Program Overview

Geospatial and Environmental Informatics - GSEI

The Geospatial and Environmental Informatics (GSEI) program offers a comprehensive curriculum that explores the application of geospatial technologies and environmental informatics to understand and manage the environment.

Courses

The program includes a range of courses that provide students with a solid foundation in geospatial technologies, environmental informatics, and spatial analysis. Some of the key courses include:

• GSEI 1200 Introduction to Geospatial Technology: This course introduces students to geospatial technologies, spatial thinking, and job markets in these areas. It explores location-based services, global positioning systems, geographic information systems, remote sensing, virtual globes, and web-based mapping.
• GSEI 2070 Introduction to Environmental Informatics: This course introduces students to the environment as a system of linked, interactive components. It applies information science to environmental management and covers skills and techniques required for collecting, collating, archiving, modeling, analyzing, visualizing, and communicating information in support of natural resource management.
• GSEI 5150 Spatial Statistics for Natural Resources: This course applies spatial statistics in natural resources, introducing basic concepts, theories, and methodologies of spatial and spatio-temporal data analyses and modeling.
• GSEI 5360 Environmental Modeling: Students build models of environmental systems, exploring basic concepts of systems modeling, and use models to test hypotheses and assumptions, evaluate system behavior, and predict changes in system behavior under different climate scenarios.
• GSEI 5430 Applications in Environmental Informatics: This course emphasizes applications of earth observations to forestry, wildlife, environment, and natural resources, covering both the technology and application of observing earth from space and data acquired from airborne platforms.
• GSEI 5800 Python Programming for the Environment: This course covers fundamental conceptual, methodological, and operational issues in Python programming with respect to environmental applications, including Python programming concepts, scripting, and skills; data processing and management; data manipulation, visualization, and analysis; and connection to spatial data analysis.
• GSEI 6150 Spatial Statistics for Natural Resources: This course applies spatial statistics in natural resources, introducing basic concepts, theories, and methodologies of spatial and spatio-temporal data analyses and modeling.
• GSEI 6360 Environmental Modeling: Students build models of environmental systems, exploring basic concepts of systems modeling, and use models to test hypotheses and assumptions, evaluate system behavior, and predict changes in system behavior under different climate scenarios.
• GSEI 6430 Applications Environmental Informatics: This course emphasizes applications of earth observations to forestry, wildlife, environment, and natural resources, covering both the technology and application of observing earth from space and data acquired from airborne platforms.
• GSEI 6800 Python Programming for the Environment: This course covers fundamental conceptual, methodological, and operational issues in Python programming with respect to environmental applications, including Python programming concepts, scripting, and skills; data processing and management; data manipulation, visualization, and analysis; and connection to spatial data analysis.
• GSEI 7200 Land Processes and Climate Interactions: This advanced graduate-level course teaches the modeling of land surface processes and studies its impact on local, regional, and global climate. Students perform global/regional climate model simulations using supercomputers.
• GSEI 7500 Digital Earth and Big Data: This advanced graduate-level course teaches the modeling of digital earth and studies its impact on local, regional, and global climate. Students perform global/regional geographic model simulations using supercomputers.
• GSEI 7600 Climate Modeling: This course teaches modeling of the Earth's climate system. Students perform global climate model simulations using supercomputers and analyze climate model outputs using NCAR Command Language.