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Manitoba GIS User Group 2024 Fall Conference will be held in-person on October 29th at the Hilton Airport Suites.

Our speakers

Dr. Paul M. Cooley, Founder and President: NextGen Environmental Research Inc.

Bio: NGE is a clean tech firm that specializes in near real-time satellite imaging services and products. The corporation employs at the Ph.D., Masters, and college level with specialization in artificial intelligence and machine learning of radar and optical satellite imagery. NGE is currently developing several new satellite verticals from R&D undertaken by the firm including lake ice monitoring, overland flooding event monitoring, and harmful algal blooms.

Presentation description: This presentation will review advantages of C band Radar, the near real-time platform we’ve developed, some Deep Learning experiences, and outcomes for the use cases in lake ice hazards, overland flooding, and algal blooms.

Sibeal McCourt: Data Manager at Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada

Bio: Sibeal is the Data Manager at Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada, an online platform with tools to help municipal planners and housing suppliers address the housing crisis, through access to centralized data and GIS analysis. She has held multiple roles that leveraged GIS and data to address housing development and sales. She holds a PhD in Geography and a Master’s in Urban Planning, bringing a unique blend of expertise in the fields of housing and planning. She is passionate about sustainable and equitable solutions to complex urban problems, and is keen on public outreach and science communication. 

Presentation description: This presentation will discuss the importance of GIS within all phases of the housing planning and development process in Canada, through both a public and private sector lens. I will discuss some key problems that I’ve come across, how GIS can help, and what it’s like working as a GIS expert in a field that often has low GIS technology adoption. 

Gustavo Velasco: The University of Winnipeg

Bio: Gustavo Velasco is an instructor in the Faculty of Eduation and History Department of the University of Winnipeg. He uses GIS technology in his historical research in a field known as HGIS. His present research focuses on education inequality in Winnipeg.

Presentation description: My research project focuses on mapping students’ mobility in Winnipeg’s core area and examining its impact on their education. Specifically, I aim to investigate how changes in addresses and schools influence educational outcomes, with an additional emphasis on conducting a comparative analysis before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee Fedorchuk: Manitoba Government – Forestry and Peatlands Branch

Bio: Lee Fedorchuk has worked for the Forestry and Peatlands Branch, in a variety of capacities, for nearly twenty years. In 2018, he became the Branch’s Peatlands Program Lead, where he regulates the peat harvesting industry, administers The Peatlands Stewardship Act, and advances peatlands-related research projects, which includes work on improving the province’s understanding of the sustainability of peat resources. When not collecting peat depth data, he pursues music, writing, and doing a terrible job at gardening.

Presentation description: Using machine learning methods to produce province-wide datasets for peat depth and peat age, annual rates of peat accumulation, by volume, can be estimated. When these volumes are compared to harvested peat volumes, a fuller understanding of sustainability at the landscape level can be achieved. This presentation will discuss the peat harvesting industry, The Peatlands Stewardship Act, and how GIS and machine learning allows for an improved assessment of sustainability.

AGENDA

Agenda will be finalized and posted TBD

Stay tuned for more details, which will be published through our email and social channels.

Also, you can take a look at our events archive, which has a collection of presentations and pictures!

Call for Speakers! If you are interested in speaking at our 2024 fall conference please fill in our Speaker Application Form