Jerry Prewitt, deputy director of the Missouri Geological Survey, visited campus Oct. 5.

Prewitt, a 1992 geography alumnus, spoke about the Geological Survey’s efforts to make geological data a publicly accessible map.

“This GIS system allows anyone to view, analyze or export many of the important data sets the Geological Survey has compiled over the years,” said Dr. Toby Dogwiler, GGP department head.  “Government agencies, companies and individuals are interested in this data for helping to make resource management and land use decisions.”

This new technology is called GeoSTRAT.

Prewitt emphasized that geology, geospatial sciences and geography were used to create GeoSTRAT. Sometimes students get stuck in their major discipline and fail to see connections to related fields.

“GeoSTRAT is a great example of how the disciplinary boundaries between our majors are much more fuzzy in the real world and why it is important for students to think more broadly in terms of their education and careers,” Dogwiler said.

Thanks for coming, Jerry!