2019 GeoRodeo | Austin, Texas

Agenda

Note: Agenda times subject to change.

8:00AM to 9:00AM

Registration – Breakfast – Social

Sponsored by

---

9:00AM to 9:15AM

Opening Remarks

---

9:15AM to 9:45AM

Patrick McGranaghan, Reddit Map Forum Creator

Denver, Colorado based geospatial geek. By day Patrick is a survey drafter for an engineering firm. After work, Patrick runs a popular Reddit map forum dedicated to the appreciation of beautiful maps and geographic data analysis. Patrick also contributes to OpenStreetMap humanitarian efforts in Denver and around the world. Patrick originally started land surveying in Austin, Texas.

---

9:45AM to 10:15AM

Andrew Chapkowski, ESRI Software Developer

Demystifying Artificial Intelligence in Geo

Andrew Chapkowski is a software developer and Pythonista. He has over 15 years of experience with IT and GIS. Andrew is a developer for the ArcGIS API for Python at Esri. He has worked in the fields of agriculture, emergency management, and defense.

---

10:15AM to 10:45AM

Michael Shensky, University of Texas at Austin (UT Libraries) – GIS and Geospatial Data Coordinator

A Scripted Approach for Normalizing Geospatial Data in a Relational Database and Assessing Alternative NoSQL Database Storage Options

Michael Shensky is the GIS & Geospatial Data Coordinator for the UT Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin. In this role he develops GIS training resources, provides personalized research consultation services for the university community, and designs GIS solutions for improving access to geospatial resources in the UT Libraries’ collections. He earned his MA in Geography from California State University, Fullerton in 2013.

Slide Presentation Link

---

10:45AM to 11:00AM

Break

---

11:00 AM to 11:30AM

Daniel K. Pearson, US Geological Survey - Geospatial Science + Cyber Innovation Branch Chief

Thoughtful (and Data-Driven) Approaches to UI Design: Motivating Citizens to #BeWaterAware Before, During and After Storms

Daniel K. Pearson has been with the USGS since 2002. He currently serves as the Geospatial Science + Cyber Innovation Branch Chief in Austin, TX. He provides technical expertise to both cooperators and staff, and oversees a team of developers, geographers and hydrologists whose function is to produce innovative geospatial solutions; perform complex hydrologic and spatial analyses; and contribute to ongoing research across the Nation.

Slide Presentation Link

---

11:30AM to 12:00PM

Laura Bell Sepulveda, Texas Water Development Board

Test Before you Build: How to use prototypes and think aloud user testing to build better products

Laura’s background is in GIS mapping and government data. This type of work has allowed her to flex her creativity and strategic thinking strengths to innovate workflows, and improve decision making through data-driven insights. She is passionate about making information accessible and useful for stakeholders and recently graduated with a certificate in Interaction Design and Social Entrepreneurship from the Austin Center for Design.

Slide Presentation Link

---

12:00PM to 1:30PM

Chow Time

Lunch will be provided to Registered Participants. You must have completed and successfully submitted the registration form in advance of the event to receive lunch.

---

1:30PM to 2:00PM

Jordan Carmona, City of McKinney | GIS Specialist

Integrating Google Sheets to an Esri SDE Feature Class

Jordan Carmona leads the geospatial program across four departments at the City of McKinney’s Development Services Division as a GIS Specialist. Since the beginning of 2017, he has established multiple citizen-centric web applications, integrated non-spatial databases into the GIS, forged two public-private partnerships, and launched the City’s first spatial drone program. Jordan has a dual BA in History and Political Science from the University of North Texas.

Slide Presentation Link

---

2:00PM to 2:30PM

Daniel J. Dufour, CEO of GeoSurge

Cool Stuff You Can Do with GeoBlaze, a Raster Analysis Engine for JavaScript

Daniel Dufour is passionate about advancing geospatial analysis in JavaScript. He currently co-leads geotiff.io and geoblaze.io. He recently contributed encoding functionality to geotiff.js and invented a novel algorithm for calculating the intersection of an arbitrary polygon with a raster. He also contributed in building code.gov and the Global Agricultural & Disaster Assessment System at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

---

2:30PM to 3:00PM

Aubrey Drescher, Texas Water Development Board, Programmer

Transitioning to vector tiles in your web map

Aubrey Drescher has an M.S. in Earth Systems Science from George Mason University. She fell in love with GIS in college. Over time, programming began to look interesting to her, so she took classes in .NET. She got her first developer job at a small company and learned JavaScript on the job. 5 years ago, she moved to Austin and into local government where she learned about python and map services. She currently works at the Texas Water Development Board and helps to plan each year’s ATX GIS Day.

Slide Presentation Link

---

3:00PM to 3:30PM

Break

---

3:30PM to 4:00PM

Thomas Montgomery, City of Austin, Senior IT Applications Analyst

Municipal Government and the Internet of Things: Austin's New Smart Fleet

Thomas Montgomery works in Municipal IT where he enjoys learning and talking about automation, spatial technology, and data analysis. Thomas' technical interests include open data advocacy, python data manipulation, spatial database management, and the internet of things. Currently employed with the City of Austin, he works in the Austin Resource Recovery department where he hacks together solutions and does analysis. Growing up in Georgetown, his hobbies include mycology, cooking, and writing.

Slide Presentation Link

---

4:00PM to 4:30PM

Kevin Booth, Texas State University, Graduate Assistant

Global Economic Analysis on a Budget

Kevin is a graduate student and graduate assistant at Texas State University. When not working on his thesis research you can find him teaching students in a GeoProgramming or Fundamentals of GIS lab. His interests include leveraging all types of technologies in unique ways to solve difficult research tasks on a limited budget.

Slide Presentation Link

---

4:30PM to 5:00PM

Lightning Talks

As we've done in previous years, we'll end the day with Lightning Talks, where any attendee can step up to present. If you have something quick to share, come prepared with an idea of what you could present within a short 5-minute time slot and sign up for a lightning talk on-site at the event.

Lightning Talk Rules

• 5 minutes max – We will tightly enforce this.
• No external computer laptops or tablets - only browser based access to materials and links.
• Tips: Understand your topic – make your point at the beginning. You don't have to use all 5 minutes.

---

Post Event Social hosted by Google

Following the presentation schedule, we invite our attendees to walk across the street with us to take a tour of the Google Office and socialize everything geospatial development! There is a limited access to the post-event social. In order to attend you must register for the GeoRodeo this year (walk-ins will not be permitted) and declare on the form your attendance to the social.