GEOS Speaker - Dr. John Steinmetz
February 20, 2014
The Department of Geosciences hosted two talks on Thursday, February 20 by Dr.
John Steinmetz, Director and State Geologist, Indiana Geological Survey. In his first talk, John provided insight into the history of the Indiana Geological Survey, and then described the nature of work at today's IGS. In particular, he showed the intricate web of relationships and interactions between the IGS and various local, regional, and national government agencies, industry partners, and community organizations. John's second talk focused on the exciting technological benefits of mapping the surface of the entire state of Indiana using LiDAR. He showed the remarkable topographic resolution now possible (1.5 m spacing of data points across the state with a 10 cm vertical resolution in open areas…including furrows in a field!) and described how the data were acquired and processed. Lastly, he held an open forum where he fielded student questions about jobs/internships, writing letters of application & resumes, etc.
John has served as director of the Indiana Geological Survey since 1998, where he has championed the use of information technology and GIS to address problems in the geosciences. In this role, he has helped steward the development of IndianaMap, one the most comprehensive, freely available geological and geospatial information resources in the nation.
