Affiliated Research Organizations
Alexandria Digital Library Project (ADL)
ADL began in 1995, digitizing maps and other geographically referenced materials and developing ways for accessing them. The project is housed in UCSB's main library. Stage 2 of the Alexandria adventure began in 1999 with the Alexandria Digital Earth Prototype (ADEPT), funded by the National Science Foundation until 2004. ADEPT aims to use the digital earth metaphor for organizing, using, and presenting information at all levels of spatial and temporal resolution.
Geography faculty involved with ADL: Michael Goodchild, Ray Smith, Terry Smith (Director).
The UCSB Biogeography Lab was originally established in 1991 within the Department of Geography to conduct basic and applied research on the ecology, distribution and conservation status of species and ecosystems with the aid of geographic information systems and remote sensing.The Lab has moved to the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Research to date has focused on regional scale mapping and modelling of vegetation cover types, wildlife distributions, and long-term vegetation change, as well as on methods for assessing the accuracy of vegetation maps. Recent work has included designing optimal networks of nature reserves for protecting biodiversity. Most work has concentrated on the region of California and the western United States. Research grants are administered by the Institute for Computational Earth System Science.
The Lab is directed by Frank Davis and managed by David Stoms. Professor Davis is an affiliated faculty member of the Geography Department.
Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS)
Founded in 2000, CSISS is funded by the National Science Foundation under its program of support for infrastructure in the social and behavioral sciences. Its programs focus on the methods, tools, techniques, software, data access, and other services needed to promote and facilitate a novel and integrating approach to social science.
Geography Department faculty involved with CSISS: Michael Goodchild (Principal Investigator), Helen Couclelis, Stuart Sweeney.
Formed in 1998, the Haptic Soundscapes research team is based at University of California at Santa Barbara and Florida State University. It involves interdisciplinary researchers from the Departments of Geography, Psychology, Music, and Computer Science. The researchers' main interests are: enabling access to maps, diagrams, and graphs without the need for vision; sound in geographic visualization and human-computer interaction; the use of force-feedback (haptic) devices for human-computer interaction; sonification/ perceptualization/visualization of data (particularly geographic); multimodal human-computer interaction; and the application of this research to areas beyond visual impairment. Funding has been provided by the "Research Across the Disciplines Program" through the Office of Research at UCSB, and by the Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation, National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation.
Geography Department faculty involved with Haptic Soundscapes: Reginald Golledge. Project Director: Matt Rice (a graduate student).
Institute for Computational Earth System Science (ICESS)
Formed in 1994, ICESS's mission is to provide a distributed, interdisciplinary computer environment for the promotion and support of research and research education in Earth system science; an interdisciplinary environment and computer-related service that enhances the excellence and competitive advantage of UCSB global change research; a center of excellence to provide visibility and aid in the attraction of top faculty and students to UCSB; and an efficiently-run business operation and administration that supports research. ICESS is funded by various federal and state agencies, including NASA, NSF, NOAA, and the Department of Navy.
Geography Department faculty involved with ICESS: Catherine Gautier, Leal Mertes, Dar Roberts, Dave Siegel, Ray Smith, Libe Washburn.
Affiliated faculty involved with ICESS: Frank Davis, Jeff Dozier, Tom Dunne, John Melack.
National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA)
Founded in 1988, NCGIA is an independent research consortium dedicated to basic research and education in geographic information science. The three member institutions are the University of California, Santa Barbara; the University at Buffalo; and the University of Maine. The consortium was formed as a response to a competition for funding from the National Science Foundation, and continues to receive much of its funding from that source.
Geography Department faculty involved with NCGIA: Michael Goodchild (Chair of Executive Committee), Keith Clarke (Director, NCGIA Santa Barbara), Richard Church, Helen Couclelis, Reginald Golledge, Joel Michaelsen, Dan Montello, Terry Smith, Waldo Tobler.
Ocean Physics Laboratory (OPL)
The Ocean Physics Laboratory (OPL) was started in 1978 by Professor Tommy Dickey. The original name was the Ocean Physics Group, which was used while Professor Dickey was at the University of Southern California. In January 1996 the group moved to the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) where it presently resides. OPL has a complementary staff of research scientists, engineers, graduate students and undergraduate students. Goals are to study physical, bio-optical, and biogeochemical processes in the world's oceans with the most advanced instrumentation. Research of the OPL has been funded by NSF, ONR, NOAA, NASA, and MMS.
Geography Department faculty involved with OPL: Tommy Dickey.
Remote Sensing Research Unit (RSRU)
Founded in 1970 by Jack Estes, and directed by him until his death in 2001, RSRU is part UCSB's Geography Department. Research is conducted by staff and graduate students, and has covered a wide range of topics in advanced image analysis, large spatial databases, accuracy assessment, ecosystem analysis and modeling, land use and land cover mapping, population and demographic analysis, agricultural studies, coastal zone research, marine pollution monitoring, and endangered species habitat mapping and analysis. Projects have been funded by numerous federal, state, private industry, nongovernmental, and international organizations.
Established in 1998, RECVEB is a multi-disciplinary research organization devoted to understanding the complex interplay of computer-generated virtual environments and human behavior. It is funded by the National Science Foundation's "Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence" program.
Geography Department faculty affiliated with RECVEB: Dan Montello, Reginald Golledge.
RUSCC is located within the Geography Department at UCSB. Its purpose is to encourage multi-disciplinary research on Spatial Behavior. Some of the joint research is conducted by its associate and corresponding participants and is published in non-geography journals or in non-US journals. RUSCC is funded by the UCSB's Department of Geography and the National Science Foundation's Directorates for Education and Human Resources and Human Resource Development
Geography Department faculty involved in RUSCC: Professors Reginald Golledge (Director), Helen Couclelis, Michael Goodchild, Dan Montello, and Waldo Tobler
The Soil Science Group is based in UCSB's Geography Department and is responsible for training students and for conducting basic research in the critical role that soil plays in human affairs and global functioning.
Geography Department faculty involved in the Soil Science Group: Oliver Chadwick (Director).
Terrestrial Plant and Ecosystem Ecology
Founded in 2004, the Terrestrial Plant and Ecosystem Ecology group was formed to help attract and train graduate students in plant and ecosystem ecology. It involves, interactively, four campus departments: (1) Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB), (2) Geography, (3) Environmental Studies (ES), and (4) the Bren School for Environmental Science and Management.
Geography Department faculty involved in the Soil Science Group: Oliver Chadwick, Dar Roberts, and Chris Still.
Vehicle Intelligence and Transportation Analysis Laboratory (VITAL)
Although transportation studies at UCSB's Geography department began approximately a decade prior, VITAL was established in 1997. Its mission is to research transportation: specifically, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and applications of remote sensing to transportation infrastructure management. VITAL is part of the NCGIA at UC Santa Barbara, and is currently funded by US DOT, a leading National Consortium on Remote Sensing in Transportation-Infrastructure. USDOT (FHWA) and Caltrans provided earlier funding.
Geography Department faculty involved with VITAL: Michael Goodchild (Principal Investigator), Richard Church (Principal Investigator).
