In addition to an outstanding faculty, professional staff, and students, GISSAL offers a modern computing infrastructure, access to state-of-the-art data visualization tools, and the most powerful GIS, satellite remote sensing, CAD, digital mapping, database, and statistical analysis software packages.  Contract services include GIS database design and construction, digital cartographic support and production (including web-servable interactive maps), and customized GIS workshops and software training. 

GISSAL continues to reinvest its own funds (e.g., grant dollars, sponsored research overhead, and service invoices) to improve and expand GIS services for students and faculty across the K-State campus.  Since 2000, alone, over $825,000 has been used to purchase software, computing equipment, other hardware infrastructure, and to hire professional research staff. 

People

In addition to a student staff comprised of graduate and undergraduate students, human resources include two full-time staff members from the K-State Office of Mediated Education dedicated to geodatabase/application development that is housed in GISSAL.  In addition to technical expertise, these professionals serve as the link between geographic research and IT assets (e.g., Oracle databases, ESRI Data Portal) managed by Kansas State University Computing and Networking Services.  Other non-university researchers co-located in the laboratory include a USDA APHIS funded GIS Science Fellow, an ecologist from the U.S. National Park Service, and a geodatabase specialist from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Hardware and Field Equipment

The GISSAL hardware, peripheral support environment, and field equipment includes:

Software

Software resources include: