SANDRA JUDITH LACH ARLINGHAUS
Ph.D. (1977, University of Michigan)
Theoretical Geography, Mathematical Geography, Location Theory

 


 
  

















The Earth, by descending powers of 2;
Mozart, "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman"
Link to page showing student work from previous courses (under construction)

WINTER, 2003
UP 507--Geographic Information Systems
Prerequisite:  UP406 or permission of instructor 
(that is, previous experience using GIS software)
Lecture and Lab, integrated:  M: 5:30-9:30 p.m., 
3358A Media Union
Office Hours start in Week 2: 
M, 1-4; Tu, 1-4
Schedule an appointment or walk-in.
Office:  1235 Art and Architecture Building
Available by e-mail.
Others by appointment.
Professor:  Sandy Arlinghaus
sarhaus@umich.edu (preferred method of contact)
975-0246 (home phone with answering machine)

In addition to the facilities in the Media Union (which are substantial--get acquainted with them), there is a small GIS lab and a small open classroom near my office.  When you come to see me in office hours, look around ...
SYLLABUS
The focus of this course, unlike previous GIS courses you might have had, is on using a variety of software, including but not limited to GIS software, to implement a term-long real-world project.  The emphasis is on the geographic components, some of which include (but are not limited to) the roles of:
 
scale
hierarchy
transformation
orientation
distance
geodesic
adjacency
connection
minimax
absolute/relative
centrality
density
partition
separation
diffusion
dimension

Thus, students will learn some of the theory behind the analysis and will have a chance to put theory into practice.  Students may work individually or in small groups.  All students are to post work, as it is done, on the website set up during the first week of class.  That way, students receive ongoing feedback on progress.


Requirements:
  • 10%  reserved for attendance (including arriving on time) and participation in full length of classes and labs.
  • 10% for field trip to City of Ann Arbor Planning Commission meeting and synopsis of content, as it relates to GIS usage, posted on individual websites
  • 15% for midterm presentation (4 hour time slot split evenly among projects)
  • 15% for final presentation (4 hour time slot split evenly among projects)
  • 50% for final project which must be presented as a website by each individual student or small group of students. 

Course Materials Required: 

          Required:  an active U of M e-mail account 
          Required:  a website (to be built throughout the course) 
          Required:  as many Zip disks or blank CDs as needed to hold files. 
          Required:  willingness to expand IFS space if needed to hold files.

There will be a class website containing lecture notes, links to source materials on the web, citations to printed matter that might be useful, and strategies that might be of use in the lab. 

Lab fee for course covers the cost of plotter usage (paper and ink) in the GIS lab only for creating posters as well as any related mapping expenses.

LECTURE LINKS
Commentary:
  • WHEN IN DOUBT--ASK--OVER THE E-MAIL, THE PHONE, IN OFFICE HOURS, IN CLASS/LAB--BUT, PLEASE, ASK! 
  • Remember, the focus of this course is on implementation and concepts.  Concepts are necessary because they are what remain constant (relatively) as technology changes.  The focus of this course is not on acquisition of software skills (which is why there is a prerequisite and why you are told to ask when a problem arises--please do not waste time spinning your wheels!).
  • This website is your "text" for the course; read it on a weekly basis and follow all the links on it.
  • Feel free to suggest additions to the "text"--help to make it yours.
  • Carry a blank CD/zip disk with you at all times
  • Back up your files frequently and on more than one medium (for example, on a zip disk and in your ifs space).
Final Projects, samples from two previous years (not all links work):
UP507, Winter 2002, final projects page
UP507, Winter 2001, final projects page
A more permanent archive is under construction.
Useful Links:
http://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/  Satellite images most regions of the world.  Images are in MrSid format--make sure the MrSid extension to ArcView is activated to see these images.

Research Community General
  • City of Ann Arbor, Planning Commissioner 1995-present
    • Chair, 2002-present.
    • Secretary, 2000-2002; 1997-1999.
    • Member,  Ordinance Revisions Committee, 1995-present.
  • City of Ann Arbor, Environmental Commissioner, 1999-present.
    • Member, Water Quality subgroup
    • Website designer
  • City of Ann Arbor, Neighborhood Watch Advisory Committee, AAPD.
  • Past President, Bromley Homeowners Association (five years).
  • Current Curriculum Vita
  • Semi-Finalist, Pirelli INTERNETional Award Competition, 2002.
  • Arlinghaus Enterprises
    • Co-founder , President
    • Professional website designer
  • Family pages: 
  • Reviewer or referee, Mathematical Reviews, The Geographical Review, Technology and Culture, Environmental Science, SIAM Journal of Optimization, and others.
Teaching activities at The University of Michigan (1991-present):
  • Advising of Dissertations or Masters Theses, 1992-present
  • Advising of independent study students, 1991-present.
  • UP402/696, Maps and Decisions, 2001-present
  • UP405, Mapping in the Context of Project Development, 1998
  • Previous courses designed for MAC requirements:  1991-present
  • UP507, Geographic Information Systems, 2000-present
  • NRE501/043, Geography:  Spatial Analysis, Advanced Projects, 1997-1999
  • NRE530 Geography:  Spatial Analysis, Theory and Practice, 1993-1999
  • NRE545, Population-Environment Dynamics, co-taught with Bill Drake, 1992-1998 (Link to student projects.)

mail me:  sarhaus@umich.edu