to create a high quality GIS for Northwest Arkansas. CAST is partnering with the National Association of Counties, the National Association of County Engineers, and Intergraph Corporation to provide an extensive suite of information about the region to the counties, communities, and businesses of the area. Computerized map data on transportation, demographics, infrastructure, soils, and many other types of data along with software to analyze the data will be part of the project. The data will be provided over the web at no cost and the software developer, Intergraph, will donate the software. Support from the Bank of Fayetteville will allow four high school interns from the EAST programs at Fayetteville and Rogers High Schools to work on this project, in conjunction with CAST personnel. This partnership will benefit not only the high school students involved, but will also benefit the citizens of Northwest Arkansas by providing this on-line area information to anyone with access to the web. CADIS students participating during the summer of 1999 are Ari Kooshesh, Ben Farley, John Cromwell, and Matt Hanafin. A list of agencies currently participating in the CADIS program follows.
CADIS participants from Fayetteville and Rogers High Schools meet with CADIS supporting agencies' personnel.
CADIS students from right to left: Ari Kooshesh, Ben Farley, Matt Hanafin, and John Cromwell.
The CADIS web page was designed and implemented by the CADIS students.
The Aurora Partnership. The Aurora Partnership is a public/private collaboration to stimulate the development and application of decision support tools, services, and systems for natural resource and environmental management. It seeks to address the needs of policy makers, land and resource managers, and county and community leaders. CAST 's involvement in the program will include the hosting of the 1999 Aurora Conference at the Continuing Education Conference Center in Fayetteville in September. People from state, local, and federal government agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations, and corporations will participate in this conference.
National Science Foundation Meetings. In July, James Farley, CAST's Technical Director, attended NSF Digital Government meetings in Arlington, Virginia, presented by the National Research Council, the National Science and Technology Council, and the National Science Foundation. This initiative was made up of a broad representation from industry, government, and academia. Recommendations for structuring the program in future years to ensure its rapid growth and specific input into the process over the next year are summarized in a report.
CAST’s Web Site. Established in 1994, CAST’s web site was designed to provide access to maps and spatial data, to contain information on the center's research projects, and serve as an informational resource in the areas of GIS, remote sensing, photogrammetry, spatial technologies, historic preservation and archaeology. In January, CAST web site was designated Internet Resource of the Month by GeoWorld magazine. This web site is constantly enhanced and reorganized to better reflect the variety of the Center’s activities and updated to provide easier access to frequently accessed data. More than 1,400 other web sites link to CAST web pages. The site averages 45,000 to 100,000 hits per week from a diverse group of information seekers. While most accesses come from the U.S., the site is utilized by students, the public, and researchers from around the world. CAST's goal to introduce and provide GIS and GPS technologies to the widest audience possible continues to drive the development of this web site.
The heart of CAST's homepage shows many choices to access information.
Arkansas Interactive Mapper. The Arkansas Interactive Mapper is a real-time application that allows anyone with access to the web an opportunity to make a map of any area in Arkansas. Unlike a digital catalog, mapper accesses a GIS engine, and within a few minutes, generates a map from specifications defined by the user, such as information to be displayed (i.e. vegetation, soils data, streams, railroads, schools, airports), the area to map (i.e. county, USGS quad), and the desired size and format (i.e. GIF, Adobe or Postscript) for the output map. This project is sponsored by NASA as a demonstration effort to increase the usability and access to imaging-platform-based data, particularly by state and local agencies and by the general public. This mapper is available through CAST’s home page at: www.cast.uark.edu. The mapper is very popular as a demonstration of on-line mapping but is also a very practical tool for students, hunters, and others throughout Arkansas who use it to make maps before doing research projects or going out into the field. There are some 1,000 different maps made each month by the system.
You can choose to Make a Map from CAST's web site.
CAST Visibility through Publications. During FY 98-99, CAST continued to increase the quality and volume of its public service and outreach activities. Much of this outreach information is available on CAST's home page at: www.cast.uark.edu. Also, sets of educational and informative flyers are distributed to more than 10,000 people each year. CAST’s library continues to expand to offer access to GIS technical information, periodicals, software manuals, and other source materials. Newspaper, magazine, and newsletter articles (see appendices A and D) written by CAST staff or written about CAST appeared this year in print various media.
CAST's Web Site is Designated Internet Resource of the Month. In the January issue of GeoWorld magazine, CAST web site was awarded the distinction of Internet Resource of the Month.
NASA Proposal Review Panel. In early September, CAST's Director Dr. Fred Limp served on NASA Proposal Review Panel. Dr. Limp served as a member of a panel reviewing some 77 proposals submitted to NASA for support for "Regional Application Centers." NASA plans to provide ca. $800,000 per year for three years to the centers. Key points stressed included proposal development, solutions, end-user involvement, good metrics, and budget logic.
Arkansas Land Information Board: Arkansas Information Systems' Act . During the 1997 legislative session, a bill was introduced to abolish the Arkansas Department of Computer Services, and to organize the Arkansas Department of Information Systems. A part of this legislation concerned the development of statewide GIS initiatives, one of which was the organization of the Arkansas Land Information Board. Shelby Johnson of CAST worked directly with Michael Hipp, Acting Director of the Department of Computer Services, to change specific language in the legislation. Specific changes regarded the addition of three Land Information Board members to represent institutions of higher learning and the option for the Department of Information Systems to utilize existing state resources for housing a statewide spatial data archive. As a result of this work, Governor Mike Huckabee appointed Mr. Johnson to the State Land Information Board. Various CAST staff members continue to play an important role in this program.
Arkansas GIS Users Forum. CAST’s Research Specialist Shelby Johnson served as chairman of the Arkansas GIS Users Forum for the 96-97 term. During that time, the forum was instrumental in guiding changes in legislation passed by the 1997 Arkansas General Assembly concerning statewide GIS activities. Various CAST staff members continue to participate heavily in the GIS Users Forum.
Vision 2010: Preparing Arkansas Communities for the Twenty-First Century. Building the Capacity of Communities and Institutions in the Information Age. During FY 97-98, the Center hosted the Vision2010 Technology Seminar here on the UAF campus. Approximately 50 participants represent seven Arkansas counties who are participate in the Vision2010 program. The many events covering technology topics that benefit small and large communities can be used to compete in the global economy and provide information from technology experts on telecommunications, GIS, banking, and education. CAST staff continue to support and participate in this program.
The Rural America 2000 Program. Rural America 2000, a major program initiated in FY 94-95, continues to thrive. This program provides access to state-of-the-art systems and technical expertise for rural governmental units. The use of the lab is provided for a limited time at no cost to rural government groups to provide them with essential "hands-on" expertise in the use of such systems before they make critical decisions about purchase.
Television Coverage. In February, Brian Culpepper provided a taped interview for KFSM TV weatherman Jay Hilgarten to be included in a special weather segment about tornadoes and the cooperative efforts of CAST and the Tulsa Weather Service. Officials of the Tulsa Weather Service were also here and participated in the taping.
OpenGIS Specification (OGIS). According to many publications and industry pundits, the most prominent force in the geoprocessing marketplace today is the OpenGIS Consortium and the specification for interoperable geoprocessing that is being developed under their auspices. The membership of the consortium and the workhorse technical committee reads like a who’s who of information technology, GIS, and remote sensing. CAST has been instrumental in the consortium since before its inception. CAST staff (Farley and Limp) are counted among the founders of this organization that evolved from collaborative research work involving CAST, the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, and the president of OGIS, David Schell.
Attorney General's Office Reapportionment Plan. CAST's Shelby Johnson met with Tim Humphries and Tristian Greene, of the Attorney General's office, on August 21 in Little Rock to discuss reapportionment work for Y2K. A GeoMedia demonstration of redistricting was examined that has much of the functionality needed to perform the next state reapportionment.
Arkansas Legislature Information Booth. On March 8, 1999, CAST staff set up an information booth along with many EAST Program Arkansas high schools at the Arkansas State Capitol to provide information to legislators and other interested parties about CAST and it's activities that benefit Arkansas students and citizens.
CAST and EAST informational booths were set up at the Arkansas State Capitol.
Gentry Emergency Evacuation Plan. This year, the Gentry Police Department, working in conjunction with the Gentry School District, prepared an Advanced Emergency Evacuation Plan for the schools in the community. A part of the plan involved locating the longitude and latitude coordinates for the schools, so this information could be cataloged with Air Evac Helicopter Ambulance in Springdale. If an emergency occurs, the helicopter can use the coordinates to fly a direct route to the schools. Officer Keith Smith of Gentry worked with CAST's Shelby Johnson to generate the coordinates for the schools.
Union County Rural Development Assistance. In December, Shelby Johnson met with officials of the Union County Rural Development, Smackover Creek Coop, in El Dorado to provide information about using GIS and GPS technologies to track reclamation progress in the Samckover Creek watershed using bio-remediation techniques to desalinize the soils through planting of hybrid vegetation that can use salty soils. This area was polluted by old oil fields when a reservoir was hit and the brine at the top of the domes was left to runoff or was burned in sludge ponds creating a barren environment.
Conferences, Demonstrations, and Meetings. CAST staff regularly participate in, sponsor, and lead demonstrations, tours, talks, workshops, etc. in GIS technologies, archaeology, forestry, biological sciences, architecture, and many others. Below are a few examples (see Appendix B for extended listings).
A copy of Assessing the Condition of American Civil War Battlefields was provided to a master's student in Archaeology at the University of South Florida to be used as a model to assess the Seminole War Battlefields in Florida.
Staff provided demonstrations and met with Communications Coordinator Eric Lancaster of Arkansas Department of Information Services.
Gave a demonstration and tour for officials of the Beaver Water District on how GIS can benefit water districts.
Hosted three visitors from Argentina (a national congressman, a mayor, and an admin person/interpreter) along with Gene Sullivan (Agri Consultant; retired USDA).
Demo/Discussion of our major LULC and Water Resources projects was covered. They may contact us in the future, because they are interested in assessment/ inventory their Water resources for Argentina.
CAST staff participated in NSF Digital Government in Arlington, Virginia, prepared by the National Research Council, the National Science and Technology Council, and the National Science Foundation. This initiative was made up of a broad representation from industry, government, and academia.
Staff members provided GPS talk and demonstration to participants of the UAF Department of Geography's Geography Institute held at CAST facilities. This event was sponsored by the Arkansas Geographic Alliance.
Staff provided demonstration for Craig Brown, UAF Computing Services, and Jim Davis of Bay Networks. Discussions were held about the possibility of providing CAST with network upgrades for officer and labs.
A demonstration was provided for Clay Edwards, and Sandy Edwards, and Roger Williams, UAF Department of University Relations.
Various staff members traveled to Bentonville to participate in talks and tour of Wal-Mart Information Technologies facilities.
Several staff provided demonstration for Dr. Christopher Stohr of Illinois Department of Natural Resources in Champaign, Illinois. Dr. Stohr was a candidate for the UAF Geosciences remote sensing position available in the spring.
Staff provided GIS/GPS talk and demonstration given to four groups from the Farm Bureau and UAF Department of Agronomy.
Staff provided CAST tour and demonstration given to group from Rogers Public Library. Interested in our map production capabilities and South American Bird project.
Use of CAST Facilities by UAF Departments. CAST’s state-of-art labs are regularly used by students from various UAF departments to complete graduate and undergraduate level projects. Groups of UAF students, faculty, and staff also benefit from the use of CAST’s labs. This year, among others, CAST’s large teaching lab was used for the Global Systems Institute, a science education project for Arkansas public school teachers, the GLOBE Program for public school students, the Geographic Institute, and University Day, a UAF program to expose public school children to the benefits of higher education.
| Annual Report Front Page | Highlights | Background and Mission |
| Teaching | Research | International Programs |
| Appendix A | Appendix B | Appendix C |
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