Lake Erie College launches new minor

Lake Erie College will offer a new minor in geospatial technology this fall.

This area of study will fall under the environmental science major, but can advance students from other disciplines on their own pathways, according to the news release.

“Environmental science majors will certainly find the Geospatial Technology minor useful,” said Steven K. Reynolds, Jr., associate professor of biology. “Moreover, students from any major would gain skills with this minor that could help them launch business ventures, track political opinions, analyze geographic health trends, and more. Geospatial technology is incredibly versatile.”

According to environmentalscience.org, geospatial technology, such as geographic information systems, has many useful applications for town planners, conservationists, the environmental sciences and even healthcare field.

Reynolds, who also serves as director of institutional research, will teach all of the minor’s six required courses.

It will give students basic proficiency in identifying processes and using equipment to capture, store, analyze, manage, and present spatial/geographic data. Its subtopics will include cartography, spatial analysis, demography and more, combining map-making with map analysis, the release also states.

Using open source computer software, students will also be able to sense and measure spatial phenomena and patterns, monitoring changes over time on digital screens and producing models.

Reynolds said eventually students could create maps for use by organizations like the Metroparks. Projects could include mapping the distribution of erosion patterns, algae blooms in Lake Erie and plants via drones.

For more information about the new geospatial technology minor at Lake Erie College, contact Steven Reynolds at sreynolds@lec.edu.