Institute of Australian Geographers

Directory of Expertise - GIScience, Spatial Analysis and Modelling

If you would are a study group member and would like to be listed on this
page, please send mail to Amy Griffin.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Professor David S. Gillieson
Professor of Geography
School of Tropical Environment Studies & Geography
James Cook University, PO Box 6811
Cairns, Qld. 4870
Email: david.gillieson@jcu.edu.au
HOMEPAGE: http://www.tesag.jcu.edu.au/staff/gilloweb.html

My research is focussed on using GIS and remote sensing to support natural resource management in tropical Australia. Our remote sensing studies in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area are using high resolution imagery for mapping ecosystem disturbances like fires, weeds and dieback. We are using airborne imagery as well as Ikonos and other satellite data. We also carry out ground measurements of spectral signatures using a Cropscan radiometer. We have started a new project on bushfire dynamics, plant ecology and risk management along powerline corridors near Mount Isa. This is funded by the Savanna CRC and Ergon Energy. We will shortly commence a major study looking at structural change in savanna vegetation (woody thickening)which incorporates ground measurements,air photo and satellite imagery analysis. This is also a Savanna CRC project with partners from JCU, QEPA, QDPIF, CSIRO and the Northern Gulf Resource Management Group. I also have a strong interest in karst and caves, and especially resource management and development issues in tropical limestone terrains such as in Sarawak.

Dr Amy L. Griffin
Lecturer
School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences
University of New South Wales-ADFA
Northcott Drive Campbell ACT 2602
Phone: ++61 2 6268 8949
Email: a.griffin@adfa.edu.au
HOMEPAGE: http://www.griffingeographics.com/

My research interests fall into two categories: geographic information science and modeling health-environment interactions.

One of my main interests is understanding how people use visual displays (e.g., maps or other types of statistical graphics) to think about geographical problems. In a new study that begins in January 2005, I will be looking at whether we can help individuals benefit from the insights that interdisciplinary collaboration produces by teaching individuals to use visual exploration strategies that their colleagues from other disciplines used and that they have not used. I have also done research on haptic perception and maps and the perceptual characteristics of static small multiples and animated maps that help people see moving clusters.

With colleagues at CSIRO-Sustainable Ecosystems, I am looking at how biodiversity, urban form and the physical structures of greenspace in the city may have an impact on people’s patterns of physical activity. We are just beginning this exciting new project that involves comparative work between Sydney and Canberra, Australia.

With some colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), I am also continuing work on Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in the western United States by using longitudinal seroprevalence data collected for Peromyscus maniculatus (the deer mouse) to empirically validate a GIS-based simulation model I built a couple of years ago.

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Shaun Kolomeitz
Postgraduate Student
University of Queensland (sponsors CRC for Australian Weed Management, CSIRO)
Email: Shaun.Kolomeitz@csiro.au

Currently developing spatial models to predict the spread and suitability of exotic grasses across landscapes within northern Australia. For the previous 10 years I worked within a local Council as a GIS/IT manager involved in all aspects of GIS/IT planning, development and implementation. Areas of expertise include Mobile/handheld data capture design and technology, spatial modelling, web based service provision.

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Dr Shawn Laffan
Lecturer
Centre for Remote Sensing and GIS
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
UNSW, Sydney 2052, Australia
Tel +61 2 9385 8093 Fax +61 2 9385 1558
Email: Shawn.Laffan@unsw.edu.au
HOMEPAGE: http://www.bees.unsw.edu.au/school/staff/laffan/laffanshawn.html

My research focuses on the integration of geocomputational tools to understand and address geographic problems and issues. Applications include investigating how much relationship there really is between properties of the regolith and vegetation and topography, the spatial variation of serrated tussock infestations, analyses of the geographic distributions of endemism in the Australian vascular flora, and non-geometric models of spatial sampling for use in geostatistical modelling.

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Daniel Paez
PhD Candidate
Department of Geomatics
University of Melbourne
Email: dpaez@sunrise.sli.unimelb.edu.au
HOMEPAGE: http://www.geom.unimelb.edu.au/research/SDI_research/people/newdanielp.htm

Research and areas of expertise:
Cost-Benefit Analysis, Community participation, Softcomputing (Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networks), Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Data Infrastructures.

Associate Professor Jim Peterson
Director, Centre for GIS
School of Geography and Environmental Science
Monash University, Wellington Rd
Clayton 3168, Australia
+61 3 99052920 FAX +61 3 99052948
Email:jim.peterson@arts.monash.edu.au
HOMEPAGE: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ges/research/Gis/index.html

Dr Jim Peterson, a thematic mapper since 1960, has been Director of the Centre for GIS in the School of Geography and Environmental Science at Monash University (Clayton campus) since 1989. His contribution can be assessed by visiting: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ges/research/Gis/index.html. It will be seen that since the death of Professor Chris Maher, the Centre has concentrated on environmental applications of GIS, but that census data has been part of this. However, some projects that have evolved from urban geography programmes from the ‘Maher era” can be found. As momentum builds in social science research undertaken by Professor M. Wulff, geodemographics will again become a main focus of spatial analysis at the School of Geography and Environmental Science at Monash University.

Dr Christopher J Pettit
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
School of Mathematical and Geospatial Science
RMIT University
HOMEPAGE: http://www.gs.rmit.edu.au/staffhome/c-pettit/index_cp.htm

Dr Pettit’s current research initiatives focus on formulating and evaluating what-if Scenarios and the application of geographical visualization as a form of democratizing spatial information for achieving sustainable futures. Dr Pettit is currently chief investigator on a number of research initiatives including the community spatial scenario simulation group (C-S3) www.c-s3.info.

Philippe Puig
PhD candidate at Charles Darwin University - Darwin - Northern Territory
GIS analyst - EWL Sciences - PO Box 39443 - Winnellie NT 0821
Ph (08) 8922 5206
Email: Philippe.Puig@ewlsciences.com.au

My research focuses on applications of fuzzy logic to GIS modelling. I have implemented in Excel a fuzzy rule-based modelling environment similar to what the MATLAB Fuzzy Logic ToolBox provides. The Excel application, however allows to manipulate large arrays very easily and produces outputs ready to use in ArcView. I am currently exploring, in raster format, the capability of GIS fuzzy rule-based models to complement geostatistical methods and contouring techniques. The fuzzy approach appears to have some interesting potential when datasets are too small for other methods to reliably predict acceptable values.

My areas of interest/expertise are applications of GIS to fisheries and aquaculture analysis and modelling.

Marji Puotinen
Lecturer in GIS
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Wollongong
Wollongong, NSW
Email: marji@uow.edu.au
HOMEPAGE: http://www.uow.edu.au/science/eesc/staff/marji/mp.html

Expertise in integrating environmental models within a GIS framework, with particular emphasis on coastal and marine environments.

An example of some current / planned projects include:

• Modelling tropical cyclone disturbance dynamics in the Great Barrier Reef, 1969-2003 and its implication for management of the region
• Modelling the effect of global climate change on the resilience of reefs and low lying reef islands to wave regimes
• Modelling the relationship between ENSO and the spatial distribution of tropical cyclone frequencies in the NW Pacific
• Characterising the spatial and temporal dynamics of cyclone disturbance of Western Australian reefs
• Modelling the risk of disease in cattle and buffalo in SE Asia, focusing on Cambodia and the Philippines
• Simulating the long term effects of rock falls on vegetation dynamics in southeastern NSW.

A common theme that also runs through most of the above projects is using geo-visualization tools for exploratory spatial and temporal analysis and data mining

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Dr Kimberly Van Niel
Lecturer
School of Earth and Geographical Sciences
University of Western Australia MBDP:M004
Stirling Highway Crawley, WA 6907, Australia
tel +61 (0)8 9380 2707; fax: +61 (0)89380 1037
Email: kvn@segs.uwa.edu.au

My research focuses on three areas of spatial analysis: models, methods, and error. I am especially interested in predictive habitat modelling, especially the use of statistical and geostatistical methods for monitoring and modelling habitat and species-environment relationships, as well as methods for the spatial representation of marine and terrestrial habitats and species. In addition, I am deeply interested in how error and uncertainty enters into spatial data and the modelling process and how this in turn affects model outcomes.

Current projects include predictive marine habitat modelling and seagrass change in near coastal habitats of WA, modelling spatio-temporal change in native Eucalypt forests, implications of non-randomness on stochastic modelling, spatio-temporal modelling of mobile species to habitats, the effects of spatial data and modeling methods on analyses of neighbourhood walkability in Perth, and the use of participatory GIS for mapping land tenure and land access in rural communities in southern East Timor.