Research and Projects

Did you know that Allegheny’s Robertson Field Complex features more than five miles of trails winding through scenic forest and rolling hills? In the summer of 2024, major improvements were made, not only expanding the trail system but also widening and resurfacing key sections in preparation for a brand-new cross country course. Using high-accuracy GPS receivers, each trail was carefully mapped and documented with details on width and surface material. This comprehensive database played a central role in designing the new 6k and 8k courses, ensuring full compliance with NCAA regulations. Detailed course maps, showing direction of travel, lap structure, start/finish areas, kilometer and mile markers, and parking locations, were created using GIS software and will be shared with teams and runners ahead of each meet. You can view a sample map by clicking here. 

Over a five-year span, the City of Meadville lost more than 100 trees due to Emerald Ash Borer infestation, tree aging, and storm damage—an impact that significantly affected the health and well-being of the community. In response, the city partnered with the Meadville Shade Tree Commission and the Meadville Community Revitalization Corporation to launch an initiative focused on evaluating current tree conditions and creating a strategic replanting plan. The effort supports a wide range of environmental improvements, including enhanced air and water quality, reduced stormwater runoff, lower urban temperatures, and increased climate resilience.

The mapping component of the project was a collaborative effort. To enable efficient digital data collection, Taryn Laplatney ’26, a Geospatial Intern with the Watershed Conservation Research Center, created a geodatabase in ArcGIS Pro modeled after an existing tree inventory datasheet. This data was then published to ArcGIS Online to support field data collection using ArcGIS Field Maps on a mobile device, paired with a Geode high-accuracy GPS receiver. Working alongside Alice and Scott Sjolander, Patrick Sharp ’26 collected and recorded the location and characteristics of 280 trees across Bicentennial Park, Diamond Park, Huidekoper Park, and Chestnut Street. The data will be used to update a tree survey originally conducted by Davey Tree over 20 years ago and will inform future decisions on tree placement throughout the city.

As part of a larger project focused on simulating household energy burden in Pennsylvania, a smaller component involved using GIS map overlay tools to estimate the population living within Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) by electric utility territories. The process began with collecting population data from the U.S. Census Bureau at the census tract level. Next, boundaries for both PUMAs and electric utility service areas were overlaid in GIS. By calculating the land area of each newly formed region (such as where PUMA 01 overlaps with Penelec), researchers compared it to the original census tract areas. These area proportions were then used to estimate the number of people living in each new PUMA/utility region. For example, if a new region includes 70% of census tract A (10,000 people), 20% of tract B (5,000), and 10% of tract C (2,500), the estimated population would be approximately 8,250. While this method provides a useful approximation, it's important to note that population is not evenly distributed within tracts—it may be clustered or scattered. A similar analysis was also conducted using natural gas service territories.