GIS Day Lightning Talk
Date: November 19
Time: Noon
Location: 4109 McKeldin Library
GIS Day event will feature lighting talk, AR Sandbox Award Ceremony and Complimentary lunch with registration.
(Register Here!)
Any question: lib-gisdata@umd.edu
Talk 1: Leveraging GeoAI for Gun Violence Prevention and Reduction
Ruibo Han, Department of Geographical Sciences
Abstract:
This presentation introduces a project that leverages GeoAI—the integration of geospatial sciences and artificial intelligence—to advance gun violence prevention and reduction. Through data integration visualization and modeling the project identifies spatial and temporal patterns of gun violence highlights key socioeconomic and community factors and develops prescriptive models for risk assessment and intervention. A web-based platform demonstrates interactive tools that engage community stakeholders policymakers and researchers with intuitive maps visualizations and scenario-based insights. Preliminary findings reveal persistent and emerging hot spots of violence, along with correlations between upstream determinants and shooting incidents.
Bio:
Dr. Ruibo Han serves as the Director of the Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Programs at the Center for Geospatial Information Science. With over two decades of experience in the geospatial domain, he previously held positions at the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa before joining the University of Maryland. His research focus spans GeoAI, big data analytics, web and mobile GIS, and urban dynamics. In Nov 2023, Ruibo was invited by UMD President Darryll J. Pines to join the Presidential Commission on Artificial Intelligence. This multidisciplinary commission is charged with exploring, evaluating, and providing findings and recommendations to Senior Leadership on the responsible development, deployment, and ethical use of AI technologies within the university community.
Talk 2: An Evaluation of HRVM Implementation on Drug-related Police Stops in Washington, DC
Codey J Carr, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Abstract:
Harm Reduction Vending Machines (HRVM) are publicly-available vending machines that offer a low contact method for people who use drugs (PWUD) to obtain risk reduction supplies, such as Narcan, clean needles, and wound care kits. One persistent implementation barrier is community opposition, on the grounds that the introduction of services targeting PWUD will attract unwanted crime and disorder. While research has found largely null effects on crime and disorder following the opening of other harm reduction interventions, an evaluation has yet to be conducted on HRVM. This project will evaluate a HRVM program initiated in Washington, DC in 2023. A difference-in-differences approach is employed to identify the effects of six HRVM on nearby, low-level drug stops. Using the Metropolitan Police Department’s police stop data, monthly drug seizure and arrest incidents were analyzed within a range of distances around each HRVM from 2018 through 2024. Preliminary findings indicate that HRVM implementation produced no significant changes in the prevalence of arrest stops or the likelihood of drug seizure at the time a stop incident occurs. These findings comport with prior harm reduction evaluations, suggesting that they may be effectively used as a public health tool without posing significant risk to public safety.
Bio:
Codey is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, College Park. Codey's research interests include descriptive and causal analyses of place-based crime reduction interventions, harm reduction programming, and the spatial relationship between overdose and crime. He currently works as a graduate research assistant on projects related to the correlates of gun violence mortality and the effects of Baltimore City recreation center closures on crime.
Talk 3: StoryMaps for Premodern Japan
Jyana Browne, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Abstract:
Dr. Browne reflects on her use of ArcGIS StoryMaps in her course JAPN 345 Mapping Premodern Japan, in which students build StoryMaps to tell the story of the Tōkaidō, the major highway connecting the shogunal capital of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and the imperial capital of Kyoto.
Bio:
Jyana S. Browne is an Assistant Professor in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Dr. Browne’s research focuses on Japanese puppetry; the interactions between new technologies and traditional theatre; and the intersections of performance, sexuality, and embodiment both on stage and in everyday life. She teaches courses such as Performance and Sexuality in Early Modern Japan, Mapping Premodern Japan, The Supernatural and the Strange in Classical Japan, and Technologies of Japanese Performance, among others.
Talk 4: The Global Agricultural Monitoring (GLAM) System: a Cloud-based Platform for Monitoring Crop Conditions in Near Real-time
John Keniston, Department of Geographical Sciences
Abstract:
The Global Agricultural Monitoring (GLAM) System is a cloud-based platform that provides continuous, near real-time assessment of global crop conditions using moderate resolution satellite imagery. GLAM empowers both technical and non-technical users by providing simple tools to create analyses derived from satellite and earth observation data. Key features include imagery visualization, time series creation/analysis, and flexible data export. By enabling early knowledge of crop status, GLAM facilitates proactive decision-making, supporting improved food security planning and early action worldwide.
Bio:
John Keniston is a Faculty Specialist at the University of Maryland, providing programming and development support for the NASA Harvest Consortium. With past experience as a Geospatial Analyst and a GIS Specialist, John has helped support a wide variety of programs ranging from Public Health to Land Use and Land Cover Change.
Talk 5: Innovative Campus GIS Projects: An Overview
UMD Campus Enterprise GIS Team, Facilities Management
Abstract:
UMD’s Enterprise GIS Initiative has evolved considerably since its inception over a decade ago and now supports a substantial number of administrative map applications, campus asset inventories, real-time data visualization dashboards, public-facing story maps, the Maryland Day Event Finder, and the award-winning UMD campus web map. Come join representatives from the Campus GIS Team for a brief overview of recent and current initiatives as well as a view into the future of enterprise GIS services at UMD.
Bio:
The UMD Campus Enterprise GIS & Data Visualization Services team is based in Facilities Management and consists of a program manager and systems administrator, several talented geospatial data curators and project coordinators, application developers, and is supported by graduate assistants and undergraduate student interns through the Campus GIS Internship Program.
