Big Data Analytics with GIS

Everyone is talking about big data and GIS, but is anyone really doing it? In this course you’ll work with gigabytes of data to solve many different spatial and data related questions . All the software is free, but don't let that fool you: we'll be using the most effective open source products like Postgres and QGIS, and we'll even perform parallel processing with Manifold Viewer - I hope you have a multi-core computer to see how fast this stuff is! At the end of the course, you’ll understand: the principles behind big data geo-analytics and the role of statistics, databases, parallel processing, and hardware and software in support of big data geo-analytics. how to use open source software and Manifold GIS to perform parallel processing and manage spatial data. how to conduct a big data geo-analytics project by interrogating multi-gigabyte real world databases. And best of all, the software we use in this class is FREE and easy to set up - you'll do it all yourself! The course is taught by Dr. Arthur Lembo who is a Professor at Salisbury University and has worked in the GIS field for  over 30 years.

Requirements The software we are using is all Microsoft based. So, you'll need a PC with the Microsoft operating system. Students should have a basic understanding of GIS and databases. However, the most important thing is to be excited to work with big data analytics and GIS. We will download over 20 gigabytes of data and software, so students should have a high speed Internet connection. Once the data is downloaded, a high speed connection isn’t as important.