Collaboration Is No Longer Optional Although we cling to the romantic image of the lone scientific investigator uncovering some fundamental truth, the current model of scientific investigation is better represented by the Large Hadrain Collider (LHC). The world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, LHC will be used by more than 10,000 researchers in 85 countries to test predictions about the nature of high-energy physics when it goes back online. Michael Goodchild, in his address at the Space-Time Modeling and Analysis Workshop held in Redlands, California, in February 2010, reminded attendees of this reality and asserted the important work in science is being conducted by teams that are making discoveries about complex systems. Scientific teams making these discoveries require “powerful data acquisition systems and sophisticated tools, and when these systems are embedded in geographic space-time; they need GIS.” GIS has been instrumental in giving us a greater appreciation of the complexity and interdependency of many systems—ecological, geologic, and social—and the challenges facing those systems. It has been tremendously useful in managing and analyzing the myriad of measurements we’ve been collecting relating nearly every aspect of the planet. The vision of a societal GIS has been around for more than a decade. However, recent developments have made that vision much closer to reality. Now Web, mobile, and the Cloud are viable platforms for accomplishing GIS work. But it is the advent of GeoDesign in combination with these platforms and the new GIS tools being developed that are making GIS a more powerful collaboration tool for GIS professionals and more accessible to nearly everyone. As Jack Dangermond has observed, GIS isn’t touching just a few researchers, GIS professionals, or those who work with geographic information, “but it’s infecting and affecting virtually everything that people do.” These developments will make GIS more effective in modeling outcomes and shaping human actions to take into account consequences. By making the results of science more comprehensible, GIS has the potential to engage science with policy and avoid that frustrating situation in which, as Goodchild said, “science ends when discoveries are in the pages of refereed journals.” The new generation of GIS is coming full circle by supplying the tools and platforms that can fulfill the original vision of the role of GIS as a way to design a better future for the planet. Spring 2010 • Vol. 14 No. 2 EDITORIAL Editor Monica Pratt Contributors Joseph Kerski Matthew DeMeritt Technical Advisors Paul Dodd Damian Spangrud Copy Editing Joyce Lawrence DESIGN Graphic Designer Antoinette Zaragoza Photography Eric Laycock Print Coordinator Tim Polen ADVISORY BOARD Corporate Linda Hecht Corporate Alliances Steve Trammell Products Dave Scheirer International Dean Angelides Marketing Communications Robin Rowe Industries Lew Nelson HOW TO REACH US Visit the ArcUser Online Web site (www.esri.com/arcuser) to download tutorials, read current and past issues, and access additional resources. For all subscription, advertising, or editorial inquiries, call 909-793-2853, ext. 1-2730. Your ArcUser Subscription To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change mailing information online, please go to gis.esri.com/emails/arcuser_subscr.cfm or send e-mail to arcuser_circulation@esri.com. Advertise in ArcUser For information regarding placing an advertisement in ArcUser magazine, contact the advertising coordinator at 909-793-2853, ext. 1-2189, or ads@esri.com Fax: 909-307-3051 Editorial Inquiries Monica Pratt, ArcUser Editor 380 New York Street Redlands, CA 92373-8100, USA E-mail: arcuser_editor@esri.com Visit the ArcUser Online Web pages (www.esri.com/arcuser) to read the article submission guidelines and copyright policy. Monica Pratt ArcUser Editor editor’s page 4 ArcUser Spring 2010 ISSN 1534-5467 ArcUser is published quarterly by Esri at 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373-8100, USA. ArcUser is written for users of Esri software. ArcUser is distributed free of charge to registered users of Esri software. www.esri.com