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LSU’s CADGIS Lab at forefront of University’s IT Initiative They sit in corners like old family heirlooms, no longer used but too valuable to throw away. And on the walls, a couple of geographical line-art renderings show the odd visitor what it was like in the days of old, or the 1980s as it might be more commonly known as. The geographer and the architect have replaced their drafting boards with digital boards. Field notebooks have been replaced by digital notebooks with cellular ports and global positioning system capabilities. Even those aforementioned line-art renderings seem like crude caveman scrawlings on the wall next to 3-D images and maps of entire geographical areas. “It’s kind of like comparing a clay tablet and a stick to the typewriter,” said CADGIS director Barrett Kennedy. “Even the technology that we were using in 1990 is primitive by today’s standards. “We’ve come a long way from an ability to generate two-dimensional line art, to three-dimensional modeling rendering and animation. And we’re always looking for ways to push the envelope, and to find the match between the needs of the project and the needs for advancing our understanding of the graphics applications. We’re trying to create opportunities for faculty and students to test the limits.” The lab also provides specialized support to other academic and research units at LSU, state and federal agencies and private organizations. CADGIS is, or has been, involved the following projects: The LSU Campus Map The CADGIS Lab is home to a database-driven map of the campus. Kalyan Koppineedi began development of the map in 2001 as a CADGIS student worker. The map is live and searchable, including a search by campus buildings. There are also a number of panoramas created by students from the Department of Geography & Anthropology and the College of Art & Design showing various locations on campus. The map can be viewed at http://maps.cadgis.lsu.edu/campusmap. Mayan Archaeology and GIS CADGIS has provided GIS and technical assistance to Terry Winemiller’s research into the settlement patterns of the Maya. As a Ph.D. candiate in the Department of Geography & Anthropology, Winemiller constructed a database of more than 2,500 archaeological sites to identify factors that might have influenced ancient settlers to occupy certain areas, and those that caused them to avoid others. The Ascension Parish Landuse Map The Landuse Map was compiled over a six-month period by the IS/GIS Unit of Ascension Parish with the guidance of Farrell Jones, associate director of CADGIS, and four graduate students. The map is currently being used by the Parish Planning & Zoning Department to assist property owners in understanding how the Parish Landuse Plan affects future property uses. Part of the reason for CADGIS’s efforts to extend its resource base, is Kennedy’s desire for students to learn how to use information technologies in ways that will help them break out of the traditions of the studio or classroom environment. As a result, those students with experience in the CADGIS lab have a decided leg-up in their professional careers after college. “We are exploring how the increasing mobilization of these technologies helps in the professional field,” Kennedy said. “We have capabilities that many of our peer institutions cannot provide for their students. The professional marketplace is looking for graduates with fresh perspectives, who can find cost-effective technology applications in the work-environment. This is the edge that starts to put our students in a better position after college. “A lot of our work is about anticipating trends in technology and in the workplace. We’re trying to ensure that LSU students and faculty have the computing resources that we feel they need to explore the future. This enables them to hone the skills that improve their marketability and competitiveness. More importantly, it gives them an opportunity to develop a sense of vision that will enable them to become leaders in their prospective professions.” Contact Josh Duplechain | LSU
University Relations Related Links Computer Aided Design and
Geographic Information Systems |
Inside of the 
The CADGIS Lab of today was founded in 1984 as a collaboration
between the 
“(These projects) offer a rare opportunity for melding the
interests of a variety of disciplines,” Kennedy said. “While
CADGIS is heavily utilized by the faculty and students of the College
of Art & Design and the Department of Geography & Anthropology,
we service more than 2,500 user accounts that include folks from
the 
