11/2/2005 - A group of CGI members attended the GeoINT 2005 Symposium held in San Antonion from Oct 30 - Nov 2. Those participating were Dr. Curt Davis, CGI Director, Dr. James Keller, Dr. Shi-Ren Shyu, Mr. Matt Klaric, and Mr. Grant Scott. The GeoINT Symposium had over 1,800 participants and featured an outstanding list of keynote speakers including Gen. Michael V. Hayden, U.S. Air Force, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, former CIA director James Woolsey, and Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper, Jr. (USAFRet.), Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). In addition, the CGI also hosted an exhibit booth (pictures below) where current CGI research activities were highlighted. Notably, the CGI was again this year the ONLY academic institution among more than 120 GeoINT exhibitors, which were largely comprised of industry sponsors. CGI members had an outstanding time and the CGI received numerous inquiries related to partnership opportunities with key industry participants. Because of the great success, the CGI has already committed to participating in the GeoINT 2006 Symposium next year. We hope to see you there!

10/15/2005 - In January, 2005, the MU College of Engineering allocated ~6,500 sq. ft. unused/unfinished "shell" space to house CGI facilities. The CGI announced today a $1.6M construction project to partition this space into specialized laboratories for the processing and exploitation of geospatial information for a wide variety of intelligence and military applications. Once completed, the occupied useable space will be ~4,800 sq. ft.

Phase I construction was recently completed (see pictures below) for a cost of $0.4M to bring the space up to present ADA and fire code standards. An additional $1.2M was just committed by the College of Engineering for Phase II that will construct individual labs and offices along with supporting infrastructure (HVAC, electrical, internet, security, etc.). The estimated timeframe for completion is August, 2006. Once completed, these facilities will be unique amongst academic institutions in the Midwest. Dr. Davis, CGI Director, said that "the specialized facilities will enable the CGI to better support NGA and DoD missions while, at the same time, provide important opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to work on relevant geospatial intelligence problems." MU CoE Dean James Thompson said that "this represents a major committment by the College of Engineering that we believe will uniquely position the CGI to work on problems highly relevant to our nation's security."

5/24/2005 - Today the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) announced the selection of its Geospatial Intelligence (GI) Academy Panel. The panel is comprised of 16 members: 5 from academia, 6 from government (NGA, CIA, and USAF), and 5 from industry. Dr. Curt Davis, CGI Director, was selected as one of the five academic members of the GI Academy panel.

The USGIF vision is to build an accredited institution to support the professional education needs of the geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) tradecraft and thereby assure its continuance as a critical part of our country’s homeland and national security. The goal of the panel is to establish curriculum guidelines, and accreditation standards and processes for geospatial intelligence academic courses and certificate programs.

"GEOINT is fortunate to have such a group of distinguished experts looking after the tradecraft’s long-term vitality," said K. Stuart Shea, chairman of the board of directors, USGIF. "Their participation is commendable as it reflects vision, commitment, and an honorable desire to serve."

3/14/2005 - Dr. Curt Davis, CGI Director, delivered a keynote speech today at the 3rd International Symnposium on Remote Sensing over Urban Areas (URBAN 2005). The symposium is sponsored by ISPRS and is being hosted by Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ from March 14-16. Dr. Davis's keynote speech was entitled "$ecrets for $ale: The Role of Commercial Satellite Imagery in National Security." In his speech, Dr. Davis traced the evolution of the U.S. civilian satellite remote sensing industry from the 1980's to present day. In the last 5 years, the role of commercial satellite imagery for national and homeland security applications has increased dramatically. Recently, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded two separate $500M contracts to DigitalGlobe and OrbImage for next generation U.S. commercial satellites with specifications designed to increase the utility of these satellites for national security applications. In his speech, Dr. Davis discussed the reasons behind the rapid transformation of the commercial satellite industry for meeting national security needs.

2/25/2005 - Today, Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) visited the NGA facility located in St. Louis, MO (photos below). The NGA STL facility is the only major DoD intelligence facility outside the Washington, DC area. While the precise numbers are classified, the NGA STL facility employees thousands of government workers and even more contract personnel. This has a major economic impact on the State of Missouri. Senator Bond presently serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). The SSCI provides oversight of, and authorizes the budget for, the U.S. intelligence community which includes the CIA, NGA, NSA, NRO, etc. In addition, Senator Bond also serves on the Defense Appropriations Sub-Committee which appropriates the funds for these agencies.

This was Senator Bond’s first visit to the NGA STL facility. During the visit, he toured the facilities and received a variety of classified briefings describing the geospatial intelligence analysis and production work done in STL. NGA’s support of deployed military personnel throughout the world had personal meaning for Senator Bond since his son deployed to Iraq only a few days ago with a Marine Intelligence unit. Senator Bond was extremely impressed with the extensive capabilities demonstrated by NGA STL and believes this is an important asset to the State of Missouri. Senator Bond also expressed his strong support for the UMC Center for Geospatial Intelligence to senior NGA STL executives. “I am committed to supporting the relationship between NGA and MU’s Center for Geospatial Intelligence” said Bond.

Senator Kit Bond is welcomed to NGA STL by Ms. Bobbi Lenczowski, Senior West Executive


Senator Kit Bond receives classified briefing at NGA STL. Also shown are Matt Pollard (center), Professional Staff Member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Mike Dubois (right), Bond Military Affairs Legislative Assistant