Links
- Classroom Innovation Hall Room 320.
- Textbook (Link to GMU Bookstore)
- Semester Schedule (bottom of page)
- ITU Support (GMU IT Support)
- Blackboard Learning System (410/510 site, login required)
Syllabus Fall 2008
Instructor
Dr. Michael J. Casey, PE, Assistant Professor
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering
Office: Room 301, Science and Technology II
Email: mcasey4@gmu.edu
Tel: (703) 993-2091
Office hours:Thursday 3-6pm
Catalog Description
Prerequisites: CS 112, CEIE 360; corequisite: CEIE 455. Credit is not given for both CEIE 410 and 510. Introduces geographic information systems (GIS) and their application in environmental, transportation, land-use planning, and other situations. Explores methods, technologies for spatial data acquisition, specification, storage, manipulation, query, thematic analysis, presentation, and application in the design process. Introduces relationships, integration of GIS with computer aided design and global positioning system. Hands-on projects.
Class Location and Time
Room 320, Innovation Hall, Fairfax campus
Lecture: Monday 7:20 – 9:50 pm
Course Objectives
Students are expected to...
- develop fluency in GIS concepts (data types, projections, file structures, spatial relationships, etc.)
- become familiar with obtaining GIS data from various internet and federal, state, and local resources.
- create GIS-based solutions to civil engineering problems. Students should be able to identify and apply GIS tools and technologies for addressing problems based on geospatial data and models.
- apply critical thinking in engineering problem solving. For example, "How many miles of highway are there in Virginia? 10? 100? 1,000? 10,000? 100,000? 1,000,000?! Students should have an expectation of a reasonable answer before sitting down at the GIS.
- commit to an attitude of life-long-learning with technology.
Texts, Software, and Resources
- Required Storage Device. Students are required to have a dedicated USB flash drive for this course with a capacity of 1 GB or larger (2 GB preferred). Students will be expected to store all of their data during the semester on this drive and will occasionally hand it in for graded assignments. Only material for CEIE410/510 shall be stored on this drive and it should be backed-up regularly. The instructor will not be held responsible for any lost data stored on the flash drive.
- Required Textbook. Fundamentals of Geographical Information Systems by Demers (4th edition) John Wiley and Sons. (2008). ISBN: 0470129069
- Recommended Book(s).
- Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop, ESRI Press (Second Edition to be released in November 2008, updated for ArcGIS 9.3)
- Modeling Our World by Michael Zieler (1999). Google Books online version.
- Required Software. ESRI ArcGIS Desktop (ArcView) version 9.1 or greater.
- Classroom. Each PC in Innovation Hall 320 has ArcView installed.
- Fairfax Open Computer Labs. The open labs in Innovation Hall and the Johnson Center should have ArcView installed.
- ITE Computer Labs. Some of the PCs in the ITE computer labs have ArcView software installed (see: http://labs.ite.gmu.edu/resources/softwaremap.html)
- Trial Version. ArcView 9.2 Student/Trial Version (see: http://www.esri.com/industries/university/education/student-eval_faqs.html)
- Optional Software. Google Earth (version 4 or greater) interactive mapping software.
- Library Reference Site. To access Safari Books, please go to the Mason Libraries Database Portal (http://furbo.gmu.edu/dbwiz/SPT--BrowseResources.php) and click on "S" in the alphabetical list at the top. Then select "Safari Tech Books Online" to access the library. You can search Safari Books by title, author, publisher, ISBN, etc. or you can browse by category.
Grading (updated)
| Component | Percentage (CEIE410) | Percentage (CEIE510) |
| Quizzes | 15% | 15% |
| Lab Assignments | 85% | 60% |
| Seminar | - | 25% |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
Seminars
Each student registered for either CEIE510 or IT892 must present a 20 minute seminar on the use of a specialty GIS software extension as assigned by the instructor. Seminars will be graded based on presentation effectiveness as judged by the instructor and the class. Guidelines for preparing and presenting the seminars and a schedule will be posted by the 3rd week of class.
Policies
- Course communication. It is George Mason University policy that your student email account (i.e., gmu.edu domain) is the official means of communication for academic purposes. Students are responsible for monitoring their Mason email account for course-related communication as well as the class website.
- Class attendance. Class attendance is not required, however students are responsible for all material presented in class. Quizzes will in general be un-announced and cannot be made-up if you are absent.
- Lab Assignments. Lab assignments will be in the form of exercises, reports, or projects. 5 lab assignments will be given and are due at the beginning of the next lab period. Data prepared for the assignment must be submitted with a printed document on the class USB flash Drive. Late assignments will not be accepted.
- Academic Integrity. All students are expected to adhere to the George Mason University Honor Code. Please consult the University catalog for a complete statement of the Honor Code. See the instructor if you need further clarification.
- Observance of religious holidays. It is the policy of George Mason University to accommodate student absence from class or exams for religious observance. Reasonable opportunities will be provided to make-up for missed work. Please contact the instructor well in advance of the dates of major religious holidays on which you will be absent.
Readings
Suggested readings from the Demers textbook are listed with the schedule below. Readings are intended to take place before the succeeding lecture.
Tentative Schedule
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Reading (Demers) |
1 |
8/25 |
Class Administration, Introduction to GIS | Ch 0 |
2 |
9/1 |
Labor Day Holiday- No Class. | Ch 1 |
3 |
9/8 |
Coordinate systems, map projections, GPS, spatial measurements & errors | Ch 2,3 |
4 |
9/15 |
Geospatial data, vector, raster, and object data models | Ch 5 |
5 |
9/22 |
Database fundamentals for GIS | Ch 4 |
6 |
9/29 |
Georeferencing and spatial analysis | Ch 7 |
7 |
10/6 |
GIS Applications in Land Use Planning (Metro Lab) | Ch 6 |
8 |
10/14 |
Tuesday Class. Network Analysis using GIS. | Ch 8 |
9 |
10/20 |
Transportation Applications in GIS | Ch 13 |
10 |
10/27 |
Raster modeling and terrain analysis | Ch 12 |
11 |
11/3 |
Watershed Applications in GIS | Ch 12 |
12 |
11/10 |
Geoprocessing and scripting | |
13 |
11/17 |
Spatial statistics and pattern Analysis | Ch 11,13 |
14 |
11/24 |
CAD, GIS, and BIM integration | |
15 |
12/1 |
Project presentations and course wrap-up. Take home final assigned. |