Kudos: Ed Graham and GI Public Information Office

Jennifer Delamere of the Geographic Information Network of Alaska sent along these kind words.

As a faculty member at the GI, I would like to take a moment to recognize our undergraduate intern Ed Graham and thank the GI Public Information Office.

Ed is an undergraduate student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, studying geospatial sciences, but he is completing his degree remotely from his home in Fairbanks. Ed attended the Science for Alaska Kickoff at Black Spruce Brewing Company in January 2025, where he learned about the work we do at the GI. He reached out shortly afterward about interning at GINA. We welcomed him aboard, and within weeks of starting, he took on the challenging task of cataloging Alaska wildfire fuel treatment photos in a database and making these photos accessible through an online application. 

His work contributed to the SAFFR project, coordinated by Dr. Jen Schmidt at UAA’s Institute of Social and Economic Research. Ed presented his application to the Alaska fire community at the 2025 Fall Fire Review. It received such positive feedback that our Canadian colleagues are interested in undertaking a similar project. 

To recognize his achievements, Ed has just been honored by Kennesaw State faculty as the 2025 Outstanding GIS Certificate student. Great work, Ed! We are fortunate to have such talented students coming through the doors of the Elvey building.

I also want to thank the GI’s Public Information Office for hosting events like the Science for Alaska Kickoff at a local venue. Events like these showcase to our community what is possible at our local university and help to bring new students into the GI family. The GI is lucky to have such a talented team to communicate our science to the public!