2013 MGIS Graduate Job Changes and Hires

Jason Anderson (2012) moved to Denver, Colorado and works for First Bank as a Web Developer.

VIctor Barnett (2000) works at the City of St. Paul as an Engineering Technician.

Brian Behling (2010) currently works for Premier Geospatial in Arvada, Colorado as a Software Developer.

Tom Breed (2006) now works for Google as a GIS Data Engineer.

Mike Engels (2005) has moved back to Minnesota and works as a Data Analyst for AudaExplore in Eagan, MN. One of his colleagues is Mike Kasel (2009), who is a Senior GIS Analyst.

Keith Erickson (2012) is a GIS Analyst with Digital Globe in Golden, Colorado.

Elizabeth Fairley (2008) is a Geospatial Data Steward and Metadata Custodian with the Geospatial Agency in Washington, D.C.

Mike Foster (2010) now works at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning as a GIS/Data Visualization/Graphics Specialist in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Jim Gonsoski (2008) is a GIS Specialist at the Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities.

Drew Hanson (2010) has moved to a GIS Specialist position with Golder Associates, an environmental planning and engineering consulting firm in the Seattle area.

Eric Hanson (2010) now works for the Hennepin County GIS office as a Senior IT Specialist.

Matt McLees (2013) is a Senior GeoData Specialist at East View Geospatial in Minnesota.

Alphonce Nicholaus (2012) works as a GIS Consultant for the African Wildlife Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Sandra Paddock (2000) recently became a Business Analyst & Project Management Consultant for HealthPartners in Minneapolis, MN.

Sara (Dolan) Sanchez (2007) is now a Product Engineer at ESRI.

Prakash Singh (2011) works for the City of Los Angeles' Department of Building and Safety as a GIS platform manager.

Matt Swanson (2013) is a Research Analyst with Historical Information Gatherers in Hopkins, Minnesota.

Matt Taraldsen (2013) has moved to Norman, Oklahoma to work for Weather Decision Technologies, Inc as a meteorologist and GIS software engineer.

Aaron Timbo (1999) is currently a Software Engineer with Bloom Health in Minneapolis.

Norine Wilczek (2012) has been hired as a GIS Analyst/Traffic Operations Dispatcher at the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Regional Transportation Management Center.

Robert McMaster honored as 2013 UCGIS Fellow

Robert McMaster, Professor of Geography, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education and MGIS faculty member, has been named as a 2013 UCGIS Fellow. Dr. McMaster was recognized for his contribution to the advancement of geographic information science education and research. For more information about Dr. McMaster's contributions, see the description provided on the UCGIS Fellows page.

2013 Student Recognition

Congratulations to several MGIS students who received awards in 2013. Taylor Long and Gayatri Alapati are the recipients of 2013 ESRI User Conference Student Assistantships. Jessica Sweet has been awarded a 2013 ESRI Summer Internship and will work in Redlands, CA this summer. These awards are very competitive and securing one is a high achievement. Each year a UMN student is recognized as the Outstanding Student of the Year for our local ESRI Development Center. The 2013 recipient is Cole Kelleher.

Kris Johnson, MGIS program, is the graduate winner of the 2013 UMN Minnesota GIS/LIS Student Scholar Award for his GIS project, Spatial Analysis of Bicycle-Automobile Collisions in the City of Minneapolis. Jameson Bupp, B.S. in Urban Studies, is the undergraduate winner of the same award for his project, Long Term Consequences of the Tear-Down-Rebuild Process in Urban Areas Substantiated Using GIS. Both students competed in the graduate and undergraduate student paper sessions at the Fall 2013 Minnesota GIS/LIS Annual Conference in early October where Kris won second place in the graduate student paper competition!

Matt Taraldsen received funding to participate in the SPREAD workshop in Colorado this summer, which is a multidisciplinary workshop focused on the communication of hydrometeorological hazards.

Finally, congratulations to our recent 2013 graduates! For a detailed listing, visit the MGIS graduates page.