Join professor of geography, Dr. Fritz Kessler, of Penn State University’s Geography Department, for a lecture about mapping technology and its use in combat - strategically and tactically. Dr. Kessler will draw on examples such as GIS, cartography, remote sensing, GPS, and coordinate systems. The use of such technologies in planning troop landings (amphibious and land), and how their use is critical to mission success.

Dr. Kessler is a Teaching Professor with Penn State in the Geography Department. His PhD is from the University of Kansas, master's degree is from Penn State, and bachelor's degree is from Ohio University. All degrees specialized in cartography. His dissertation examined the U-boat menace during World War II. His teaching interests include cartography, coordinate systems, and spatial statistics. His research focuses on history of thematic cartography, map projections, geometric and geopotential datums, and data exploration. He has published in numerous refereed academic journals and coauthored two books on various cartographic topics. He is past President of the North American Cartographic Information Society and a former board member to the Cartography and Geographic Information Society. He also worked as a cartographer for Ohio University’s Cartographic Center, the USGS' Water Resource Division, Intergraph Corporation, R. R. Donnelley and Sons, and the University of Kansas’ T. R. Smith Map Library.

Lecture us free and open to the public, and will take place in the site theater. Donations appreciated.