GeoTREE Center

The GeoInformatics Training Research Education and Extension (GeoTREE) Center is located within the Geography Department at the University of Northern Iowa and the purpose of the Center is to support the effective use of geospatial (Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems, Remote Sensing, Web mapping) technologies at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and in the state of Iowa. Originally founded by Dr. Ramanthan Sugumaran in 2006 with federal support from NASA, the goal of the center was to transfer geospatial technologies to federal, state, local, and tribal (FSLT) agencies in the state of Iowa and beyond.

The GeoTREE Center continues to address the goal of supporting use of geospatial technologies in Iowa, while also actively supporting the effective use of these technologies by faculty, students, departments, and groups at UNI. The GeoTREE Center meets these stated goals by carrying out a range of activities based around the application of geospatial technologies to a range of environmental, social, economic, governmental, and other societal issues. This work can take the form of research, training, education, or extension activities. The GeoTREE Center has a successful history of high quality research in collaboration with a wide range of collaborators. During this research many undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to gain valuable educational and training experience. Staff at the GeoTREE Center have delivered training workshops to hundreds of FLST personnel in Iowa. The GeoTREE Center has also collaborated with state and local agencies to develop and disseminate unique geospatial data products as well as geospatial tools.