Project DESCARTES: Building Undergraduate Access to Geographic Information Science Research

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Support from the NSF Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement (ILI) program will be used to conduct an educational experiment in integrating graduate and faculty research at UCSB directly into our undergraduate program. UCSB's status as an NSF National Center for advancing geographic information science and the unique role that research plays at UCSB make Santa Barbara an ideal place for this experiment. The plan will launch project Descartes, with four components: 1. A Descartes Laboratory to act as a focal point, with advanced research level facilities for technical geographic information science; 2. formal modifications to the curricula of six existing classes to use real research data and critical thinking in the classroom; 3. A new class to add the "research experience" into the senior level curriculum; and 4. a suite of informal additions to build a research environment enrichment experience for students aimed at encouraging publication, research activity, scientific meetings, and continued contact alter graduation. We anticipate significant local, national and international impact as a consequence of following the project Descartes dissemination plan. One way this will arise is through accelerated development of modules for the core curriculum II in GIS. These modules are student oriented so that they can be directly integrated into the classroom. The development of this NCGIA sponsored curriculum is truly collaborative with guidelines posted at the NCGIA Web site (http://www.ncgia.org). Benefits are also anticipated for community college faculty and students, and K-12 teachers and students. The focus for community college students will be improved technical training. At the high school level, NCGIA is leading efforts to introduce Geography and GIS approaches into the complete spectrum of the curriculum. We hope to use the new laboratory as a showpiece for open houses and lectures during geography awareness week. During this week we average 50 to 60 presentation s in schools.