Leveraging the Science of Geographic Information Systems

The Center for Geographic Information Science (CGISc) at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) was established in the Summer of 2006. CGISc is an educational research entity that relies on the use of GIS and the science of geographic information to conduct research on human and natural phenomena distributed on the Earth’s surface. CGISc welcomes interdisciplinary collaboration, and emphasizes the development of public-private sector partnerships. CGISc also places a high priority on research that involves students. This paper first provides an overview of the CGISc. This section is followed by a discussion on the fundamental approach to conducting geographic research using GIS. The paper concludes with several significant projects and a discussion on future directions. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2038-4.ch097