Job Posting: GIS Programmer/Analyst

Organization: Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Location: Palmer
Closing Date: December 18, 2012

Online Job Announcement

The employee occupying the position of this class is responsible for the performance, integrity, security, stability, high availability, repair, and recovery of all of the enterprise GIS data, geodatabases and GIS applications within the organization. This is a bargaining unit position.

To Apply: Submit applications to the Human Resources Office. The application can be supplemented with any other information you wish to provide.  Applications are available online at www.matsugov.us or at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Building, 350 East Dahlia Avenue, Palmer, AK. If you need reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application process, please contact the Human Resources Office at 746-7404.

Training Announcement: Web Classes

Organization: Kessler GIS
Location: Online
Dates:

• October 30-November 1, 2012 - What is GIS and ArcGIS Desktop v10.1
• November 5-8, 2012 - Using Model Builder v10.1
• November 6-16, 2012 - Understanding and Using Python and ArcPy in ArcGIS v10.1

Online Training Announcement

These classes are provided through a web meeting service and are usually multi-session classes requiring work by the student outside of official class times. You will need your own computer and software to complete these courses. There are other requirements necessary to successfully attend these classes -- see registration information online.

For more information, please see visit the web link above or contact Bruce Kessler at (509) 235-5500.

Meeting Announcement: Thursday, October 11

Mobile GIS Special Interest Group.

Discussion: SIG Informational Meeting
Location: HDR, 2525 C Street, 3rd Floor, Denali Conference Room
Date: October 11, 2012, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

The Mobile GIS SIG will hold this informational meeting to discuss the direction of the group. We will be taking suggestions for topics of interest and how we should focus the time of the group.

If you have questions or are interested in attending, please email Shane Metcalf at shane.metcalf.2.ctr@us.af.mil.

Meeting Announcement: Tuesday, September 25

ArcGIS Server Special Interest Group.

Discussion: ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online APIs and Development Platforms
Location: Atwood Building, 550 W 7th Avenue, 9th Floor, DNR TIPS Training Room
Date: September 25, 2012, 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon (?)

Scott Moore from Esri will remotely present the various APIs and development platforms available for ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online. If you have specific questions to provide to Scott ahead of time, please email them Becky Strauch at rebecca.strauch@alaska.gov or Terri Morganson at tmorganson@esri.com.

If you are attending in person, parking validation is available. Two-hour visitor parking is available on the second floor of the the Linny Pacillo parking garage. Validate your ticket with the security guard upon exiting the Atwood Building.

If you are unable to attend in person, please join the GoTo Meeting:
1. Join the meeting online: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/573843729
2. Join the audio via phone at 1-800-944-8766 using conference code 90200#

Meeting Announcement: Wednesday, September 19

Presentation: Using the Standard Incidence Ratio (SIR) to Investigate a Potential Link between Cancer Incidence and a Chemical Spill in North Pole, Alaska

Presented By: David O'Brien, Alaska Cancer Registry, Anchorage, AK
Location: US Fish & Wildlife Service, 1011 E Tudor Road - BRING ID
Date: September 17, 2012, 12:00 - 1:00 PM

The Alaska Cancer Registry has been working with the AK Section of Epidemiology's Environmental Public Health Program in investigating potential health risks of a sulfoland chemical spill in the town of North Pole, Alaska. A map of the delineated sulfolane plume showed that it was almost entirely contained within the North Star Borough's Census Tract 16 and is over half the size of the census tract. ACR determined the number of observed cancer cases for this census tract, calculated the number of expected cancer cases, and used the Standard Incidence Ratio (SIR) statistical significance test to determine if the difference between the two numbers was statistically significant.

Event Announcement: New SIG Proposal

I would like to propose a new Ad-hoc Technical Special Interest Group (Adhoc SIG) that will exist only when needed- on a short-term basis- to address single, focused technical issues brought up by  AAUG members.

This would be an informal group that can meet whenever, wherever it works for those participating. The attendees would be whomever has an interest or comment on whatever the particular issue, and the focus would be on hammering out a solutions and/or kicking around ideas for a particular technical issue

This is a BETA attempt at this "group".  It will only be active when someone has an issue they want to discuss, and a meeting will only happen if there are at least two people that want to meet.  I am volunteering to help organize this SIG, send out notices etc., although depending on the topic, I may not attend meetings.  If this sounds like a good idea, we will get an Adhoc SIG mailing list setup. Initial announcements will be in this newsletter, with detailed emails coming to the Adhoc SIG mailing group.

If you are interested, please email me.

Thanks,
Becky Strauch,  rebecca.strauch@alaska.gov.

NOTE: To ensure your email isn't sent to spam, please use the subject "New Adhoc SIG Tech Topics"

Meeting Announcement: Tuesday, August 21

ArcGIS Server Special Interest Group.

Discussion: ArcGIS 10.1 Administration Round Table
Location: TBD
Date: August 21, 2012, 12:00 - 1:00 PM (tentative)

If you are interested in attending, please email Becky Strauch at rebecca.strauch@alaska.gov.

NOTE: To ensure your email isn't sent to spam, please use the subject "AGS SIG. Round table meeting".

Event Announcement: 2013 AKSMC GIS Jam Planning Committee Kick-off

We are planning our first meeting for the 2013 GIS Jam Planning Committee at the end of August. A meeting announcement will be posted once we have a tentative date.

If you would like to join the planning group, please contact James Burkhart at James.Burkhart@uicumiaq.com.

Meeting Announcement: June and July Cancelled

The LiDAR Seminar, held last Monday, replaced our regular AAUG/URISA monthly lunch meeting for June. There will be NO meeting on Wednesday, June 20.

Due to the Esri International User Conference, our regular meeting for July is also cancelled.

We will resume our regular monthly meetings in August with a recap of the Esri conference. Enjoy your summer!

Meeting Announcement: Monday, June 11

Presentation: LiDAR Seminar
Location: BLM, 4700 BLM Road (off Elmore and 68th)
Date: June 11, 2012, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

This replaces our regular AAUG/URISA monthly lunch meeting for June.

This seminar will cover managing and using LiDAR point cloud data with ArcGIS 10.1.  By attending these sessions GIS users will be able to learn how to manage LiDAR data, use ArcGIS for 2D/3D  visualization and analysis, as well as share their LiDAR data through webservices. 

Attendees will learn a complete LiDAR data management strategy, including: how to catalog their data; when to use LAS Datasets, terrain Datasets, and Mosaic Datasets; what analytical options are available for LiDAR; how to fuse LiDAR data with other spatial and operational layers; and techniques for making LiDAR data more accessible. 

By utilizing the ArcGIS platform, organizations will be better able to support informed decision making by providing simple and timely access to your LiDAR and Imagery.

Directions to BLM Field Office: Turn from Elmore onto BLM Road. Take a right at the fork in the road and continue on to the BLM Field Office.

Meeting Announcement: Wednesday, May 16

Presentation: ArcGIS for What???
Location: US Fish & Wildlife Service, 1011 E Tudor Road - BRING ID
Date: May 16, 2012, 12:00 - 1:00 PM

This month, Terri Morganson from Esri will give an overview of the Esri ArcGIS System.  She will include new naming (yes, there will be new names for some of the core products you've used for years!), new products to roll out within the next month, and show how everything fits together in one system. Whether you work in a large enterprise organization or small business, this overview will allow you to make your plans for using Esri technology to its maximum potential.

Meeting Announcement: Wednesday, April 18

Presentation: URISA Connect - LiDAR webinar series
Location: US Fish & Wildlife Service, 1011 E Tudor Road - BRING ID
Date: April 18, 2012, 12:00 - 1:00 PM

This month, Luke Boggess will be speaking on the URISA Connect - LiDAR webinar series. Learn - Share - Connect with your peers! URISA Connect is all about enabling YOU to connect with professional peers all across the world. 

• Connect to learn about GIS best practices from trusted experts.
• Connect to see the latest technical and management advancements.
• Connect to ask questions, share ideas, and collaborate on today's big issues.

Are you trying to find ways to increase your industry knowledge and learn new skills in between professional conferences?  URISA Connect is an effective way to develop your professional skills and even work towards GISCI Certification Education Hours. URISA Webinars count towards the EDU-2 section of the application.

LiDAR Series:

1. April 25, 2012: LiDAR 101
2. May 23, 2012: Project Planning
3. June 27, 2012: Data Quality Control

Welcome

We are pleased to introduce the new AAUG website at www.ak-aug.org. This new site uses the Google Blogger format and is home to all the information you need to know about the Alaska Arc User Group – contacts, other GIS user groups, job listings, and a new calendar of events. We would also like to thank GeoNorth, who graciously hosted the website for the past 10 years. We hope you enjoy the new format.