GTRI researcher travels to Thailand to establish ties, address mapping needs

Nickolas Faust is still a little jetlagged.

After arriving back in Atlanta this week from a nine-day mission to Thailand, Faust is just now getting a chance to sit down, analyze and reflect on his trip - as well as get over the 12-hour time difference.

Faust, a research scientist with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, is also the vice president of the International Center for Remote Sensing Education (ICRSE), a non-profit organization that works to deliver geographic information to the professional workforce and society at large.

Faust and ICRSE's president, Tim Foresman, visited Thailand from January 8-17 in an spur-of-the-moment volunteer effort.

Their goal was to provide mapping resources that would help aid in the disaster relief and also in longer-term planning.

" It was just something we thought we had to do, " Faust said.

" We essentially bought airline tickets in about two to three days and...flew over to Bangkok, " he said. " I basically paid for my airfare myself. "

The two visited various parts of Thailand, including Phuket and Phi Phi island, which are both heavy tourist areas.

In the short time they were there, they worked to assess the needs of the region in terms of geographic information, and more importantly, establish relationships with organizations working in the area.

" We weren't really making maps while we were over there, " Faust said. " What we're trying to do is really a coordination role - do what we can to get people to talk to each other, trade data and set up. "

Faust, who is the associate director of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Center at Tech, specializes in using satellite imagery to update maps. Using new imaging technology, maps can now be made with a resolution of one meter, allowing for incredibly detailed maps that allow the viewer to see individual buildings - and the damage they may have sustained.

This, Faust said, is exactly what is needed in the tsunami-devastation region.

" This is a perfect case where before-and-after imagery can help you do an assessment of what's going on over there, " he said.

He added that mapping is a tool that can be used in many other applications, including city planning and environmental assessment.

In Thailand's case, for example, " Most of the need [was for] good, accurate maps to plan for reconstruction...and to look ahead into the future [so as] not to make the same mistakes, " he said.

Their work also tied into a United Nations effort to establish a network for tsunami warnings, such as the warning system that currently exists in Hawaii and allows residents hours notice in the case of a tsunami. " Nothing like that exists in the Indian Ocean area, " Faust said.

Much of the nine-day trip was spent meeting with organizations to coordinate future relief efforts.Their main partnership was with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), with whom the group already had contacts.

" We decided...that the best way to try to get mapping help for the relief agencies and the other people who were trying to assess damage was to...foster AIT to be a central resource for people who needed maps over the effective area, " Faust said.

He and Foresman worked to establish relationships with AIT officials, install mapping software at AIT, and assess IT infrastructure. They also met with various aid agencies, such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Many of these meetings were arranged " on the fly, " and much of their effort in Thailand depended on a network of personal connections.

For example, Foresman used to work with UNEP, and already had many contacts there. One of the people they worked with at AIT was a Sri Lankan, and had many connections in that nation. In addition, many AIT graduates moved on to work in aid agencies, and the university was already serving as a base for many of the immediate relief organizations that were in Thailand.

According to Faust, many organizations they spoke to were very receptive to working with them. " Some agencies had people in the field and had no maps at all, " Faust said.

There was also collaboration back home in the U.S. For example, Leica Geosystems, an Atlanta-based company, provided free mapping software for Faust and Foresman to take to Thailand.

And though Faust's volunteer work is through his nonprofit organization rather than GTRI, he acknowledged the support from the Tech community.

" There are a lot of people around Georgia Tech - especially in the GIS Center - that are calling me up or sending emails saying,' How can I help?' " Faust said.

However, Faust said ICRSE's efforts will take place over the next year or so, during the rebuilding stage of the disaster relief.

Therefore, though he is seeking funding, he acknowledges that much of money being poured into relief, such as the Tech Tsunami Relief effort, need to go to immediate aid such as food and housing.

This was evident in their travels around Thailand. Many areas Faust visited were nearing the end of the cleanup stage, much of the debris having been bulldozed clear.

In other areas, though, the devastation was still great.

Faust showed me a brochure he had brought back with him. On the front was a picture that looked like something out of a travel magazine: a quaint island resort, set to a backdrop of sand, palm trees and blue sky.

Then he showed me a photograph that he had taken of the same location. This time, there were two women in the foreground, and sand, palm trees and debris in the background. There was no resort to be seen.

" We talked to [the] lady who owned the resort, " Faust said, pointing to one of the women. " Her father was killed, and a number of people who worked with her. "

He also witnessed a memorial service for Australians who had been killed.

" The last day we were in Phuket... I was out running on the beach and just happened to come across it, " he said. " It was really a moving ceremony. "

Faust also has photos of shrines set up along the beaches.

" Buddhist monks were in a lot of different places trying to help people come to grips with what was going on, " he said.

And he also has more sobering photos: one of a stuffed animal, another of a lone tennis shoe, both washed up on the sand.

" It was amazing, especially since a third of the people [who died] were children, " Faust said. " We found things on the beach like baby shoes and teddy bears that were really just...hard to imagine. "