PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – The semi-annual GIS Institute wrapped up at the PSTC last week following two weeks of training and project work. This edition of the Institute included sessions led by PSTC Faculty Associates Michael White, who directs Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4) and Rachel Franklin, S4's associate director, as well as Yi Qi, S4's senior GIS and spatial analyst, and Eric Seymour, a PSTC/S4 postdoctoral research associate.

White along with PSTC Faculty Associate Leah VanWey and Postdoctoral Research Associates Joseph Danko, Daniel Schleith, and Seymour presented their research to participants at lunches and receptions over the two weeks. At the S4 GIS Institute Conference at the PSTC on final day of the Institute, PSTC Trainee Aaron Weisbrod (Economics) presented his project, "The 1917 Halifax Explosion: A City Rebuilt or Changed?" He examined the population distribution across Halifax before and after a ship loaded with munitions caught fire and exploded in the docks in Halifax, NS, wrecking a large portion of the city and instantly killing 5% of its inhabitants.

The GIS Institute, led by Franklin, takes place twice each year in January and June. It is an intensive two-week course focused on visualization, management, and analysis of geographic data and is open to the entire Brown community. It is a partnership between S4, the Brown University Libraries, EarthLab, and the PSTC.