Geosaurus Unleashed (Student Edition)

NOTE: This event will be 100% online.

“The map is not the territory.” Almost a century ago, the Polish-American scholar Alfred Korzybski expressed this idea and we continue to struggle with it today. Broad questions about representation in geography linger, like how differing regions connect infrastructure, define borders, represent physical and social features, show places actively changing from sea level rise and conflict, and how to map a place with very few references on hand.

T-REX is proud to present those perspectives through a conversation between Esri geographer and educator Dr. Joseph Kerski, as well as leaders of the BuildTheEarth project who aim to create a replica of the planet in Minecraft. If you are curious about the hard skills that go into cartography, geography and geographic information science, or the difficult social problems that relate to the way we map the world, this event is for you.

About the Speakers

Esri is the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping. Since 1969, Esri has supported customers with geographic science and geospatial analytics, or “The Science of Where.” With a geographic approach to problem-solving, brought to life by modern, enterprise-grade GIS technology, Esri uses science and technology to build a sustainable world. Dr. Joseph Kerski is a professional geographer and educator with Esri and has developed countless resources for numerous educators and students interested in mastering GIS.

BuildTheEarth is a collective of several thousand volunteers who are working to build a 1:1 representation of Earth in Minecraft, drawing from topographical data and other sources. Dr. B. Gideon Bergheim is a molecular bioinformatician at Heidelberg University who leads a team of volunteers with BuildTheEarth as a project manager and serves as head of staff for the organization. Jacob Sherman is BuildTheEarth’s Public Relations Manager with a degree in anthropology and training in museum studies.

About Geosaurus Unleashed and T-REX

Geosaurus Unleashed is a reoccuring event from T-REX where geospatial professionals describe how unique problems can be addressed with GIS, remote sensing and other valuable skillsets, to foster growth and connection in the geospatial industry here in the St. Louis region. STL has become a hub for geospatial work over 50,000 people working in this industry in the region. With local universities providing geospatial programing, degrees and certificates, T-REX’s economic development mission drives us to encourage young professionals to discover promising future careers in STL. Dr. Nathanael Bassett is T-REX’s Tearline Director and helps convene educators and students with career development opportunities.