The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) officially launched its Universal GEOINT Certification Program May 16 during general session at its GEOINT 2016 Symposium. The symposium takes place May 16-19 in Orlando, Florida.
USGIF’s certification program includes three exams with corresponding certifications: GIS and Analysis Tools (CGP-G); Remote Sensing and Imagery Analysis (CGP-R); and Geospatial Data Management (CGP-D). A fourth competency — data visualization — is incorporated throughout all of the exams.
Available to U.S. and international GEOINT practitioners across industry, military, academia, and government, the certification program is beneficial to anyone who wants to further their education and training, take the next step in career advancement, or showcase his or her understanding of GEOINT.
Each of the three exams and subsequent professional certifications are incredibly valuable as standalone credentials. However, GEOINT practitioners who earn and maintain all three USGIF certifications simultaneously will be eligible to apply for USGIF’s overarching Universal GEOINT Professional (UGP) designation.
USGIF recognized six Universal GEOINT Professionals this morning that achieved the UGP designation during the program’s pilot testing phase. The first UGP recipients are: Talbot Brooks, Stewart Bruce, Chris Johnson, Angel Martinez, Christopher Stahl and Michael Wood.
Also during the pilot testing phase, 26 individuals achieved the CGP-G certification, 37 earned the CGP-R designation, and 28 achieved CGP-G recognition.
Parallel with USGIF’s efforts, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has created a certification program designed specifically for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Enterprise. USGIF and NGA have agreed upon a plan for reciprocity. The goal between the programs is to achieve transferability through the concept of functional equivalence, which allows hiring officials to agree that more than one certification meets current organizational needs.
This concept of transportable and transparent professional certification with universal applicability will continue to be paramount to USGIF Membership as well as to the growing global GEOINT Community.
USGIF has created an independent Certification Governance Board (CGB) to direct certification efforts. The CGB met several times in the lead-up to the official launch of the certification program, and will hold its first annual meeting at the GEOINT Symposium tomorrow, May 17.
Universal GEOINT Certification Program testing will begin in July.
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy have entered into a memorandum of agreement under which USGIF and the Centre will educate the geospatial community on the unique legal and policy issues that impact the collection, use, storage and distribution of geospatial information.
Under the agreement, USGIF and the Centre have created a Geospatial and Remote Sensing Law Working Group. The group will develop training and education materials for GEOINT practitioners, host workshops, and further the GEOINT Community’s understanding of geospatial and remote sensing law.
“The Centre is pleased to be working with USGIF to educate the geospatial community on these important issues,” said Kevin Pomfret, executive director of the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy. “This is also an opportunity for the geospatial community to educate lawyers on where GEOINT is taking the law.”
“As we embark upon the GEOINT revolution, the myriad technological advances related to location and remote sensing are significantly outpacing the development of associated law and policy,” said USGIF CEO Keith Masback. “Decisions are being made daily at all levels of government — in the U.S. and abroad — as courts set precedents gavel drop by gavel drop. This partnership will play a crucial role in organizing a more coherent way forward.”
Next month, the Geospatial and Remote Sensing Law Working Group will host a half-day workshop on legal matters critical to the GEOINT Community as part of USGIF’s 2015 GEOINT Community Week.
The program will include three panels: Government Contracts and Organizational Conflicts of Interest: Conflicts in an Increasingly Conflicted World; Government Contracts and Intellectual Property: Playing a Critical Role in Geospatial Contracting; and Developments in Licensing of Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites. The event will take place Nov. 18 at General Dynamics Information Technology in Springfield, Va. Click here for more information or to register.
The annual scholarship program supports students studying geospatial sciences.
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) presented scholarships to 24 students as part of its annual Scholarship Program. USGIF awarded $99,000 in scholarship funds this year, bringing the total funds awarded since the program launched in 2004 to $891,000.
Through its scholarship program, USGIF is dedicated to assisting promising students interested in the geospatial sciences and furthering the advancement of the geospatial intelligence tradecraft.
“This year’s slate of USGIF Scholarship awardees represent a diversity of analytical interests to include spatiotemporal data science, visualization of Big Data analytics, GEOINT ontologies, open-source data fusion, emergency medical response in remote locations, natural language processing for activity-based intelligence, remote sensing assessment of aquifer vulnerability, and decision support systems for sustainable agriculture,” said Maxwell Baber, USGIF’s director of academic programs. “These GEOINT student revolutionaries are the future leaders of our discipline.”
This year, USGIF granted scholarships to five doctoral candidates, six graduate students, six undergraduate students, and seven graduating high school seniors. Each undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate awardee received $5,000, and graduating high school seniors received $2,000 toward their education.
All scholarship recipients are selected by USGIF’s Scholarship Subcommittee, which evaluates applicants based on academic and professional excellence.
The 2015 USGIF scholarship awardees are:
Doctorate
• Crystal English, San Diego State University/University of California, Santa Barbara
• Morteza Karimzadeh, Pennsylvania State University
• Ron Mahabir, George Mason University
• Monica Medel, Texas State University
• Taylor Oshan, Arizona State University
Graduate
• Christopher S. Beddow, University of Washington
• Seth Bishop, University of Utah
• Steven Gilbert, Pennsylvania State University
• Bridget Kane, University of Pennsylvania School of Design
• Joel Max, Pennsylvania State University
• Aishwarya Venkat, Tufts University
Undergraduate
• Sarah Campbell, West Virginia University
• Charlotte Ector, University of South Carolina
• Jory Fleming, University of South Carolina
• Courtney Koch, Harrisburg University
• Jeffrey Sherwood, Washington College
• Elijah Staple, University of Colorado, Boulder
Graduating High School Seniors
• Elizabeth Cady van Assendelft, Robert E. Lee High School, Staunton, Va.; now attending Yale University
• Kyle Bathgate, Carbondale Community High School, Carbondale, Ill.; now attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Christina Bohnet, South Lakes High School, Reston, Va.; now attending Calvin College
• Kelly Carney, South Lakes High School, Reston, Va.; now attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Andy Fleming, Dominion High School, Sterling, Va.; now attending Texas A&M University, West Texas
• Colin Flynn, Heritage High School, Leesburg, Va.; now attending Northern Virginia Community College
• Daniel Gurley, South Lakes High School, Reston, Va.; now attending James Madison University
To learn more about the USGIF Scholarship Program, visit USGIF.org.
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) announced the six recipients of its 2015 Awards Program on the main stage at the GEOINT 2015 Symposium, being held this week in Washington, D.C. The USGIF Awards Program annually recognizes the exceptional work of the geospatial intelligence tradecraft’s brightest minds.
“Each year as the nominations come in, we are always amazed by the exceptional work of the individuals and teams from government, military, industry, and academia being submitted for consideration,” said Kevin Jackson, chair of the USGIF Awards Subcommittee. “The opportunity to review the dozens of nominations and to understand the significance of your accomplishments and the impact of your contributions to the community, our country, and the world — which most likely never make the news—is truly humbling. The 2015 USGIF Award winners represent a community that we should be very proud to be a part of.”
The 2015 USGIF Award winners are:
Military Achievement Award: Air Force/Director for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Interoperability(AF/A2I), Surveillance Intelligence Reconnaissance Information System (SIRIS) Team
SIRIS is a government-owned, high-performance, web-based capability that enables open observation, lightweight visualization, and game-changing collaboration for dynamic mission planning and execution across multiple networks. SIRIS collaboration is conducted via a real-time, integrated display of correlated and fused data from National Reconnaissance Office joint collaboration cells, allowing tactical operators to create a tailored, user-defined operational picture. SIRIS reduces fratricide, protects noncombatants and increases combat capability, and saved valuable fire-fighting time during the California rim wildfire. SIRIS is managed by A2 Innovations Director James “Snake” Clark and was created by Chris McDonald and Tim Petronello.
Government Achievement Award: U.S. Army Geospatial Center
In late 2012, months of drought left water levels along a 180-mile stretch of the Mississippi River as much as 20 feet below normal, exposing rock pinnacles in the navigation channel and restricting barge traffic from St. Louis, Mo., to Cairo, Ill.—essentially halting commerce along the Mississippi River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is charged with keeping the river safe and navigable, and in this case needed to provide frequent updates to the White House on the progress of removing the pinnacles to restore navigation. The majority of geospatial products, although very accurate, were too complex for executive-level briefings. In a short timeframe, a team of Army Geospatial Center personnel synthesized the information gathered by the Corps and created geospatial products that enabled the President to quickly understand the problem and how it was being remedied.
Industry Achievement Award: George “Guy” Thomas, C-SIGMA, LLC
George “Guy” Thomas is a former U.S. science and technology advisor for maritime domain awareness and father of space-based automated identification systems (AIS). He also founded the Collaboration in Space for International Global Maritime Awareness (C-SIGMA) organization. Space-based AIS is changing how the maritime world operates by adding global transparency to operations. C-SIGMA works to increase safety and security in the maritime domain as well as protect the maritime environment and resources worldwide. Thomas’ 40-year career in surveillance includes positions with the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, as well as with industry and Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. He led the introduction of both the Navy’s EP-3E and the Air Force’s RC-135W—the first reconnaissance aircraft with mission-system computers.
USGIF CEO Keith Masback (right) presents Bosarge with the USGIF Academic Research Award.
Academic Research Award: George Stanley Bosarge, University of South Alabama
George “Stan” Bosarge is senior research laboratory manager for the Fisheries Ecology Lab of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, as well as the benthic habitat assessment program manager for the University of South Alabama’s department of marine sciences. Bosarge’s research is centered on a large-scale and long-term fisheries assessment project called the Fisheries Independent Ecosystem Survey. It’s designed to assess post-oil spill red snapper population recovery and the spatial relationships of red snapper to artificial and natural reef habitat off coastal Alabama. In 2016, he will join the Northeastern University faculty to teach a class on free and open-source GIS desktop applications in the university’s geographic information technology program.
Academic Achievement Award: Professor Dorota A. Grejner-Brzezinska & Dr. Charles Toth, Ohio State University
In the past 15 years, professors Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska and Charles Toth of the Ohio State University have significantly influenced the future of geospatial intelligence by advancing state-of-the-art geospatial data acquisition and processing technologies. Their most significant achievements include pioneering work on high-accuracy, direct sensor georeferencing algorithms and methodology; developing state-of-the-art sensor error models; developing novel compression technology for LiDAR data; and introducing an innovative and automated waveform processing method to support better point cloud generation and land-cover classification. This is the second time the duo has received a USGIF award, the first being the 2005 Academic Research Award for research on a personal navigator relevant to national security.
Outstanding Administrative/Support Award: Donna L. Pelle, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
As the executive officer for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Support Team (NST) to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Pelle plays a significant behind-the-scenes role in advancing the relationship between the two organizations and demonstrating the importance of GEOINT. Pelle consistently takes action to achieve outcomes and results that are superior in quality, quantity, and have an impact on the NST. She handles worldwide travel, regulatory file planning, security, calendar administration for senior executives, and is responsible for more than 200 taskers a year.
To learn more about the USGIF Awards Program, visit USGIF.org.
This afternoon at the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s (USGIF) GEOINT 2015 Symposium, the 2015 Lt. Michael P. Murphy Award in Geospatial Intelligence was presented to Geoffrey D. Krassy, an air interdiction agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (DHS CBP).
David Alexander, director of the Department of Homeland Security Geospatial Management Office, presented the award to Krassy on the Government Pavilion Stage in the GEOINT 2015 Exhibit Hall.
The Murphy Award is named for Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a distinguished Penn State alumnus. Murphy was killed June 28, 2005, by enemy forces during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan. For his selfless leadership and courageous actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The Murphy Award recognizes achievement by a Penn State graduate who is serving or has served in the U.S. Armed Forces or U.S. Intelligence Community. Recipients are chosen based upon demonstration of exceptional contributions to the discipline after completing Penn State’s graduate certificate in geospatial intelligence.
“Geoff’s experience as a Special Operations Pilot combined with his education achievements in geospatial science resulted in a uniquely insightful and practical study addressing the optimal placement of radar to detect low-altitude, ultralight aircraft crossing the U.S. border,” said Dr. Todd Bacastow, professor of practice for geospatial intelligence at Pennsylvania State University. “Geoff’s work offers invaluable lessons into how automated geospatial analysis might be used by the defensive planner.”
Since 2007, Krassy has served as a CBP air interdiction agent along the U.S. southern border. He also served on the project team that integrates fixed wing patrol aircraft remote sensing capabilities into a common geospatial picture, maximizing the seamless transfer of data between, and interoperability of, DHS air, marine, and, ground forces. Krassy recently achieved a master of professional studies in homeland security from Penn State and holds a bachelor’s degree in history from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. Following graduation from King’s College in 1989, Krassy served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force with Special Operations Forces in the European and African theaters.
“We at USGIF are truly honored to support this award, given in the name of Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Michael Murphy,” said USGIF CEO Keith Masback. “Further, having the award presented annually at the GEOINT Symposium serves as an important reminder to our attendees about the consequences of the work performed by GEOINT professionals every day. Geoff Krassy exemplifies the very best our profession has to offer and is richly deserving of this meaningful recognition.”
The generosity of USGIF, the DigitalGlobe Foundation, and faculty, staff, and friends of Penn State fund the Murphy Award.
GEOINT 2015 attendees have the opportunity to sign up for the GEOINT Foreword pre-conference session, earn Continuing Education Units in 80+ hours of training, be among the first to take Universal GEOINT Certification exams, and much more. The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) has once again expanded its dedicated professional development offerings at the GEOINT 2015 Symposium, to be held June 22-25 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
GEOINT Foreword
GEOINT 2015 kicks off with GEOINT Foreword, a pre-symposium science and technology-focused day designed to highlight advances in GEOINT tradecraft and innovation. In addition to a keynote speaker, lightning talks, and networking breaks, GEOINT Foreword will host 14 panel sessions on topics such as: utilizing commercial space and SmallSat assets; data science acquisition models; modeling and simulation; open-source apps; interoperability; and more. GEOINT Foreword requires separate registration.
Training & Education
The GEOINT 2015 agenda offers more than 80 hours of training and education sessions, which have more than doubled since last year’s Symposium. Two-hour training and education sessions will be conducted in both the morning and afternoon June 23-25. Session topics include crisis mapping, full-motion video, LiDAR, game engines, spatial literacy, GEOINT 101, commercial electro-optical imagery, point cloud technology, cognitive computing, and more. To participate in training, attendees must add desired sessions to their GEOINT 2015 registration. Training and education sessions are accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training. Attendees will receive 0.2 Continuing Education Units per session courtesy of USGIF Member Riverside Research.
Universal GEOINT Certification
This fall, USGIF will launch its Universal GEOINT Certification.Each of the three exams required to achieve the certification will require beta testers. Pilot versions of the GIS and remote sensing exams will be administered at GEOINT 2015. Qualified symposium attendees will have the opportunity to take one or both exams for free to count toward their Universal GEOINT Certification. Attendees can add pilot exams to their GEOINT 2015 registration or email [email protected] to learn more.
Family Day
The GEOINT Symposium will for the first time feature a family day June 25 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Attendees are invited to bring their families to explore the exhibit hall and participate in fun, interactive activities. USGIF’s Young Professionals Group will host a ScavenGeo Dash in the exhibit hall from 1-3 p.m. The dash is an educational scavenger hunt offering families a unique opportunity to learn about the GEOINT Community through an exciting competition. To sign up for the ScavenGeo Dash, email [email protected] and include the names and ages of your team members. Teams should not exceed six members.
To learn more about these educational offerings, view the full symposium agenda, or to register for GEOINT 2015, visit geoint2015.com.
Hackathons have captured the imagination and participation of coders around the world. But there has yet to be a geospatial intelligence-focused hackathon. The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF), along with its partners and sponsors, will offer coders, data scientists and thought leaders the first-ever GEOINT Hackathon Friday, June 12, through Sunday, June 14, at its offices in Herndon, Va. Individuals and teams will partner, program and pitch solutions as they compete for a $15,000 prize.
There is no cost to register for the GEOINT Hackathon. Just visit connect.usgif.org, create an account, and select “Upcoming Events” from the sidebar menu. The “USGIF Hackathon” is listed at the bottom of this page. Full details are available here.
GEOINT Hackathon participants will be challenged to create an open-source solution within a roughly 40-hour timeframe of Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. This is a GEOINT hack, so location matters. The geography of interest and specific hack goal will be announced Friday evening during the 6 p.m. kick-off briefing.
USGIF provides this hint: “We are more interested in fostering collaboration than creating apps. All collaboration-centric coders are encouraged to sign up. The winning team will not only receive the cash prize but also passes to attend GEOINT Foreword and the GEOINT Symposium, where they will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with industry, government, and academic leaders.”
“This is a fabulous opportunity for our global GEOINT Community to continue the ongoing process of reinventing itself and opening its doors to collaboration and transparency,” said Darryl Murdock, USGIF vice president of professional development. “It is also a super venue for trying things we never before thought possible.”
USGIF, OGSystems, DigitalGlobe, Esri and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) are sponsoring and supporting the event through donations, infrastructure support and judges.
This is intended to be the first in a series of GEOINT-focused hackathons. USGIF plans to hold another hackathon during GEOINT Community Week in November.
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) has revealed the theme for its GEOINT 2015 Symposium while at the Esri Federal GIS Conference, held Feb. 9-10 in Washington, D.C. GEOINT 2015 will be themed as “Opening the Aperture: Charting a Path to the Future” to engage government agencies that have not attended before. It will take place June 22-25, also in Washington, D.C.
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) is now accepting applications for its 2015 Scholarship Program. The program assists promising students pursuing the geospatial sciences with scholarship awards to further the advancement of the geospatial intelligence tradecraft.
In 2014, $101,000 in scholarships was awarded to 22 recipients. Since 2004 when the scholarship program began, $792,000 in scholarships has been awarded to more than 170 students.
“The USGIF Scholarship Program is open to students with innovative ideas for advancing the use of geospatial science, data, and technology to solve human security challenges such as conflict, natural disaster, emergency response, public safety, health, the environment, transportation, and more,” said Maxwell Baber, USGIF’s director of academic programs. “We accept applicants from any discipline focused on human-scale activity and the human-environment interface.”
Graduating high school seniors, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students studying geospatial intelligence, geography, political science, computer science, biology, anthropology, and any other field in the natural and social sciences are encouraged to apply. Applications can be found at USGIF’s website and are due no later than April 20.
USGIF is a nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft and developing a stronger GEOINT Community with government, industry, academia, professional organizations, and individuals who develop and apply geospatial intelligence to address national security challenges. USGIF’s mission is to build the community, advance the tradecraft, and accelerate innovation.
For more information on the USGIF Scholarship Program or to read about past USGIF scholarship recipients, visit usgif.org/education/scholarships.
Art Kalinski, Geointelligence Editor, interviewed USGIF CEO Keith Masback about GEOINT 2013*, being held this week in Tampa, Florida. Mossback discusses new technology, future combat systems, and plans for the 2015 conference. Watch the interview above.
Kalinksi has been reporting from GEOINT* 2013 all week, with video reports. His coverage of Day Three includes visits with experts at six booths in the exhibit hall, including a demonstration of the Occulus Rift 3D glasses and an inkjet printer that produces 3D terrain models, as well as an interview with USGIF CEO Keith Mossback about the show and plans for next year.
Coverage of Day Two includes a press briefing with Lettitia Long, director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); a demonstration by Airbus; and a visit to the Skyline booth.
Read his coverage of Day One of the symposium here. Included are videoclips from a DigitalGlobe presentation about the TomNod crowdsourcing efforts to find Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.
After founding the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) in 2004, serving as its first president and chief executive officer, and presiding as the Chairman of the Board for 10 years, Stu Shea this morning announced during the GEOINT 2013* Symposium he is stepping down from his position as chairman of the foundation. The Honorable Jeffrey K. Harris was elected Shea’s successor by the board of directors at its last meeting. Harris will assume chairman duties effective immediately.
“USGIF has grown over the past decade to become exactly what myself and the other founders envisioned for the GEOINT Community,” Shea said. “From a small gathering of intelligence professionals, USGIF has built a community around and furthered GEOINT tradecraft, fueled by the strategic direction of the Board, the talented USGIF staff, and countless Foundation members, partners, and volunteers. Our accomplishments have been a team effort, and I am so very proud to have been a part of this success.”
Since USGIF was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) educational, nonprofit foundation in January 2004, Shea has dedicated much of his time and energy as chairman. He served USGIF in a part-time capacity, one that sometimes equaled a second full-time job.
Under Shea’s leadership, the foundation has grown from seven founding companies to nearly 250 member organizations, awarded nearly $700,000 in scholarships, accredited eight collegiate geospatial certificate programs, and expanded the GEOINT Symposium from a fledgling event into the largest annual gathering of intelligence professionals, numbering more than 4,000 attendees annually.
“Stu is a valuable asset to the entire Intelligence Community, but particularly the GEOINT Community,” said USGIF Chief Operating Officer Aimee McGranahan. “I’ve been a part of USGIF since the beginning, and it has been an honor every day to be a part of the Foundation’s success under his leadership. Stu’s ability to make decisions and set direction, as well as his enthusiasm and passion for national security, has driven the organization to accomplish many successes. It was these same characteristics the board carefully sought when making the decision to elect Jeff as Stu’s successor.”
Former director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force, Jeffrey K. Harris has contributed to U.S. national security in both government and industry for 35 years. He has fostered new technologies, programs, and capabilities that have contributed significantly toward keeping our nation secure.
Harris is retired from Lockheed Martin, where he was a corporate officer and served as president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, as well as president of Lockheed Martin Special Programs. Prior, he served as president of Space Imaging, the first company to provide commercial high-resolution satellite imagery.
Before entering the private sector, Harris served in federal leadership positions, including Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space, director of the NRO, and associate executive director of the Intelligence Community Management Staff. In all of these capacities, he provided direct support to both the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence.
Harris has received numerous awards, most notably the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the CIA Distinguished Service Medal, the NRO Medal for Distinguished Service, Aviation Week’s Laureate Citation, and the James V. Hartinger Award for military space achievement. He was also the 2006 recipient of USGIF’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
USGIF is a nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft and developing a stronger GEOINT Community with government, industry, academia, professional organizations, and individuals who apply geospatial intelligence to address national security challenges. USGIF’s mission is to build the community, advance the tradecraft, and accelerate innovation. The GEOINT Symposium is hosted annually by USGIF.
Two weeks ago, I attended a USGIF workshop in Huntsville sponsored by GEO Huntsville, through the considerable efforts of Directions Magazine Editor-in-Chief and Vice Publisher Joe Francica and his staff. The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) is a non-profit dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft across industry, academia, government, professional organizations and individual stakeholders.
GEO Huntsville’s Geospatial Intelligence (Geoint) Workshop was held August 14 at the Von Braun Center Civic Arena in Huntsville, Alabama.Keith Masback, USGIF chief executive officer.
The workshop was a collection of geospatial-related presentations starting with Keith Masback, the USGIF chief executive officer, who gave an interesting history of NGA based on his extensive experience in the geospatial community. He reviewed that NGA had a somewhat shaky start that grew out a vision of Rear Admiral Bill Owens, which was part of the 1996 “Joint Vision 2010” that formed the concept of network-centric operations. Looking at the past, the Joint Vision participants saw that the future would require a new way of doing intel business. They determined that information had to be brought near the user, not at some distant command center. It would need to be as close to real time as possible. It would have to be precise and able to ID combat targets. It would have to be integral with missile defense and provide detailed urban data.
So in 1996, the NIMA (National Imagery and Mapping Agency) was formed by combining the DMA (Defense Mapping Agency) and the CIO (Central Imagery Office). The merging of mapping and imagery communities proved very difficult as the two cultures collided. Even the internal NIMA commission was bent on dissolving the marriage. Fortunately, after working through the issues, the commission came to the conclusion that the marriage was really in the best interest of the country and both communities.
It was also at the same time that Jim Clapper took over the week of 9/11. That event sharply focused everyone’s minds. General Clapper decided that the best way to unify the command was to get rid of the separate words “imagery” and “mapping” — thus was born the new title National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and to put it in the same company of other three-letter agencies, it was dubbed NGA. NGA really worked hard to meet the vision set in 1996. Keith cited the Bin Laden apprehension as a good example.
He then explained how NGA felt it needed to evolve. He cited the example that our troops needed to be as location enabled as kids are with their mobile devices. Crowd sourcing is playing an ever-increasing roll, and despite the belief that the cyber world is locationless, location is a very real aspect of cyber warfare. Users have locations as well as servers and the interconnecting framework. Asymmetrical urban warfare demands even more precise location mapping, including building interiors. Keith cited Robert Scoble’s keynote at The Next Web Conference Europe as a must-view video by everyone in the geospatial community, to place his comments in context. Robert Scoble and Shel Israel are going to be keynote speakers at GEOINT 2013.
Additionally, although the military is taking a lion’s share of sequestration cuts, the two areas that are not seeing significant cuts because of WMDs are ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) and cyber. He said that some people question the need for geospatial capabilities in a cyber world, but he quickly cited that servers have locations, that networks have locations, and most hackers/persons of interest have locations, which also point to the growing need for indoor urban tracking of users. And all this takes on even more significance with the proliferation of WMDs. Although not as immediate, NGA is also very supportive and promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education so we maintain the pipeline of talent. He also talked about the growing drumbeat for geospatial intel certification, especially for contract work.
Randy Jones of the Missile and Space Command spoke of the much shorter timelines of intelligence and needed action, that we have a flood of information but have a poverty of attention. That there is a growing need for “object-based intelligence” or, as some refer to it, “activity-based intelligence.” The flood of data is overwhelming analysts, and NGA is looking for increasingly sophisticated algorithms to sort the massive data collections. The are many opportunities for small, innovative companies in this arena to help DIA, NGA, and NSA.
Robert Zitz of SAIC gave his take on current actions in Washington. He quoted James Clapper as saying, “We’ve run out of money, so now we have to think.” He also cited Latisha Long that although DoD was seeing 5% sequestration cuts, DHS may see increases to its budget due to WMD and cyber concerns, specifically power, water and transportation. (As a side note, I harp to all my family members and friends the need to heed the DHS warning for all citizens to maintain a two-week supply of food and water in their home.) There is also special attention being given to joint efforts of special operations, cyber security and border security. Those intel dollars are increasing especially for real-time data collection, multi-int fusion and predictive analytics.
A representative from Sierra Nevada and L3 talked about wide area air surveillance (WAAS), specifically Gorgon Stare and the domestic manned aircraft version Vigilant Stare, which is also being linked with full-motion video. The key issue is analytics to filter and provide timely actionable intelligence.
MIC cameras from Bosch Security Systems feed a Coastal Remote Monitoring Program for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
A very clever use of lower cost, off-the-shelf hardware to solve a critical need was presented by Major Scott Bannon of the Alabama Marine Resources Division and Tim Erwin of Crystal Data International. Major Bannon’s small staff is tasked with monitoring more than 600 miles of Gulf Coastline. They installed a network of ruggedized video cameras, some in very remote locations, that were connected via a wireless network with all the cameras controlled by the users. This is not much different than many systems seen in urban areas, but the challenge was building a rugged system with some very remote locations lacking power or connectivity. The cameras were geo-referenced on Google Earth and controllable by his staff from mobile devices. Although the images are not directly geo-referenced, their position coupled with user knowledge permitted them to search and identify objects in the water accurately enough to task rescue assets to craft in distress. The night low-light imaging capability helped in several high-interest events. A new version will provide accurate azimuth data recorded with the imagery.
Dr. Michael Botts presented his work to develop common standards for web enablement of sensors. SML (Sensor Markup Language) is being backed by the OGC to permit sensor web enablement (SWE). See the OGC website for more details.
The workshop was closed by Sandra Broadnax, the NGA Small Business Programs director. Her presentation was probably the best received session because of her infectious enthusiasm. She explained how NGA Director Long was extremely supportive of small business innovations and contributions to the intelligence community. She explained how NGA maintains a very comprehensive list of changing requirements on both the high and low sides. She strongly encouraged all geospatial firms to monitor the NGA site, since there were many opportunities that are not published in FedBizOps. At the session she wasted no time building connections by identifying those who had SCIFs in Huntsville and those who might need access so they could view and respond to classified requirements.
So, the key topics that I believe will dominate GEOINT 2013 are:
Persistent wide area air surveillance
Social media, big data, human geography
Every individual a consumer and provider of intel data
“Object” or “Activity” based intelligence, even inside buildings
Integration of real-time actionable intelligence to users in the field
The geospatial links of cyber threats
As you can see, even in the short span of one year, the geospatial community continues to evolve significantly. I’m going to attend GEOINT 2013 in October and the GaTech Research Institute GIS conference Spatial Plexus in November. If you see me, please introduce yourself.
