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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Mark-Gathany-Research-250pxl.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 300px; float: right;" />It was ten years ago this year that Professor Mark Gathany took his first geographic information systems (GIS) course as a graduate student.</p>
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	As he explains, &ldquo;At the time I thought, &lsquo;Hey, I like geography, and it would be great to learn how to make maps of my research sites.&rsquo; That first class opened my eyes to the power and utility of GIS. I still remember my professor suggesting that in a few years we will be able to collect field data in real time with wireless networks. This seemed outlandish [to me at the time], but oh my how much has changed in ten short years!&rdquo;</p>
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	The field of GIS has expanded tremendously in ecology and conservation over the last ten years, and so has Gathany&#39;s use of the technology: from a NASA funded study on fire proneness of Colorado forests to a GAP analysis study investigating land use around areas under various levels of environmental protection (National Parks, BLM, Forest Service) to using terrain analysis to predict locations of pre-historic villages. His current research uses satellite and field data to investigate the influence of land use and habitat fragmentation on the prevalence of raccoon roundworm in raccoon hosts in central Ohio.</p>
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	It is this depth and breadth of experience that Gathany takes into Au Sable&rsquo;s new <a href="/courses/course_information/summer_session_ii_great_lakes/#GIS">Environmental Applications for Geographic Information Systems</a> course. Geographic information systems are the most powerful tool for allowing scientists to visualize spatial connections and patterns across a landscape: predator-prey relationships, land use change over time, and areas of pollution for local streams just scratch the surface. It is being used in everything from conservation and ecosystem management &nbsp;to political science, public health, and community development. This Au Sable field course will emphasize skills in field data collection and allow students to collect and analyze their own data based on their own environmental interests, helping to build expertise with GIS within their field of interest.</p>
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	Gathany&#39;s experience teaching GIS for over seven years means he&#39;s seen the ways this skill opens doors.</p>
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	&ldquo;This has become one of the most employable skills in [the environmental field]. I&rsquo;ve had students hired on the spot based on their [GIS] experience and knowledge. Others that didn&rsquo;t (despite my urging) have made their way in to graduate school and industry only to tell me that they wish they had [taken GIS in undergrad]!&rdquo;</p>
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	An Au Sable alum and current Au Sable representative at Cedarville University, Gathany attended Grace College and later received his PhD in Ecology with a Biogeochemistry minor from Colorado State University. Since then, he has served as an Assistant Professor of Biology and Ecology at Cedarville University (Cedarville, Ohio). He also has served as a Field Research Technician for the US Forest Service, studying prescribed thinning and burning and small mammal populations.</p>
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	His recent publications focus on biogeochemistry and forests, especially how fire and changing land use patterns affect carbon storage, nitrogen flow, and flux of greenhouse gas rates in forest ecosystems. Recent journal articles have appeared in <em>Forests</em>, <em>Journal of Wildland Fire</em>, and <em>Global Change Biology</em>. He has also been a regular presenter at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) and American Society of Engineering Educators (ASEE) annual meetings.</p>
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	On the prospect of returning to Au Sable to teach, Gathany reflects, &ldquo;One benefit of getting older is that you can look back on a wider sweep of experiences that influence your life. For me, Au Sable was one of those experiences. It opened my eyes to a number of possibilities that I didn&rsquo;t realize existed. &nbsp;The emphasis of field based/applied study at Au Sable was a big piece for me. [Now as a professor,] I have seen, repeatedly, the benefit to students who go to [Au Sable]. &nbsp;</p>
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	I am thrilled to have the opportunity to teach this course [<a href="/courses/course_information/summer_session_ii_great_lakes/#GIS">Environmental Applications for GIS</a>]. &nbsp;I love the subject matter and how it can be applied. &nbsp;Mostly I am excited at the prospect of meeting [students] that may be in the same place I was or are thinking through what their future may look like.&rdquo;</p>
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	Gathany&#39;s expertise undoubtedly will bring Au Sable students into the wave of the future: GIS.</p>
