GIScience Colloquium

Geo-historical approach for the study of rural landscapes in the Southern Venetian Plain

Presenter: Silvia Piovan (University of Padova, Dep. of Historical, Geographical and Antiquity Sciences)

Date: Thursday, March, 27, 2014;  14:00 – 15:00

Place: Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, room 436 (3^rd floor)

Human occupation over the last four millennia has participated with geomorphic changes in modifying the alluvial plains surface in Mediterranean landscapes. The Southern Venetian plain (north-eastern Italy), is a good example of a long interaction between man and the environment since the Bronze Age. This presentation will demonstrate the application of a geo-historical approach that combines the merits of geographical, geomorphological and historical perspectives and GIScience techniques in the study of the evolution of the relationship between man and environment of this alluvial plain. Case studies from different times (Roman Age, Modern Age, and Contemporary Age) will be presented to understand the main forces, both natural and anthropogenic, that have shaped the rural landscape in the Southern alluvial plain during the last two millennia.

EDC Best Student Award going to Eva-Maria Schönauer

Z_GIS is proud to announce that this year's EDC best student distinction was awarded to Eva-Maria Schönauer for her work on the MSc thesis "Homogeneisation of Electric Grid Data for INSPIRE". Ms Schönauer has addressed a timely and critically important topic in her Master thesis, working towards achieving required common standards for INSPIRE conformity in the domain of electrical utility transmission and distribution grid data. In this thesis, she has demonstrated advanced skills and competences in the areas of data modeling and model transformations, using the ArcGIS interoperability extension and geodatabase design toolsets.

Ms Schönauer had completed her MSc in 'Applied Geoinformatics' in 2013 while working at the Research Studio iSpace, not only receiving excellent grades but also recognition for this thesis which is highly relevant for the evolution of Spatial Data Infrastructures in the utility industry conforming with the INSPIRE directive.

As an Esri Development Center, Z_GIS every year has the opportunity to select and nominate one top student based on his or her software development competence. The Esri Development Center (EDC) program provices "recognition and special status to university departments that have exemplary programs focused on educating students to design and develop GIS applications".

Congratulations to this distinction, and to continuing a tradition of excellence established by previous recipients of this award (Mariana Belgiu, Bernhard Vockner, Christoph Mayerhofer and Caroline Atzl), thus serving as an outstanding role model for future generations of Geoinformatics students in Salzburg!

Z_GIS established 8 Research Areas

Did you actually know, that Z_GIS established eight research areas represent the points of intersection between the core methodological and domain competencies?

They cover human and natural environments. While research is being conducted in each of these areas, gaps as well as overlaps exist. All research areas are highly relevant for society. Within all research areas, both basic and applied research is carried out. Next to methodological developments and scientific achievements Z_GIS wants to contribute to a deeper understanding of the physical environment and the human society – and in particular the human-environment nexus.

• RA (1) Object-based image analysis (OBIA)
• RA (2) Integrated spatial indicators (ISI)
• RA (3) Multidimensional modelling & simulation across scales
• RA (4) Landscape Lab
• RA (5) GIScience Lab
• RA (6) Mobility and Transportation
• RA (7) Geographic Information Infrastructure
• RA (8) Geomedia Pedagogy

Find detailed information to all eight research areas on our website.

EC/FP7 Project Start: CAERUS

As one of the last projects funded in the EC/FP7-SECURITY  framework, CAERUS started on March 1, 2014 with a project life time of 36 months.

The CAERUS consortium involves partners from Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Ireland and aims to identify humanitarian relief actions that pave the way for human development and stability in post-conflict societies. Specifically, the project aims:

• to improve policies for transitional situations at global and regional levels, as well as strengthen operational policies in the field;

• to identify the compatibilities and contradictions in relief to development policies in UN, EU (including European MS) and other key actors such as US, Japan and regional inter-governmental bodies and propose reforms.

• to better understand the role of health and education as drivers of pacification and social stabilisations in post crises settings and recommend future policy from lessons learnt

Z_GIS will be involved in WP4 with regard to qualitative methods for education-employment studies, and WP5 with regard to the Integrative Analysis Services.

Z_GIS at climate summit for young people in Salzburg

Within the framework of the climate summit for young people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland in Salzburg from March 13-14 Z_GIS is organizing a workshop to flood protection 4.0.

jugendKLIMAgipfel, zum Thema ‚Hochwassermanagement 4.0 – Chancen und Risiken neuer Technologien

Im Zuge der Fachmesse ‚acqua alta alpina‘ findet vom 13. bis 14. März 2014 der ‚jugendKLIMAgipfel, zum Thema ‚Hochwassermanagement 4.0 – Chancen und Risiken neuer Technologien‘ statt. Dieser richtet sich an Jugendliche bis ~25 Jahre. In diesem Jahr steht vor allem die Hochwasserproblematik im Vordergrund. Dabei sollen Zukunftsszenarien für den Einsatz neuer Technologien entwickelt und diese auch kritisch hinterfragt werden.

Dr. Stefan Kienberger vom Fachbereich Geoinformatik - Z_GIS bereitet bereitet gemeinsam mit seinem Team einen spannenden Workshop vor, der für die aktive Jugend als auch die Einsatzkräfte und ExpertInnen gleichermaßen lehrreich sein wird.
jugendKLIMAgipfel