Andrew Bell from the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, has won the 1Spatial sponsored AGI Student of the Year Award.
The project entitled Integrated spatial approach using GIS for Slope Risk Assessment, The Roads Service Model, was selected not only for the implementation of GI where before there was none, but also the integration and management of multiple different datasets. The model is already being used commercially by The Roads Service Northern Ireland.
Mike Sanderson, Director of Strategy commented: “1Spatial is delighted to have sponsored this award, which has gone to a highly innovative and commercially aware development which delivers real business benefit to a function which is important to most of us in everyday life.”
Andrew Bell, Award winner said: “I am honoured to be the recipient of the AGI Student of the Year Award, 2013 sponsored by 1Spatial. My personal aims for the project were for providing an example of how modern spatial analysis approaches can be used for the manipulation, assessment and visualisation of spatial data for everyday real world applications. I am delighted that the success of this project was recognised through this award.”
The system is currently being used by Roads Service Northern Ireland, Highways Structures Unit for assessing areas of greatest risk to the road network. John McRobert, Principal Highways Structure Engineer, The Roads Service Northern Ireland, called the system “technically excellent, a great development on the current excel based spreadsheet system.”
Andrew has presented his work in Canada where they have since asked him to produce an equivalent scheme for predicting and characterising landslide activity along railway transport corridors in British Columbia.