What is your background?
Dr. Tao Tang is a State University of New York (SUNY) Distinguished Professor in Research and Creativity. He has been teaching Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing undergraduate and graduate classes at the SUNY- Buffalo State University since January of 1998. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree with excellent GPA at the Northwest University, China. He was hired as a junior lecturer at the Northwest University of China upon graduation with BS degree. He earned his first master’s degree at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) majoring in comprehensive physical geography. After working at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources, CAS for one year as an associate researcher (assistant professor level), Dr. Tang was awarded a visiting study scholarship to study soil erosion at the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Tang completed the second master’s degree at the University of Gulph, Canada in biogeography and ecology. He pursued his Ph.D. degree in physical geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA in 1992. During his Ph.D. studies, Dr. Tang found and believed GIS technologies are the future direction of development for Earth surface-related sciences and social sciences. He took GIS classes extensively during his Ph.D. program beyond the requirements.
Since graduation from his Ph.D. in 1997, he taught GIS, Remote Sensing, and Physical Geography classes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the SUNY-Buffalo State University. Dr. Tang taught undergraduate and graduate students Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in a broad spectrum of major disciplines from Computer Science, Business Administration and Finance, Biology, Ecology, Criminal Justice, Geography, Geology, to Anthropology and Urban Planning. Dr. Tang has been a GIS expert in practice for 27 years. He is the pioneer for the LiDAR (laser scan) studies, LiDAR data integration, and for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drone remote sensing in the SUNY system.
What are the most profound changes you have seen in your field across your career?
During my about 30 years of career development, I found the following profound changes among the professional and academic disciplines. First, the swift applications of digital analysis, digital data collections, and swift electronic engineering based new equipment and methodology integration for Earth observations and data collections. Second, the swift development of new expertise between two or even more than two disciplines, such as computer science and geography and geology; or electronic engineering and remote sensing on Earth. The third is that one professional person can easily break the barrier of disciplines to engage comprehensive new approaches through studies of my interdisciplinary book, Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems Analysis Applying ArcGIS Pro.
What motivated you to write Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems Analysis Applying ArcGIS Pro?
Two main factors motivated me to write this interdisciplinary, technology-focused book: the growing integration of GIS across science and social science, and the success of my former students in applying GIS to Earth-surface research and management work. Their real-life achievements showed how GIS can help professionals advance their own studies, solve practical problems, and provide technological leadership in their fields.
Who is the primary audience for Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems Analysis Applying ArcGIS Pro?
The book is designed for two primary audiences. First, it supports readers from electronic engineering and computer science who need to apply their technical expertise to Earth-surface problems, including natural, environmental, and socio-economic systems. Second, it serves scientists and social scientists who study the Earth’s surface and want to better understand how digital and computerized methods can be used to collect, analyze, and apply spatial data to solve real-world problems.
What are the key challenges this audience faces?
The key challenges to those who have strong engineering, technology, and computer science background are how to understand the applications of engineering and computer science knowledge to solve the problems on the Earth’s surface environments and how the Earth’s surface objects and locations have been studied. To those engaging in the studies of science or social science on the Earth’s surface, the challenges are how large quantities of data can be collected, analyzed and presented in the digital format with the locations of the objects.
How does your book solve this need/challenge?
“Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems Analysis Applying ArcGIS Pro” is a comprehensive introduction that helps audiences overcome difficulties that block them to understand GIS. Professionals with strong backgrounds in computer science or engineering can focus on chapters that explain Earth surface science, mapping, and map projections. Readers from science or social science fields can focus on chapters that clarify computer science concepts and digital databases.
What have been the biggest rewards?
The biggest reward to me as the author of this book is to see that this book helps hundreds and thousands of learners to solve their problems and obtain results on their projects, both through improving theoretical understanding, and on hands-on practice.
What unique features do you think make the book stand out in the market?
The unique feature to make this introductory GIS book stand out in the market is that this is the only book in the current market presenting both theoretical and conceptual illustrations and hands-on practice applying tutorials in the ArcGIS Pro software environment. ArcGIS Pro is the flagship in GIS software market in the world. If the reader can collect or digitize data, can do the analysis of data, and can present results of the spatial analysis of the data in one type of software environment, the person can do the same activities in many other types of software environments.
What current projects are you working on?
Currently, I am mainly focused on two projects:
1. Precision irrigation and farming: Working with my graduate student, I am conducting spatial and temporal digital mapping of moisture availability in farming fields. The goal is to identify drought-prone areas and crop locations, helping farmers apply precision irrigation and precision farming practices.
2. 3D LiDAR mapping: I am also extracting three-dimensional point-cloud data collected in the field through LiDAR, or laser scanning, and converting it into virtual-reality-style 3D digital maps and models.
What problems are you trying to solve?
Always, GIS is a science to answer the questions and solve the problems where are the objects with researchers’ interests located? These answers can be obtained either in 2D (two-dimensional) environment on Earth, or in the 3D (three-dimensional) environment on Earth. Solving this type of problem is significant to most of projects that we do in engineering or science or social science.
Why is spatial thinking important to every engineer or scientist? Why is GIS a significant technological addition professional people need to acquire?
Spatial thinking is needed in our everyday life. For instance, when we drive from home to our working place, we need to have an image map or mental map in our mind to find from which street to which street, from which highway to which highway that each of us needs to drive. Many professional job duties require spatial thinking. Spatial thinking and the skills of spatial analyses that you learn from Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems Analysis Applying ArcGIS Pro will benefit you both in your job and your everyday life. It will make the person conduct his or her tasks more efficiently.
No matter what type of profession that you perform in science, engineering, or social science, GIS technology will be a significant addition in your work. You can conduct spatial analysis and present your analysis results on maps either digital or in hard copies. Importantly, you can explain why things are located on the Earth’s surface where they are located.
Where can we find you online?
My Webpage is: https://geosciences.buffalostate.edu/directory/tao-tang-phd.
My Linkin Site is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tao-tang-08032647/
My email is: tangt@buffalostate.edu