2023 GIS Conference Scholarships Honor Longtime Employee

A composite image with a scholarship icon above a holographic earth. A man is behind the image, touching the icon with his finger.

Brian Rudolph, GISP, will always have a special place in our hearts as a member of the GeoDecisions family.

After losing him last year due to an illness, we wanted to find a long-lasting way to honor Brian and establish a strong legacy. The GeoDecisions team knows the most appropriate way to honor Brian, a respected GIS professional, is through our annual geographic information systems (GIS) conference attendance sponsorship program.

Effective spring 2023, GeoDecisions’ annual conference scholarship sponsorship program will be named the Brian Rudolph GIS Scholarship.

Brian Rudolph’s headshot. He is wearing a gray suit jacket, blue checked shirt, and blue tie.

Brian Rudolph’s dedication to the GIS profession will live on through the Brian Rudolph GIS Scholarship.

A Dedicated GIS Professional

With a degree in computer science, Brian was passionate about technology. He combined his love for nature with his excitement for science and specialized in GIS. Having served his entire professional career at GeoDecisions, Brian was instrumental in our growth and success, especially with our asset management and utilities solutions.

Brian’s enthusiasm for GIS extended beyond partnering with clients to deliver solutions into innovation. He received our President’s Innovation Award for his Electric Mapping Analysis Package, ElectriMAP®, an asset management module. ElectriMAP was a robust, easy-to-use mobile GIS solution for electric utilities built on the Esri ArcGIS platform focused on increasing public safety and reducing operating costs. Brian’s innovative approach integrated spatial information into existing data sets to enhance decision-making.

GIS Scholarships

Every spring, GeoDecisions sponsors GIS students from the following academic institutions to attend two GIS conferences – Pennsylvania GIS Conference (PAgis) and Virginia Association for Mapping and Land Information Systems (VAMLIS) GeoCon:

These scholarships support college students pursuing higher education by adding a professional development component to their education.

PAgis

As indicated by its name, PAgis is a conference for GIS professionals within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The conference's primary purpose is to bring practitioners together to share knowledge, grow networks, and elevate the geospatial community.

VAMLIS

Like PAgis, VAMLIS brings Virginia’s GIS professionals together to promote education and knowledge sharing, owner/agency education, and collaboration with other mapping/GIS organizations.

Spring 2023 Brian Rudolph GIS Scholarship Program

We are committed to helping younger generations pave the way for their GIS careers. One way to help students discover their passion for GIS is to give them opportunities to learn the latest technology advancements by attending conferences. Understanding how organizations successfully apply GIS can help ignite their passion for innovation.

We are working with Penn State, HACC, and VCU to identify deserving undergraduate students and help them forge their GIS careers. We will announce the 2023 Brian Rudolph GIS Scholarship winners in April.