It’s hard to believe, but in exactly two weeks the new students—the Class of 2017—will arrive on campus to begin their University of Richmond experience. But even though the summer is almost over here at UR, the Spatial Analysis Lab has been a busy place for the past few months! Here are some brief highlights of our Summer 2013.

The SAL team also placed fifth this summer in the annual Gottwald Games—it was our first appearance!

• The Department of Geography and the Environment welcomed a new staff member in July—and, yes, it’s me, serving as the GIS Technician for the department. This post-baccalaureate position will give me lots of behind-the-scenes experience with running a GIS architecture, will put me in contact with many faculty and staff at the University, and will help ensure that the SAL and its students are achieving as much success as possible.

• At least three student research projects were based out of the SAL this summer. Two students worked with the Chesapeake Conservancy and used remote sensing software to identify specific areas of land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that contribute most notably to pollution in the Bay. Two other students continue to work on a Natural Resource Conservation Assessment report for the nearby Shenandoah National Park. And another student made good use of our GPS technology to document lead levels in trees near the Richmond International Airport. These students will present their work and their findings over the next year; stay tuned to the blog for updates!

• We’ve continued to explore storymaps—interactive, online web maps that are specifically tailored to communicate some information. In the past, we’ve uploaded data to be stored on a cloud computer, but this summer we’ve learned how to store our data locally and serve that data live. So now, when you access a map such as this one showing farmers markets around Richmond or this one looking at the imperial fora of Ancient Rome, you’re seeing a live look at our data. Expect many more customized, interactive storymaps over the next few months.

• We’ve formed new partnerships with various departments and offices around the University, all of whom are excited to make use of our geospatial resources. For instance, over the next year the SAL will be helping students and staff in the Music Department, the Center for Civic Engagement at UR Downtown, the University Museums, the Digital Scholarship Lab, and even the Office of Emergency Management. We’re also exploring the possibility of incorporating some of our spatial data into the official University of Richmond campus map.

• Finally, we’ve been preparing for and undergoing a massive hardware and software update. Just today, the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology updated the SAL computers and soon we will be receiving a new large-format printer for printing maps. On the software side, all the University computers will now run ArcGIS 10.1 as will our database server and our web server, giving us greater ability to publish maps online. These updates will make sure that UR students are on the cutting-edge of GIS technology.

We’re looking forward to another exciting year in the SAL. Expect much more frequent updates here on the blog, be sure to follow our account on Twitter @UR_SAL, and be on the lookout for exciting online storymaps! And above all, enjoy the final few weeks of your summer.