About EDAC
The Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) was established at UNM in 1964 to transfer NASA space-based technology to the private and public sectors. Since 1964, EDAC has expanded its services from a library clearinghouse (1968-present) to include remote sensing (1973), image processing (1979), GIS (1983), GPS (1990), and information technologies (1999). The strategy is to provide a complete suite of Geospatial Information Science (GI-science) and technology services to all users.
Our Vision
EDAC’s vision is to be a center of expertise in the GI-sciences for UNM, the State of New Mexico, the nation, and the world. This vision has been realized already by these communities. A component of this vision is to be recognized internationally as a Center for Social Dynamics Research. EDAC is a well-known center among Federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments, and professional societies, organizations and advisory bodies nationally and internationally. Our mission is to serve the needs of these communities by employing GI-science and technologies. To this end, we strive to be a broker between UNM’s academic units and the external communities they serve; to facilitate and stimulate collaborations between government agencies, between government and private organizations, and between universities in the region; and to strengthen graduate education to meet the increasingly complex resource management and decision needs.
EDAC’s Areas of Expertise
EDAC’s staff come from a variety of academic disciplines including Geography, Anthropology, and Geology, and, more importantly, have developed skills in working across disciplinary boundaries with a wide variety of collaborating project partners and end-user communities. Our work with collaborators has allowed us to develop successful projects in a wide variety of domains, including:
- Public health
- Atmospheric modeling
- Hydrologic modeling
- Transportation infrastructure
- Floodplain management
- Border dispute resolution
- Ecological modeling and habitat analysis
- Resource management
- Demographic analysis
- Range management
- Econometric modeling and analysis
- Civil society collaboration
EDAC’s Programs
EDAC currently concentrates in four areas of applied GI-science, each of which is managed by a designated staff member.
- Clearinghouse Services. EDAC’s Clearinghouse provides users with data and metadata for products including aerial photography, space shuttle imagery, satellite imagery, topographic maps, and digital spatial data. Contact: Laura Gleasner
- Remote Sensing and Image Processing. EDAC personnel are expert in processing and analyzing a variety of remotely acquired data. Aerial and satellite data from a wide variety of government and commercial systems are processed in support of a wide range of application areas including crop inventory, natural resource management, and border conflict resolution. Specialized visualization products developed by EDAC’s remote sensing group include 2- and 3d static maps and 3d animations depicting movement through terrain draped with imagery. Contact: Tom Budge
- Geographic Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems (GIS/GPS). EDAC’s GIS/GPS Team offers custom GIS products and services that include Internet and desktop mapping applications development; spatial data acquisition, processing, and generation; spatial modeling and analysis; and map product (both digital and hardcopy) generation. Contact: Shirley Baros
- Information Technology (IT). EDAC’s IT operations are constantly evolving to meet the rapidly increasing demands for efficient geospatial data storage, management, and access. IT services and capabilities that EDAC has developed include hosting and development of geospatial databases, online mapping and geospatial analytic applications, collaboration portals and web sites, and standards-based data and map services. Contact: Karl Benedict
The outline provided above is only a sketch of the diversity of EDAC’s work, ongoing activities, and expertise. As we continue to evolve and learn we will be updating this site with the knowledge that we gain, so please come back often to see what the latest developments are in our work in the applied GI-sciences.
