Rockaway man wins competitive mapmaking contest
A Rockaway resident took home three awards in a competitive mapmaking competition sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The annual contest was launched by the state DEP in 1988, originally designed to generate interest in Geographic Information Systems, or GIS.
“A way to show all we could do with the maps,” NJ DEP’s GIS Manager Angela Witcher said. “The contests showed the range of GIS applications and appealed to the best and the brightest.”
But GIS - a type of computer system that allows the user to analyze specific location-based data, which can be used to create maps - has grown since its humble beginnings, and the need to drum up excitement no longer exists.
Nearly three decades later, the GIS Mapping Contest has become a de-facto convention for GIS professionals, a place to share new information in the field complete with an annual theme and keynote speaker, but the contest still remains intact.
Professionals use the contest as way to show the work they’ve done on projects using GIS during the past year, and students from college and high school also submit maps.
DEP was one of the first organizations to use GIS technology but many have since followed suit, and not all GIS are the same. While DEP’s GIS may be used to map various streams for instance, a university or a transportation agency would use substantially different data.
An example offered by Witcher and GIS specialists Diana Johnson and Paul Caris was using a town’s special information to determine which areas may be flood-prone. That data could then be cross-referenced with the U.S. Census to determine who might be affected in the town.
GIS is an all-encompassing tool, Witcher said. The Mapping Contest is an opportunity for those who use the tool to show their work.
To be eligible for the contest, the map had to focus on New Jersey. Awards range from Best Data Integration to Best Analytical Presentation, and there’s even a category for Most Unique, which has seen some interesting submissions over the years.
“There was a map of UFO sightings in the United States, and one mapped the hypothetical routes through a town for Santa Claus, Witcher said. “But the majority of these are real professional projects that are very serious.”
This year’s contest held last month in Trenton was attended by more than 100 GIS professionals in the government, nonprofit, and education sectors. Thirty-two unique maps were submitted and this year’s theme was “Mapping the Health of New Jersey.”
Michael Stepowyj, an employee of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority’s Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute was honored in three categories for his map, “Heavy Metal Gradients in the Hackensack River Estuary: A Baseline for Improving Ecosystem Health.”
Stepowyj received the Gail P. Carter Award for “Best Application of Science and GIS,” took second place in “Data Integration,” and second in the “Best Newbie” group, for participants who are new to the mapping contest.
The GIS staff at the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute has taken home awards the past three years. The staff uses the GIS technology to maintain and update digital maps for every property in each Meadowlands District municipality.
The maps provide first responders in district towns with immediate access to critical information, including data on hazardous materials stored in warehouse facilities, fire hydrant locations, incident reports, floor plans, and more. The maps can be accessed from field computers, tablets and smart phones.
The maps also save time for municipal officials who use property data to manage town assets and plan for infrastructure. Data stored on each facility or residential property include owner, block and lot, easements, address, zoning and land use, acreage, and building footprint.
Go to http://www.state.nj.us/dep/gis/mapcon28.html to learn more about the state DEP’s Mapping Contest.
Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com