Bowling Green, Ky. - Two more Western Kentucky University geoscience graduate students received scholarships to participate in the 26th Annual Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) International User Conference in San Diego during the week of Aug. 7–11.

Shawn Marie Simpson of Bowling Green and Jon Hall of Louisville were selected from a pool of international applicants for the competitive scholarships, which supported 60 graduate and fourth-year undergraduate students from universities and colleges throughout the United States and around the world. The scholarships required students to work half-days at the conference in exchange for their conference registration, workshops, meals and lodging.

ESRI is the biggest organization and vendor of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software in the world. Each year, ESRI hosts a conference for GIS users to share ideas and gain knowledge about GIS technology. For this year’s 26th event, there were more than 13,000 attendees and 350 sponsors. ESRI is 37 years old.

This is the fifth year in a row that WKU’s Department of Geography and Geology has had a student selected for the scholarship, but this year is the second time that ESRI has selected two; last year was the first.

Simpson presented “An ArcIMS Application with the Kentucky Climate Center at WKU” and Kevin Cary, WKU GIS director, presented “Network Analysis: A Classroom Project.”

Also in attendance were WKU alumni: Clint Franklin (Instructor of Geoscience at Indiana University Southeast), Allen Glennon (GIS Ph.D. candidate at the University of California in Santa Barbara), Rhonda Glennon (ArcGIS Product Specialist at ESRI in Redlands, Calif.), Shwu-Jing Jeng (Database Developer Analyst at ESRI in Redlands, Calif.), Guy Perry (GIS Analyst for the USDA), Dan Taylor (Master Planner/GIS Specialist for the Army Corps of Engineers), Jeremy Weber (GIS Developer/Analyst for the state of Tennessee), and Jason Wood (GIS Analyst for Texas Gas Transmission in Owensboro).

“The department’s success in winning ESRI scholarships for its GIS students is a reflection of the leadership role that Western has taken in recent years in developing GIS programs for undergraduate and graduate students,” Geography and Geology Department Head David Keeling said. “Moreover, the department’s success in placing its graduates in challenging GIS positions around the country is a reflection of the academic quality of the GIS program at WKU.”

For information about GIS, WKU’s GIS programs and GIS applications in business and industry, contact Kevin Cary in the Department of Geography and Geology at (270) 745-2981. For information about applying for an ESRI student assistantship, contact Shawn Marie Simpson at simpssm@wku.edu or Jon Hall at jonathan.hall@wku.edu.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact David Keeling at (270) 745-4555.

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