OCR Text |
Show REVI EW VOL L ISSUE 18 www.uvureview.corn JANUARY 10, 2011 The 17th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration begins on Jan. 11. A2 Read our campus secrets and learn something new! B1 Surveying 2.0 New Geomatics degree provides more rounded education for future surveyors By Sterling Gray Asst. News Editor A new four-year degree is coming to the university and some students may have never even heard of it. This is because Geomatics, a degree being offered beginning in the fall, is a fairly new development in the world of engineering and land surveying. What the term "geomatics" means is as complicated as the sophisticated equipment used to execute it, but simply put, geomatics is the term given to land surveying as it has progressed technology-wise. There are certainly other pieces to the puzzle though. According to Danial Perry, associate professor in Engineering Graphics and Design Technology, geomatics encompasses various techniques. "Geomatics is a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), cartography and land surveying," he said. Merging the different disciplines into a single degree program can be hard, especially with technology advancing so rapidly. As a result, universities across the country are offering new four-year degree programs that encompass all methods. In order to do this, Geomatics has to require more than surveying Geomatic Terms For those without much experience in the field of land surveying, it might help to define these terms. instruction. This is why the new program will have so many facets. "There is some math intensity to it — Statistics, College Algebra, Trigonometry and Into to Calculus," Perry said. "There is obviously the measurement core, which teaches how to measure land and run all the new equipment." By "new equipment," Perry is referring to state-of-the-art robotic surveying equipment, 3D laser scanners that can measure the space inside of a room and precise GPS. "Your handheld GPS can get you within a few meters, but the surveygrade GPS that we have can get you within millimeters of where you're standing," Perry said. In addition to that, Geomatics will even require students to understand a lot of law and business. "81 percent of surveying firms in the United States have less than 10 employees," Perry said. "It's likely that graduates in the next five to 10 Number of Employees in Surveying Companies Courtesy of stock.xchngview The Mexican Government will give scholarship money for Mexican students to attend UVU. By Sterling Gray Asst. News Editor years will end up owning and running their own small surveying busi- nesses." In order to do that, students have to learn legal ramifications, boundary and property law, how to research land records and what they need to know to run a surveying business. Despite its relative anonymity, Geomatics promises to give students a leg up in the surveying world. Due to the small number of employees in the majority of surveying companies, the new four-year Geomatics program will help students get a more rounded education to prepare them for running their own businesses. Cartography Geographic information system (GIS) Basically put, map-making. In the old days, explorers like Ferdinand Magellan would travel around the world and draw what they saw, using compasses and star charts to determine their location at all times. That information was taken and used to draw a map. Only slightly different from cartography, GIS uses unique types of data, such as voting districts, street addresses or fault lines, and makes a map out of them. Programs such as Google Earth are the result of GIS. I tensive process. It started when Latino Initiative program director Yudi Surveying takes elements of basic cartography, but is usually more localized. For example, if a private owner wishes to buy some land, a surveyor could be hired to determine the property boundaries of the new plot. The government employs surveyors when building roads or new buildings. New place, new face, same title. Student advocate to the legislature is now Vale Hale Above: Vice president of University Relations, Vale Hale, will assume the new role as Legislative Liaison. Below: Newly elected Legislator Val Peterson will retain his role as V.P. of Administration at UVU while serving in the House. Photos courtesy of University marketing With this university growing and Utah's budget for education decreasing, getting in contact with the State Legislature is more important than ever. Now there is a new liaison between the university and the state. Val Peterson has been serving as the school's liaison with the Utah Legislation for the past 12 years. He was, however, elected to the Utah House of Representatives in November. As a result of Peterson's election, Val Hale will take over as liaison for the 2011 Legislation session. Under Peterson, the school achieved university status. Understandably, he says that is the biggest achievement of his time in the position. Peterson is currently the Vice President of Administration and Hale is the Vice President of Univer- sity Relations at this university. The reassignment of the liaison title is actually to University Relations rather than to Hale, but he will hold the position for now. Hale is not sure if he will hold the title permanently. President Holland has the choice for who will hold the position; regardless, it will remain in University Relations. Peterson and Hale have worked together in the past, most notably to get the funding for the library on campus. Last year, with Peterson and Hale tag-teaming the effort, legislation approved the building of the future Student Life and Wellness Center. According to Hale, the liaison's job is "to be on Capitol Hill advocating for UVU and higher education and meet daily with legislators and other state leaders." "I am excited to be back on the Hill," Hale said. "I hope to represent The Latino Initiative received a $20,000 scholarship grant to be dispersed to students of Mexican descent this semester. The money will help many students who may have had to quit school if not for the grant. The grant comes from Instituto de Mexicanos en el Exterior, or the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME). A non-profit organization formed by the Mexican government, IME established the IME-BECAS in order to provide funding for students in foreign countries. The Mexican government hopes to help these students be a credit to their mother country and a positive influence on the world wherever they are. This much-needed aid can help those of Mexican descent to stay in school rather than give up on an education for financial reasons. Receiving the grant was an ex- Land surveying New House liaison By Jarom Moore Asst. News Editor Money for Mexican descendents the university well; I hope to be a good advocate." Both Peterson and Hale say that students can have a big role in getting funding for UVU and higher education in general. "Nothing is more important than talking to your representative," Peterson said. "Get involved with the process. The system works because people get involved." "Students need to contact legislators to express desire to look out for UVU's interest," Hale said. "Find your legislator, write an e-mail, a letter or just call them and say, 'I am a student and UVU is important'." There is one issue Hale wants students to focus on and that is equity funding. "Equity funding is one key issue," Hale said. "UVU is the least funded public university and we need to push to be equal to other schools." Lewis was nominated to attend a conference in Mexico City for those who worked to further the education of Latin students, especially Mexicans. While there, Lewis was surprised to find the vast array of resources available to Mexican students all over the world. She soon sent off an application, hoping to be one of the few to be approved. She had to wait through a lengthy screening process. IME sends its money to University of California, Berkeley, which then consults with Mexican officials before determining which institutions would receive part of the funding. Finally, her efforts were rewarded when she received the good news. Lewis said seeing the grant approved was better than "seeing a million dollars in my own bank account!" This grant will mean a lot to many of the students on campus. "We get to help some students who wouldn't have been able to continue their education," she said. "And we can start now with spring semester." Although pleased, Lewis believes it was a well-deserved award, considering the many students on campus who qualify for the scholarship's requirements. "The reason we got this grant is that we showed we have 2,100 Latino students and the vast majority of them are of Mexican descent," she said. She also noted that it wasn't just free money, but a good retention tool. The students who receive the scholarship are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA, meet regularly with academic advisors and tutors, and even meet personally with Lewis four times during the semester. |