Grand Challenges for GIS and What's Really Relevant to Social Science

Abstract

The High Performance Computing Act of 1991 provided several hundred millions of dollars in funding for "Grand Challenge" problems in science. None of the examples of Grand Challenge problems cited in the legislation are from social science and none mention geographic information systems (GIS) specifically, despite the fact that some of the examples involve spatial data analysis of environmental issues. This paper speculates on the reasons for this paradox by discussing the shortcomings of GIS for spatial data analysis and the corresponding enhancements needed. It is suggested that the best chances for funding under the Grand Challenge banner for GIS in social science applications include (1) improving access to large, archival databases; (2) developing and using interactive statistical analysis and numerically-intensive techniques; and (3) providing real time decision support in transportation-related problems (where time is a critical factor in the decision). Keywords: Geographic information systems, high-performance computing, Grand Challenges, spatial data analysis.

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References

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