Q: Tell us a little about the work you do as a GIS Consultant for LSA Technology Services.
I am a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) consultant, I meet with faculty, staff, and students to assist them in collecting and analyzing spatial data in GIS software. Sometimes this means teaching a user how to create a map in desktop GIS software, or how to write python code for analyses in GIS software. I advise on best practices for field data collection with ArcGIS mobile applications, and build custom web applications for researchers that are looking to display their interactive maps online and share them publicly. Sometimes faculty need a map made for a journal or book publication, and I’ll help with that. Making these maps often includes finding data online, bringing it into a map, and stylizing it in a way that they want it to appear to the audience. My colleagues and I also lead a series of GIS workshops every semester for users of all levels.I was hired originally as a temp specifically for GIS work. I have an undergraduate degree in Geography and had been doing GIS work in research labs for five years before I came here as a temp. Most of my experiences before LSA Technology Services were in remote sensing, where you’re analyzing satellite imagery to quantify various natural phenomenon using GIS software.
Q: What is your favorite project you are working on right now?
Right now I’m working on a project to visualize the night sky in GIS, which includes creating a web application for a faculty member in Classical Studies to study constellations. That’s a really unique one! I also built a web mapping application for a professor in Judaic Studies. He wrote a book about how cafés in various European, North American, and Middle Eastern cities such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Odessa, Ukraine, influenced modern Jewish culture. He has a website that functions as a digital companion to the book, and includes a web application with an interactive map, allowing users to explore the primary data of café locations and historical landmarks over time.
Q: Could you tell us about your work in GIS? What are some challenges you face when working in this area?
Since the scope is so wide, every problem is unique—and it’s a lot of learning on the job. A lot of the time, I go into a consult, and I say, “Yes, we can do that. I don’t know exactly how to do it, but we will solve it together.” Since the scope of GIS is wide, researchers are using it in history, geology, anthropology, women’s studies, archaeology, political science, judaic studies, and public health, to name a few. Each subject area has its own specific GIS questions that they’re asking and specific things to consider. Someone in Political Science might be looking at election results over time, but that time range may be 60-70 years and political boundaries may have changed over time. So that’s a really interesting spatial problem to solve so we try to give researchers the tools to solve that.
Q: What is your favorite part about your job?
It’s probably the same thing that makes it so challenging. I’m learning every day, whether it is about someone’s research, a new GIS tool, or a method of analyzing spatial data—I don’t do the same thing every day. Also, while I’m doing those things I get to work with incredible faculty, staff, students, and colleagues, which is really inspiring. It makes me a better person. Their passion for their work inspires me to be a better worker, thinker, and do-er.
Q: You enjoy being a beekeeper, can you tell us about that? What got you started?
I started as my mom’s photographer as she worked the hives at her home in Ann Arbor. I eventually caught the bug, and spent a year interning at Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary in Floyd, Virginia, where we tended 40+ hives. So I really learned how to be a beekeeper there. There are different tasks you have to do at different times of the year—there’s a real rhythm to it.
What drew me to the bees—other than the fact that they are in crisis right now—is their remarkable ability to work together. There’s about 50,000 of them in a hive and they work together selflessly, without any disputes or arguments! They are so fascinating and there’s so much we can learn from them.
I often get asked if I get stung a lot—and while I do get stung, it isn’t nearly as bad as wasp stings, and it isn’t a frequent occurrence. For some hives I don’t wear any protection, except for a hat so they don’t get stuck in my hair. But it’s really a hive-by-hive basis—I’m going to the hive and listening to it. I can tell when they’re not going to be welcoming. Usually when I get a sting, that’s a warning to me and I’ll come back another day. It varies based on the weather—if it’s going to thunderstorm later, they might not want me opening the hive. I think the thing people get confused about with honeybees is that, when you just see a bee in nature, they’re not going to sting you. They’ll only sting when they feel their colony is threatened. So opening a hive can be a very vulnerable experience for them. The way I see it, I’m making myself just as vulnerable by not wearing any protection and that makes you go slower, you’re sensing a lot more, you’re not haphazardly moving things around.
If you are looking for a good book to read this winter, check out Tom Seeley’s Honeybee Democracy.
Q: What other hobbies do you enjoy?
I’m a gardener, and I have 5 chickens and a beehive in my backyard on the west side of town. I’m a rock-climber, cyclist, and I just bought a pair of cross-country skis so I’m looking forward to getting out in the snow. I play the cello occasionally for friends’ weddings. And I’m taking a Tai Chi class through MHealthy with a few colleagues.
Q: What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I’m really shy and very introverted, but I also really like connecting with people. I think people would be surprised that I’m not always quiet, it depends on the environment. So know that if you come to talk with me, I’m grateful for the opportunity to connect!
| Interested in a consultation with our GIS team to learn more about how they can support your projects and research? Reach out to lsait@umich.edu to open a ticket. Also, keep an eye out for information coming soon about open office hours with our research team. The Clark Library is another great place to go to, especially to learn about obtaining GIS data. |
