Remotely-Sensed Earth-Data Visualization Tool and Technology Summit: Santa Barbara, October 27, 2009

Dear earth data visualization tool maker:
The Summit will bring together data visualization tool makers to talk about the state of the science in remote sensing visualization tool development. As new data services (SOAP, etc.), new coding environments (FLEX, etc.) and new display tools (Google Earth, etc.) emerge, it is time to look and plan ahead. The tools available today, from high-end COTS software (Matlab, IDL, ArcGIS) to Java-based tools (McIDAS, IDV), offer developers and users a broad range of capabilities. But are these capable of supporting the greater level of interactivity that users are becoming accustomed to? Is it time to move to more ubiquitous data visualization capabilities? Is there a “data PDF” on the horizon? What are the tools the should/will emerge over the next five years? What are the solutions to common data and service access problems? Are there ways to share technologies that can accelerate tool development?
The Summit will bring a dozen top earth data tool makers into an intense, one-day conversation about the future for tools and technologies. This conversation and descriptions of the makers’ tools will be collected into a book, Earth Data Visualization Tools and Technologies: State of the art and future trends, which will be published by the Earth System Research Press in early 2010. The Summit will also publish its conversations and content on the Summit site (http://nmri.org/tags/summit).
As a data visualization tool maker, we hope you will consider joining us on October 27, 2009 in Santa Barbara for this all-day Summit. There are limitations to the number of participants, and we have limited funds for travel reimbursement (and not enough for everyone). The Summit will be held at the Upham Hotel downtown. There will be a dinner gathering on the previous evening (Monday, October 26).
If you are interested in joining the Summit, please send Bruce Caron (bruce@nmri.org) an email with a description of the tool (or technology) you’ve built, and a paragraph describing why you want to participate. Also note if you require (or are not allowed to receive) travel funding. NOTE: each participant will be an author for one short chapter in the Book centered on their technology/tool. Guidelines for the content of this chapter will be provided. All content generated by the Summit will be made available to the public through a Creative Commons By Attribution license. Authors will be allowed to purchase books at the author discount. Any royalties generated by the Book will be contributed to the Foundation for Earth Science.