The ISU GIS Support and Research Facility, along with Parks Library, will host GIS Day 2025 on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in The Catalyst at Parks Library (Room 199). It will be a come-and-go event, allowing attendees to stay as long as they like. GIS Day is for everyone, from the GIS curious to the GIS user. Speakers will share their research from around campus, provide information about GIS opportunities and programs on campus, offer free GIS swag, serve free food, and hold a map competition with prizes. The Mapping Masterminds competition is open to everyone, including non-ISU staff and students. Two categories are available, and prizes are awarded for the winning entries.
GIS Day 2025
Join us before the presentations for coffee, pastries, and mingling.
Welcome and introduction of the ISU GIS Support and Research Facility by Josh Obrecht
Welcome and introduction of the ISU GIS Support and Research Facility by Josh Obrecht
Karly Nelson-Liesz will present on how you can obtain the minor in Geographic Information Science.
Terrain indexes (TIs) are mathematical representations of some particular characteristic of a landscape, calculated from other characteristics. In this project we use TIs to represent the concentration of the flow and force of water across the landscape through equations using the upstream flow characteristics, slope and curvature. Each of the TIs is used to create threshold limits based on observed gully head cut points across Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas and using the threshold values, we make maps of every pixel with higher threshold values. Those maps are evaluated from the standpoint of an employee of the Natural Resources Conservation Service sent to check if the areas of a field above the threshold limit have gullies, with preliminary results showing that the method is highly effective at finding gullies in a field if they exist.
Tim Sklenar
tsklenar@iastate.edu
Student in Sustainable Agriculture
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE)
This talk presents how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to collect, integrate, and analyze spatial data to model wildfire ignition risk in the state of California. Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) areas in the state were mapped using ArcGIS, along with the boundaries of past wildfires. The boundaries of prescribed burns are also mapped to evaluate its effectiveness in wildfire suppression. These datasets form the foundation for an ongoing modeling effort that applies a hexagonal grid framework and specialized statistical techniques such as geographically weighted regression and spatio-temporal regression to quantify environmental and human factors influencing ignition probability. The resulting workflow highlights regional variations and supports data-driven strategies for prescribed fire planning and wildfire mitigation.
Rahul Bharadwaj Ravishankar
rahulrav@iastate.edu
PhD Student in Operations Research
Department of Industrial Engineering (IMSE)
Have the opportunity to hear from professionals from 3 different sectors. They will give a brief overview of how they use GIS and answer any questions you may have.
Panelists
Shawn Blaesing – Maintenance GIS Coordinator, Iowa DOT
Greg Jameson – GIS Analyst, City of Grimes
Louise Jennings – Senior GIS Analyst, HNTB Corporation
Brian Gelder will present on how you can obtain the graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems.
This talk will discuss the use of ArcGIS StoryMaps to combine climate data with observations and action projects generated by the participants of the Stories of the Seasons cohort as part of the Central Midwest Climate Opportunities & Learning initiative. Our research focused on storytelling and arts-based methodologies through learning circles to foster climate adaptation among women landowners and producers across Iowa. We co-created an ecological calendar which tracks seasonal indicators and weather-related changes and aids in decision-making to consider sustainable farming and stewarding practices that are better suited to navigate climate uncertainty. The StoryMap serves as a tool to collect and display the knowledge gathered throughout a year and provides an engaging interactive space to braid art and science into a narrative of climate adaptation and resilience. It encourages collaboration and showcases resources and action projects to support others in adopting sustainable practices.
Mariana Castro Azpíroz
mca96@iastate.edu
MFA Student in Creative Writing and Environment
English Department
Closing by the GIS Support and Research Facility, awarding of Mapping Masterminds contest prizes, and awarding of quiz prizes.