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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University will celebrate "GIS Day" on Wednesday, Nov. 16, offering area students and residents a chance to learn about the newest computerized mapping with geographic information systems.

The OSU program will join more than 2,000 other schools and organizations that will host GIS Day events in 90 countries around the world.

A special activity will be held for more than 400 local middle school students and their teachers, including live presentations, videos, a global positioning satellite "hike" across campus, and a "kid's keynote" address by Analisa Gunnell, chief cartographer at Ecotrust, on saving the salmon.

A mobile mapping truck operated by the city of Corvallis will be parked in the Memorial Union Quad for viewing and touring of its wireless mapping technologies. Several OSU graduate students will travel to local area high schools to make special presentations. And a special Saturday Academy workshop entitled "Exploring the Oregon Coast with GIS" will be conducted.

In addition, there will be poster and map galleries, open houses, vendor fairs, and live demonstrations in Richardson Hall, Wilkinson Hall, and the LaSells Stewart Center. All of these events will be open to the campus and the public, with most demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

These presentations are hosted by the OSU College of Forestry, USDA Forest Service Forest Science Laboratory, the Department of Geosciences, and the Valley Library, and will provide many opportunities to meet with OSU faculty and students working in this field.

To conclude the activities, an afternoon keynote address will be presented in Richardson Hall, Room 107, at 3 p.m., by Aaron Racicot of Ecotrust, on an innovative network for dealing with ecosystems and management issues.

"GIS Day is a global, annual event that celebrates the technology used in geography to solve problems related to the environment, health care, land use, business efficiency, education, and public safety," said Dawn Wright, a professor of geosciences and organizer of the event. "Recently, these systems were used to aid in recovery from the Sumatra tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, monitor the spread of the West Nile virus, and assist with homeland security initiatives."

Geographic information systems are increasingly used to map and monitor the oceans, from the sea surface to the seafloor, help designate marine protected areas, and track oil spills, Wright said.

More information on activities, locations, and event schedules can be obtained on the web at http://www.geo.orst.edu/gisday. The site includes a variety of maps and demonstrations of GIS technology.