Moving Toward Mastery

Earth Data is proud to support its employees and interns—both past and present. When Katie Stafford needed help with research for her master's thesis, Earth Data was happy to help.

Previously, Katie served as a student intern while she was completing her undergraduate degree at Salisbury University. Her degree is in geology with a GIS (geographic information systems) focus, but she originally planned on a biology degree until she discovered GIS. After she visited the Earth Data office and spoke to president Mark Williams, seeing how nearly limitless the field could be, she changed her major.

When deciding to acquire her master's degree, she picked a topic that is apt to the rural farmlands of the Eastern Shore: estimating localized mammal populations using drone technology. She thought about whitetail deer and how they can damage crops. Her project is to create a database that could be used to help mitigate crop damage. When she asked Earth Data for help collecting data, the answer was a quick yes.

Earth Data will provide drone usage and the FAA-qualified drone pilots to create flight plans and collect thermographic survey data. Katie will be given the information collected for use in her database and will be ready to present in April at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) annual conference.

The team at Earth Data is supportive of Katie's project and her growing knowledge of creative ways to use GIS. Giving back to the community is a hallmark of the Earth Data ethos. "Earth Data has been there every step of the way," she says with a thankful tone. To see the arc of experience move from interest to a master's degree has been a pleasure to watch, and one we will continue to view with pride.