Xuan Shi, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geology and Geography in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University , is a recipient of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) 2005 University Scholarship.

The national scholarship, valued at $5,000, is awarded to doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students who demonstrate academic and professional excellence in a field related to geospatial intelligence. Shi’s essay about his work on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Web services was peer-reviewed.

Xuan has done an amazing job and is a great representative of the kind of graduate students we have here in the Eberly College . It’s a great achievement, especially from the USGIF ,said Dr. Trevor Harris, chair of the Department of Geology and Geography and Shi’s academic advisor.

Shi will present his dissertation in April and will graduate in 2006. After graduation, he hopes to find a faculty position at a university in the United States or a position as a research scientist in order to continue his research in the field of GIS and geospatial intelligence.

The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation is a Virginia-based not-for-profit corporation. It is dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft and developing a stronger community of interest between government, industry, academic and professional organizations and individuals who share a mission focus around the development and application of geospatial intelligence data and geo-processing resources to address national security objectives. For more information on the Foundation, visit www.usgif.com .

For more information about Shi’s research or the Department of Geology and Geography, contact Shi at xshi@geo.wvu.edu , or Dr. Harris at T revor.Harris@mail.wvu.edu .