USGIF and the International Spy Museum Collaborate to Educate on GEOINT

February 16, 2011

On Tuesday, Feb. 15, USGIF and the International Spy Museum presented “An Introduction to Geospatial Intelligence” to 80 attendees looking to learn about GEOINT. USGIF President and former member of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Keith J. Masback, moderated the panel. Panelists included Al League, senior advisor for knowledge at TASC; Dr. Chris Tucker, USGIF board member and principal at Yale House Ventures; and Dr. R. Maxwell Baber, USGIF Director of Academic Programs.

With the assistance of these experts in the field, Masback gave an overview and a history of geospatial intelligence, from the earliest known map through to today. This conversation included insights into the benefits and perils of today’s ‘hyper-availability’ of location information, and the near ubiquity of GPS in everyday life. Additionally, there was an exploration of some of the technical achievements in GEOINT history, highlighting the role of the Intelligence Community in the creation of Google Earth. The audience was also introduced to the idea of human geography, and the critical role this emergent discipline plays in today’s population-centric counterinsurgency operations abroad from Dr. Tucker.

The panel concluded with a discussion on exciting current applications and explained how data collected by high resolution electronic sensors on satellites, remotely piloted aircraft and ground vehicles is interpreted by analysts using sophisticated automated systems.