Facilities
Arts and sciences
Western Michigan University's College of Arts and Sciences provides technical support to several teaching labs, including the Geographic Information Science and remote sensing labs in geography and geosciences.
Earth science remote sensing
WMU's Earth Sciences Remote Sensing Facility is fully equipped to conduct advanced research in arid land hydrology and aquatic remote sensing. The facility also maintains an L band receiver for acquiring satellite imagery.
Geography
The Department of Geography, Environment, and Tourism is the main point of contact for GIS software and technical support at WMU. The department administers WMU's site license for ESRI software products. Two dedicated 20-seat computer labs are devoted to teaching GIS, remote sensing, surveying, and spatial analysis classes. Each is equipped with current Windows computers running Arc/INFO, ENVI, and SPSS. Five seats of Definiens Professional object oriented image analysis software can also be accessed in the labs.
The department also maintains a complete suite of surveying equipment including:
- Topcon total stations and an automatic level
- Four Topcon GRS-1 dual frequency GNSS receivers
- Six Trimble Pathfinder Pro XR GPS receivers
Geosciences
The Department of Geosciences maintains the University's ENVI site license. A 20-seat Windows lab equipped with ArcGIS, ENVI, and Surfer supports the Geographic Information Science courses in the geosciences curriculum.
Information technology
The Office of Information Technology maintains the server for WMU's ESRI site license.
Upjohn Center
The W.E. Upjohn Center's ultimate imaging technology is unique. It is the only facility worldwide expressly designed to non-destructively image rare and delicate maps, atlases and aerial photographs from the pre-digital age.