The History and Purpose of SIAC

The UW-Madison has been a major participant in and contributor to the emerging discipline of Geographic Information Science. This history begins with the development of instructional and research programs in cartography and surveying during the early years of the university, and includes one of the first courses in photogrammetry offered in the United States during the 1930s as well as leadership in the earliest attempts to define the nature of cadastral and land information systems (LIS) issues in the 1960s.

In the early 1970s, UW-Madison introduced instruction in computerized LIS and transfer of these technologies to state and federal agencies and private utilities. People on the campus did seminal research on the design of multi-purpose land information systems and the application of remote sensing to a host of environmental problems during the 1970s, and demonstrated the application of LIS/GIS technology to modernizing local land records management since the late 1970s.

Many new developments in photogrammetry and image processing were developed or refined at UW-Madison in the 1980s and 1990s. UW-Madison has been a national leader in remote sensing for environmental applications.

The faculty consortia that predated SIAC's formation in 1991 were pivotal in the development of the Wisconsin Land Information Program (WLIP) in 1989. UW-Madison faculty played key roles on the Wisconsin Land Records Committee (1985-87) and various interdisciplinary research projects such as CONSOIL and LOCALIS that ultimately led to the WLIP. Subsequently, the WLIP has become a model throughout the nation for local and state collaboration in the development of land information systems.

Madison campus faculty have also been heavily involved in professional societies in the GI Science realm, including numerous terms as presidents of national organizations. Alumni of campus programs have served with similar distinction. Faculty and staff have also served on a long list of state boards, task forces, councils, and committees.

SIAC arose from UW-Madison's response to the National Science Foundation call for the establishment of a National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) in 1988. Since its formation by UW-Madison faculty in 1991, SIAC's primary mission has been to provide coordination of those programs and activities that address the collection, management, analysis, and application of spatially-referenced information about our natural, social, and cultural environments.