What is GIS?

My major interests are in Geographic Information Systems and Databases. A GIS is an electronic mapping system that can be used to analyze and manipulate spatial data. If you have information that is spatial in nature, and you want to find out about the relationships it has with other spatial data, then GIS is for you. Spatial data can be particularly powerful when you associate it with attributes.

GIS is a popular in both research and business circles. Here are some examples of applications for GIS:

Utility companies keep track of their assets. After converting multiple versions of paper maps to a single electronic map, a utility company discovered it was paying money to other companies on utility poles that it owned.

A parole board in England keeps track of parolees. When a crime is reported in a region of the county, the type of crime is checked against the prior offense of parolees in the same area. If there is a match, the parolee is investigated.

One university used a GIS to map out the circulatory system of the human body.

The heat generation properties are taken into account when circuit elements are placed on a board. If parts that generate too much heat are placed too close together, they can fail.