Everyone,

I want to encourage all students to meet with Jason Duke tomorrow from 11:00-1:30 in room 406 tomorrow. There will be pizza. Of course, you are all invited to the presentation in the Lindsey Young auditorium on Hodges library.  The presentation is at 3:40, but there will refreshments in the lobby beforehand.

I suggested Jason as a speaker this year particularly because I felt he would be interesting to students at all levels, including undergraduates.  Jason has done amazing work on many high profile disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, various forest fires in the western US, and the Deep Water Horizon oil spill.  He was even asked by Jack Dangermond (the head of ESRI) if he would go to Japan to do the spatial analysis of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown—at ESRI’s expense.  If you are interested in GIS helping to save lives and limit environmental damage, Jason is worth getting to know.

In addition to his work, Jason is the most active, well know GIS professional in the state.  He may not know everyone in GIS, but safe to say he knows more than most.  If you want to pursue a career in GIS, Jason is a good man to know.

I have invited many GIS professionals from the local area, including various counties, agencies, and private companies to attend Jason’s colloquium presentation.  Assuming some of these folks come to the presentation, this would be a good opportunity to network, or to just talk to former UT geography students who now work in the GIS industry.  They may have some good pointers on how to apply for positions or they may even be hiring.

Finally, one last reason to attend the informal presentation from 11-1:30. If you get him talking, Jason is one of the most entertaining speakers you will meet.  (He is a hoot.)  He has some amazing stories about working in a building of a company you are investigating, having run-ins with a governor and former presidential candidate, and many other interesting stories.