Timothy L. Haithcoat was born in Pittsburgh, PA on March 21, 1960. He received the B.S. degree in Wildlife Biology from West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV in 1982 and received a M.S. degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO in 1987. Mr. Haithcoat is presently the Director of the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service and Program Director of the Geographic Resources Center within the Department of Geography at the University of Missouri - Columbia (UMC).
Mr. Haithcoat's research involves the integration of remote sensing and geographic information systems for solving application issues and their subsequent accuracy assessment and validation. In this research he makes use of satellite and airborne remote sensing systems for application to vegetation mapping and change detection, urban mapping, and geospatial information extraction and correction.
Mr. Haithcoat is also called upon for his expertise in integrating remote sensing and geographic information technologies. Mr. Haithcoat is one of two standing appointments to the 23 member Missouri's Geographic Information Advisory Committee, the other being the Office of Information Technology itself. He currently chairs the Information Domain covering the areas of Geospatial Information Technologies (remote sensing, GIS, GPS,), Knowledge Management, and Database Management for the State of Missouri’s Office of Information Technology as it develops the adaptive enterprise architecture for the state. Mr. Haithcoat has recently been asked to lead a similar effort for two national groups (NASCIO - National Association of State Chief Information Officers and NSGIC - National States Geographic Information Council) to create an architecture for geospatial spatial technologies that can be incorporated within an already developed National Information Technology Architecture.
Regionally, Mr. Haithcoat is the Chair of the MidAmerica GIS Consortium, an eight state regional pool of GIS expertise including state GIS coordinators, agency geospatial coordinators and specialists, as well as the private sector.
Since 1995 Mr. Haithcoat has been the Director of the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS). The MSDIS is the State of Missouri’s spatial data retrieval and archival system. It is responsible for data storage and access, standardization of both digital and tabular data, creation of the data dictionary, compilation of metadata, and statewide GIS user information networks. MSDIS operates under the guidance of the Missouri Geographic Information System Advisory Committee (MGISAC). The MSDIS does the following functions: receives, catalogs and archives databases; checks and verifies accuracy and integrity of data; maintains a database directory; maintains metadata; handles special data requests; provides download via FTP; provides conversion services; handles user inquiries; provides user support for data; provides GIS education and training; conducts application conferences and workshops; presents at user conferences or other venues; and participates in national and regional planning activities.
Since 1985 Mr. Haithcoat's position has evolved to become the Program Director and Senior Research Specialist for the Geographic Resources Center (GRC). The GRC is a multidisciplinary, applied research and teaching group involved in a broad range of activities relating to the collection, storage, management, and analysis of spatial data. His responsibilities include project design and implementation, project cost estimation, project/staff coordination, training, and system administration activities. He also supervises Research Assistants and has taught Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems I & II, and Digital Image Processing for Resource Management. While he has been with the GRC he has worked on more than 400 projects with public and private sector clients including academic units, University Extension, state agencies, federal agencies, local government, and private organizations and companies. In carrying out and administering these projects he has developed expertise in photo-interpretation, digital image analysis, GIS analysis, data base construction, spatial analysis, and scholarly research, writing and evaluation.
Mr. Haithcoat has also participated in the development of an interdisciplinary (multi-department and multi-college) remote sensing center (ICREST) whose primary focus is to develop and demonstrate remote-sensing based geospatial information products for applications that meet the needs of various federal and state government agencies. Mr. Haithcoat's research in this area focuses on the development of high-resolution geospatial information products within urban or urbanizing areas. Examples include image base maps, image control generation, urban land cover maps and change as related to population growth, semi-automated feature extraction of road networks and building structures, as well as the semi-automated geometric correction of historic or low positionally accurate vector features (roadways, buildings, pipelines, transmission lines, parcels, etc.).