The 2025 Conference Agenda is available on the conference webpage 2025 Conference and also for download. The Abstracts will be available later this week.
2025 Conference Keynote, Save the Date, and Call for Papers
We are happy to have the 2025 GISSIG in person this April 8, 2025, at the RIT Inn and Conference Center.
We are pleased to announce that Song Gao and Joseph Kerski will be our two keynote speakers this year, discussing the impacts of Geo AI. Check out the conference webpage for the most up-to-date information.
Our call for papers is now open and you can submit your presentation using this link
Statewide Community Air Monitoring Initiative
The Genesee Finger Lakes GIS/SIG Fall Program will take place on October 22, 2024 from 12-1 at the Monroe County/City of Rochester Public Safety Training Facility. We will be serving pizza and drinks. Cost is $5.
When: Tuesday, October 22, 2023, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Where: Monroe County Emergency Operations Center – 1190 Scottsville Rd, Rochester, NY 14624
Cost: $5 (Pay at the door)
Registration: Click Here
Presenter
Our speaker is Dr. Joseph Marto, Research Scientist with the NYS DEC Division of Air Resources, Air Toxics Division. Dr. Marto will be discussing the methodology used in the creation of the Storymap Case Studies from the recently released Phase 1 results of the Statewide Community Air Monitoring Initiative.
Here is a link to the CAM initiative – dec.ny.gov/envir…iative.
Here is a link to the Rochester case study Storymap – https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/b39806cbc7ea4b139b79713720dab25f?item=10
Abstract
As part of New York State’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) contracted a climate tech company, Aclima, to perform a year of community air monitoring for 2022-2023. Ten disadvantaged communities across the state, including the city of Rochester, were selected for mobile monitoring using vehicles equipped with a suite of quick response
(1-second) air pollution sensors, which drove every publicly accessible road within the study area. DEC scientists analyzed the 1-second data and combined results from three analysis methods with Aclima’s modeled annual pollutant levels to generate an interactive air quality report as a series of ArcGIS Story Maps. Results from the monitoring combined with community input are being used to inform air pollution mitigation strategies across the state.
Location
The Monroe County/City of Rochester Public Safety Training Facility is located at 1190 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY 14624 (across from the back side of the airport). We are on the second floor in suite 200.
General directions – We are off 390, just one exit from the Airport. We are on Scottsville Road (Route 383) off 390 , Exit # 17. When you arrive at 1190 Scottsville Road, facing the building from the street, the main entrance is a one-way drive on the left side of the building. You can park anywhere you find a spot and enter on that side of the building by the glass atrium. Once inside, proceed up the stairs, turn left and you will see our offices. Please feel free to call 585-753-3810 if you have any questions.
Following is a google map location/photo of the building, if helpful!
How Climate Change is Impacting Wine Production and Wine Culture in the Region Around Würzburg, Germany (Rochester’s Sister City)
The Finger Lakes Region GIS/SIG invites you to our annual summer program and BBQ lunch on July 9 (12-1:30) at the Susan R. Holliday Center, Room 12-4050, in the Saunders College of Business, RIT (Parking is in the S Lot in non-reserved spots).
When: Tuesday, July 9th, 2024, 12 PM to 1:30 PM
Where: Rochester Institute of Technology College of Business Events Space – Susan R. Holliday Center, Room 12-4050 – 105 Lomb Memorial Dr, Rochester, NY 14623 – Parking is in the S-Lot in the non-reserved spots (there are lots in the summer), and there is no need for a visitor permit. – What3Words Location https://w3w.co/segmented.amphibious.gadget
Cost: $10 (Pay at the door) with food provided by Sticky Lips BBQ (vegetarian options will be available).
Registration: Click Here
Professors Karl Korfmacher and Lorraine Hems, Rochester Institute of Technology, will be discussing how climate change is impacting wine production and wine culture in the region around Würzburg, Germany (Rochester’s Sister City), what steps the Germans are taking to address these issues, and how these actions may inform resiliency efforts in the Finger Lakes wine region.
Following the presentation, Professor Hems will be conducting a wine tasting for those interested in sampling a typical Frankonian wine (2022 Silvaner from the Winegut Hans Wirsching – https://www.wirsching.de/en/). Participation in the wine tasting is entirely at the discretion of the participant.
Student 2024 GIS/SIG Conference Opportunities
How would you like to go to the GIS/SIG Conference for free? If you submit to present during the Student Lightning Talks and are selected you will be given free registration. Lightning Talks are quick format (5-minute and 3-slide) presentations where you can show your work.
To Submit Your Abstract Click Here
Any student who brings a map to the map gallery has the opportunity to win $150. If you want to share a digital mapping application like a storymap, bring a printed flyer for your application with a QR code. (Conference Registration Required)
For more conference information please visit the conference pages.
Save the Date for the 2024 GISSIG Conference
Our Annual Conference will be at the RIT Inn and Conference Center on April 16, 2024.
For more information please see 2024 Conference page.
“QUICK AND EASY” CENSUS DATA IN GIS
Please join us for our Fall Program at the Henrietta Town Library. Justin Cole, GISP from the University of Wisconsin GIS Professional Programs will be presenting a workshop on how to utilize Census Data in GIS.
When: Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: Henrietta Town Library Community Room 625 Calkins Rd, Rochester, NY 14623
Cost: $5 (Pay at the door)
Registration: https://bit.ly/GISSIGFall2023
“QUICK AND EASY” CENSUS DATA IN GIS
Justin D. Cole, GISP – University of Wisconsin Madison GIS Professional Programs
Census data is a great resource for any GIS project, but it can be very overwhelming, and using it can be tricky at times. The data are in many forms on the Census.gov website but I have found that using the TIGER/Line with Selected Demographic and Economic Data is by far the easiest method of getting a lot out of it. This data comes in a prepackaged Geodatabase with the spatial data, a metadata table, and then many other tables with numerous attributes. Using this geodatabase is easy, but finding your story can be a little hard. In this workshop, we will go through these steps from loading the data to creating custom fields, and then prepping the data for publishing on ArcGIS Online. While most of the presentation will be ArcGIS Pro driven, I will also be showing parts that can be done using QGIS. So bring your laptop and follow along and I hope that this presentation gives you the confidence to utilize the Census data.
If you want to follow along, please download the census tracts geodatabase from https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/time-series/geo/tiger-data.html before the meeting. If you cannot attend or would like the walkthroughs and presentation, you can go to https://justincolegis.com/.
NYS GIS Clearinghouse Update
Please join us for our June Program at Monroe County Emergency Operations Center. Sean O’Connell the NYS GIS Clearinghouse Coordinator, will discuss the recent redesign of the NYS GIS Clearinghouse.
When: Tuesday, June 13th, 2023, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: Monroe County Emergency Operations Center – 1190 Scottsville Rd, Rochester, NY 14624
Cost: $5 (Pay at the door)
NYS GIS Clearinghouse Update
Sean O’Connell
Information Technology Specialist 3 with NYS ITS
NYS GIS Clearinghouse Coordinator
The NYS GIS Clearinghouse has had a redesign which launched in late March. The old site was on an old and outdated system which was limited for changes. Customers and contributors have a new system and site to use which has better connected the data with live web services, and a better search catalog. Contributors now have to worry less about sending flat file updates on a regular basis. End users are better equipped to not only download the data, but also to view/explore it, find it as a web service, view associated metadata, and search for what they are looking for. This presentation will go over these changes and demo how the site can be used.
