What is the Institute for GIS Studies?
The Institute for GIS Studies (IGISS) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that is dedicated to promoting GIS technology through strategic alliances with schools, businesses, and government agencies for the purpose of preserving and creating jobs, developing educational programs, and furthering the security of the United States infrastructure.
Matthew A. Price, Executive Director

Mr. Price has worked in the GIS industry for a number of years, serving in capacities ranging from fund raising and marketing to fiscal management and operations. He has also developed multiple curriculum resources and textbooks.

Geographic Information System (GIS), is a computer system that records, stores, and analyzes information about the features that make up the earth’s surface. A GIS can generate two- or three-dimensional images of an area, showing such natural features as hills and rivers with artificial features such as roads and power lines. Analysts use GIS images as models, making precise measurements, gathering data, and testing ideas with the help of a computer.

Many GIS databases consist of sets of information called layers. Each layer represents a particular type of geographic data. For example, one layer may include information on the streets in an area. Another layer may contain information on the soil in that area, while another records elevation. The GIS can combine these layers into one image, showing how the streets, soil and elevation relate to one another. Engineers might use this image to determine whether a particular part of a street is more likely to crumble. A GIS database can include as many as 100 layers.

A GIS is designed to accept geographic data from a variety of sources, including maps, satellite photographs, and printed text and statistics. GIS sensors can scan some of this data directly – for example, a computer operator may feed a map or photograph into the scanner, and the computer “reads” the information it contains. The GIS converts all geographical data into a digital code, which it arranges in its database. Operators program the GIS to process the information and produce the images or information they need.

The applications of a GIS are vast and continue to grow. By using a GIS, scientists can research changes in the environment, engineers can design road systems, electrical companies can manage their complex networks of power lines, governments can track the uses of land, and fire and police departments can plan emergency routes.


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