Geography and the Environment

Facilities and Labs

The teaching and research facilities of the Department of Geography and the Environment are housed in the Geography Building, centrally located on campus. Each of these facilities is designed to accommodate the most recent advances in appropriate technology. Most are accessible to qualified Geography students and faculty. Students should obtain permissions and reservations to use the facilities from the listed Managers. Faculty members wishing to use facilities for their own projects should make prior arrangements directly with the listed Directors, or with the Manager if no Director is listed.

The Environmental Information Systems Laboratory

Geography Building, Room 302
Directed 2001-2005 by Department Computer Committee, Gregory Knapp, Chair (2006-present)
Manager and System Administrator Andrew Adams
Laboratory Assistants Anwar Sounny-Slitine
View the LAB RULES

The Environmental Information Systems Laboratory (EIS Lab) provides comprehensive resources for learning and research involving geographic information systems, remote sensing, spatial analysis, hypermedia authoring, and related digital technologies. The facility supports the department's broader mission as a center for the study of Geographic Information Science, the science of generating, managing, analyzing, and visualizing data in the context of the major thematic concerns of geography.

Since it was founded in 1985 by Kenneth Foote (lab director for 15 years from 1985 to 2000), the laboratory has received over $1.5 million in extramural grants and equipment donations to expand its capabilities. These included three major grants from the National Science Foundation for projects to develop hypermedia educational materials in the Worldwide Web, including materials for the internationally renowned Geographer's Craft and Virtual Geography Department Projects.

Many demonstrations and workshops have utilized the lab, including:
* Web Workshop, 1995 annual meeting of the National Council for Geographic Education
* GIS Texas Web Workshop, 1996 Texas GIS Forum
* College of Liberal Arts, Parent's Day Internet in Education Overview, 1997
* Virtual Geography Department summer workshops for nationwide college faculty, Summer 1996, 1997 (two workshops), and 1998 (two workshops)
* Ancient Cultures of Our World June 28 - July 2, 1999, Summer worshop for Central Texas K-12 teachers
* Technology in Social Studies May 30 - June 1, 2000, Summer worshop for Central Texas K-12 teachers

The lab is used regularly for undergraduate and graduate courses, many of them online, including:
* GRG 308, Computer Cartography
* GRG 308C, Introduction to Computing in Geography
* GRG 309, Introduction to Geographic Information Science
* GRG 360G, Geographic Information Systems
* GRG 360N Computer Applications in Geography
* GRG 362K Remote Sensing of the Environment
* GRG 459, The Geographer's Craft
* GRG 384C Watershed Systems and Environmental Managment
* GRG 394K, Geographic Information Systems
* GRG 394L, Advanced Applications of Information Technology
* LAH 112, Liberal Arts Honors
* TLC 321, Introduction to Technology, Literacy, and Culture

Digital Landscape Laboratory

Geography Building, Room 230
Directed by DLL Committee, Kelley Crews-Meyer, Chair
Managed by Andrew Adams

The Digital Landscape Laboratory, established in spring 1999, is a GIS and remote sensing facility designed to support research efforts directed toward modeling and characterizing Earth's varied processes through Geomorphology, Biogeography, and Landscape Ecology. The laboratory has recently been entirely remodeled and refurnished, and includes a new server, high-speed Ethernet connections, Windows-based work stations, scanners, and a large format plotter. Software includes ArcInfo, ArcView (with 3D Modeler, Terrain Analyst, and Image Analyst), Erdas Imagine, and specialized hydrologic software (HEC-RAS, ArcHydro).

Robert K. Holz Remote Sensing Laboratory

Geography Building, Room 206
Directed by Department Computer Committee, Greg Knapp, Chair
Managed by Andrew Adams

Created in summer, 2001, this facility contains about 18 Dell Optiplex computers with appropriate ERDAS and ESRI software for teaching in Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing.

Liberal Arts Technology Classroom

Geography Building, Room 102
Managed by the University as a general purpose classroom
For maintenance problems call 471-7221
For audiovisual equipment and repairs call Liberal Arts Help Desk, 471-9666
LAITS Classroom page

This hall, completed in January, 1999 and converted to a standardized technology classroom in Fall 2005 includes two computers, a document camera, a VCR, a DVD player, and a data projector. Comfortable auditorium style chairs seat 106 students, with provisions for both left and right handed individuals and full wheelchair access.

Applied Geomorphology and Geo- Archaeology Laboratory

Geography Building, Room 112
Manager: Karl Butzer

The Applied Geomorphology and Geo-Archaeology Laboratory is designed for field study and laboratory analysis of soils, sediments, and archaeological materials. It is equipped with appropriate computer facilities. It supports the multi-year Environmental History of Northern Mexico Project, funded by the Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Quaternary Paleoecology Laboratory

Geography Building, Rooms 132, 132A and 132C
Manager: Robert Dull

The Quaternary Paleoecology Laboratory is a facility designed primarily for the processing and analysis of lacustrine, estuarine, and alluvial sediments/cores. Routine analyses include pollen, charcoal, organic matter (LOI), and magnetic susceptibility. Lab capabilities will be expanded in 2004-2005 to include 210Pb-dating by alpha spectroscopy, digital sediment color analysis, and particle size analysis by laser light-scattering. The UT Herbarium Pollen Reference Collection is also housed in the Quaternary Paleoecology Laboratory.

Soils Laboratory

Geography Building, Rooms 124 and 124BA
Manager: Francisco Perez

The Soils Laboratory is designed to support both field research and laboratory analysis of mineral and organic soils and sediments. The laboratory includes two separate rooms for soil processing and microscope/computer work, respectively. The soil processing room allows for the examination of a diverse array of physical and chemical soil properties, including coarse particle-size distribution by sieving, fine-particle fraction by hydrometer, organic matter content by dry combustion, soil moisture level by gravimetry, water-retention capacity by pressure plate chamber, PH by electrode, and content of different nutrients by colorimetry. The microscope/computer room allows for microscopic examination of soil structure and petrographic analysis of soil sections. The laboratory also includes a wide diversity of equipment for pedological field sampling, topographic surveying, and soil-profile characterization, as well as instructional equipment for environmental education.

When Problems Arise

Directors determine the appropriate training for facility users, as well as the scheduling of facility use, appropriate use of equipment, and appropriate charges for facility use. The University of Texas Laboratory Safety Manual is online. Directors have the authority to ban or restrict users from departmental facilities if there is good evidence of violations of the rules, unsafe practices, abuse of equipment, or other inappropriate behavior; users banned from facilities may however appeal their case to the Chair. Problems with the facilities should be directed to the indicated Managers and Directors. Persistent problems may be referred to the Department Chair or the University of Texas Ombudsman.