On Tuesday, Huntsville’s Mayor Battle announced the return of the GeoResilience Summit to Huntsville.

Hosted by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and GEOHuntsville, the summit will provide a day of informative panels along with a free student career fair.

“The impact of geospatial technology cannot be overstated,” said Mayor Battle.

Mayor Battle also mentioned that the Summit was important for Huntsville to “stay on that cutting edge so that we are able to draw the best and brightest minds to Huntsville to have success here.”

David Lucas, executive director of GEOHuntsville, spoke of the success his organization has seen in expanding the geospatial ecosystem in Huntsville.

In tandem with Mayor Battle’s initiatives, legacy geospatial technology has been successfully utilized in the academic and industrial sectors to produce economic growth and development for the city.

The summit, titled “Why Where Matters,” will be held on April 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Jackson Center, 6001 Moquin Dr NW, Huntsville, AL 35806.

A free student career fair will be held concurrently between 10:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Representatives from the geospatial sector–including NGA, FBI, NASA, industry, and non-profits–will be on hand to conduct resume reviews on a first-come-first-served basis.

Shelisa Gardner, an NGA retiree and member of the GEOHuntsville Board in charge of outreach, said they would love to see more students registered for the career fair opportunity. In addition, Gardner announced that GEOHuntsville is offering three $1000 academic scholarships to qualified students.

Full-time high school and college students may attend the career fair at no cost and receive a reduced rate for summit tickets.

Summit attendees will have opportunities to speak with experts from government, industry, and academia about the impact of geospatial intelligence on national security and Huntsville’s growing geospatial ecosystem.

Panel topics will include:

How GIS Developments are Strengthening U.S. Resilience
Geospatial Roles in Disaster Response & Climate Change
Expanding into Outer Space
Preparing for a Career in The Geospatial & STEM Industry & Government

The GeoResilience summit speaker list includes NGA Deputy Director Tonya Wilkerson and leaders from NASA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Space Command, the City of Huntsville, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and more. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle will deliver the closing keynote.

Geospatial intelligence refers to intelligence gathered through the analysis of images and other data from a particular location. This analysis reveals information about human activity and physical geography anywhere on the planet.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is the lead federal agency for geospatial intelligence. GEOHuntsville is a nonprofit, collaborative effort supporting workforce growth and economic development in the region. GEOHuntsville’s goal is to establish and grow Huntsville as a major corridor for geospatial intelligence.

To view the full schedule and register for the summit and career fair, please visit the event page here.