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UTK @ TNGIC 2022

Tennessee Geographic Information Council, Reconnect TNGIC, Montgomery Bell State Park, Burns, TN, April 12-14, 2022

The Tennessee professional geospatial organization, TNGIC, meets annually for their statewide conference every April. After several years of virtual conferences, 2022 was our opportunity to reconnect with our peers in person at Montgomery Bell State Park.

Undergraduate Student Participation

Students posing for a photo outdoors
Undergradaute Geography students Elijah, Heath, Megan, Maya, Susanna, and Jonathan

TNGIC encourages students from across the state to participate in the conference by submitting maps and posters to the map gallery, giving presentations on their research, and volunteering. This year’s cohort of UTK undergraduate students participated in all three.

Student Presentations

  • Maya Rao presented her undergraduate research on food insecurity titled How to Feed the World by 2050: Mapping Three Solutions
  • Heath Allen presented his GIS in the Community Project for the Beck Cultural Exchange Center titled Cost of Community: Urban Renewal in Knoxville and the Impact on Black Spaces
  • Jonathan Bell presented his undergraduate research project with Dr. Mayra Román-Rivera titled Understanding the Impacts of Transverse Bars on Beach Dynamics
Three students posing for a photo by framed maps
Marc, Heath, and Trevor, students in GIS in the Community

Student Maps

Three students posing for a photo by framed maps
Jonathan, Elijah, Megan, and Will, students in GIS in the Community
TNGIC 2022 State Conference Viewer's Choice: Knox Count5y COVID-19 Pandemic Eviction Trends from 2020-2022, Megan S. Porter, Elijah Hedrick, Jonathan Bell, Will Nelson, UT Knoxville
Jonathan, Elijah, Megan, and Will were awarded the 2022 Viewer’s Choice in the map gallery

Student Volunteers

TNGIC waives student registration fees in exchange for volunteer hours at the annual conference. This year, Susanna Diamond and Elijah Hedrick both helped with the registration table, answered attendee questions, and helped in other ways to make the conference a success.

Alumni Participation

One of the best parts of attending conferences and workshops is to reconnect with alumni and make new connections. UTK has always had a strong presence in TNGIC as part of our mission to support geospatial technology in the state.

Students, staff, and alumni pose for a photo at the conference
UTK Alumni, Staff, and Students at the 2022 TNGIC Conference
A man gives a presentation at a podium with a three-person panel to his left
Paul Dudley, UTK Geography Alum with TN-STS, providing an update as part of the “State of the State” address

Sponsorship

UTK Geography has served as an official TNGIC sponsor for the last several virtual and in-person events. In addition to supporting our mission of sharing geospatial technology with the state, this also affords us an opportunity to meet with potential students and professional partners and engage with current students and alum.

A photo of the Department of Geography booth at the conference
Big thank you to GIS Lab Manager Nathan McKinney for helping to run the UTK Geography booth at TNGIC 2022