Geospatial Excellence: STL has been Geo-Special for a very long time…

You can't make an impact if you don't use your voice, so here goes mine in blog form for the very first time......

Typical Blog Disclaimer: All of the concepts, thoughts, and opinions in this blog are my own, and do not necessarily reflect my company or the clients I support. I’m not a writer but instead a Marine Vet and didn’t use crayons when writing this…You’ve been warned!

I’ll admit, I’m disappointed that St. Louis is only now getting national attention for being the “world leader in creating technology that sees the world”¹.  I’m a bit biased (and no offense to anyone that thinks geospatial is new news here), but St Louis has been a geospatial center of excellence for a very long time now.  It’s why I moved here following my Honorable Discharge from the Marine Corps (yes, that’s a humble brag) in 2002.  I've spent almost half of my life working as a geospatial professional, and all but 4 of those years were right here in St. Louis. The increased attention is - due in large part - to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)² building their new second headquarters facility, and the economic development opportunities that will come as a result of it.  But there is so much rich geospatial history in the region that is hiding in plain sight, and I am disappointed that no one has stood up to share the broader story of the geospatial history in St Louis.  So I am here to set the record straight and shine some light on the other geospatial contributors in the region that improve and enhance everyday life for the masses and do so hiding in  plain sight.

In 2016, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency under the direction of Robert Cardillo announced their decision to upgrade their St. Louis based operations by building a new $1.75B dollar facility just north of downtown St. Louis.  At that point I had lived and worked in St. Louis for just over 14 years and one thing in St. Louis was consistent…people asking, what do you do and where do you do it? What is Geospatial and what is NGA?  Some would quickly respond, “oh, the mapping place across from the brewery” and others thought I was speaking in tongues.  My OG’s (or original GEOINT’ers³) will appreciate the challenge that comes with explaining what it is that  we do, and that I got so tired of trying to explain it over the years that I  just started telling everyone that I'm an astronaut.  In my mind, there were three events that made geospatial a real and relevant industry to non-geo people in the St. Louis region.  First, it was Cardillo’s decision to upgrade NGA facilities in St. Louis.  Next, a 60 Minutes piece on Planet Labs and NGA in January of 2019.  Finally, a September 2020 CBS This Morning piece with (then NGA Director) Vice Admiral Bob Sharp about how NGA’s team of model builders played a critical role in the discovery of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.  It was then that people really started to understand what NGA is,  how important geospatial science really is, and how St. Louis could be the place where geospatial companies, innovators, startups and tech talent come together to thrive.  I’m excited about the increased interest in the geospatial industry, and I’m thankful to NGA for their commitment to working with, working in, and developing unclassified initiatives like Moonshot Labs, the Education Partnership Agreement (EPA) with The University of Missouri - St.Louis, and the Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) with T-REX . I’m thankful to T-REX for leading the charge and developing the Geospatial Innovation Center, and to their partners in the Downtown North Insight District, the Globe Building and The Post Dispatch Building for their commitment to empower and enrich lives, solve problems and keep America safe.  I’m thankful for the Taylor Family⁴, the creation of the Taylor Geospatial Institute,  and for their continued support and generous contributions to Greater St. Louis Inc, GeoFutures, and the commitment to geospatial as a focus area for economic development.  All of these initiatives are amazing and will make powerful impacts in the region.  As a career geospatial professional, I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank some of the people and organizations that got us here.  

Hiding in Plain Sight…

This history dates back to August of 1952 when St. Louis became home to the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC), a precursor to NGA. Many have known NGA as that “mapping place across from the brewery”⁵, but few have ever truly understood the impact St. Louis has on geospatial missions across the globe and beyond. Mapping the moon for NASA and Apollo astronauts, safety of navigation for Aeronautical and Maritime operations, precision targeting and global positioning systems (GPS), combat support to military operations, and disaster response and humanitarian mission support, are all examples of St. Louis leading the charge in advanced geospatial science.

NGA St. Louis makes regional, national and global impacts, and it is responsible for only a fraction - albeit a critically important fraction - of the geospatial excellence and thought leadership coming out of St. Louis.  Look no further than the University of Missouri in Columbia (125 miles from downtown St. Louis)  where you can find Dr. Curt Davis a founding member and current director of MU’s Center for Geospatial Intelligence,  an interdisciplinary center that focuses on geospatial intelligence needs critical for national security, homeland defense and military combat support. Since 2004, he and his team have done extraordinary research focused on geospatial sciences and geospatial technologies for the Department of Defense and federal civilian agencies.  

Drive 90 minus south-ish to Rolla, Missouri (105 miles from downtown St. Louis) and you will find the The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) who provides leadership and world-class technical expertise in the acquisition and management of trusted geospatial data, services, and map products for the Nation. NGTOC supports The National Map as part of the National Geospatial Program (NGP).

Drive another 45 minutes southwest to Fort Leonard Wood Missouri (140 miles from downtown St. Louis) and you will find yourself smack dab in the middle of geospatial at the Army’s TRADOC (Training And Doctrine) Proponent Geospatial. The TPO-GEO performs as the Army's centralized manager for coordination, integration, and synchronization of all Army geospatial information, digital terrain data and geospatial service requirements for capability development, force development, training, experimentation, and modeling and simulation.

Head back through St. Louis and and across the Mississippi River to Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County Illinois (25 miles from downtown St. Louis) and you will find the home of the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Air Mobility Command (AMC), and the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) who couldn’t execute their missions without a commitment to the use of geospatial technologies and tradecraft.

These are just some of the many examples that the region could point to, and there are countless examples of geospatial excellence from industries like agriculture, environmental management, and public health.  I would be remiss if I didn’t also highlight the great contributions of the Federal Systems Integrator (FSI) community and the many technology companies producing the sensors, software, and solutions required to make geospatial ordinary and easy consumable by all.  

It takes a Village…

St. Louis has truly established itself as a geospatial region of excellence, with the incredible impact of geospatial technology and innovation not only on the city but on the world at large. From supporting national defense, to enhancing emergency response, geospatial technology has proven to be a game-changer, making it an exciting time to be a part of this community and witness the commitment to pushing boundaries and achieving greatness.  The positive impacts of the STL community and  the geospatial community on my life are immeasurable, and that’s ONLY because I engaged, embraced, and learned from the very best to ever do it.  You can’t fake ‘Geo’ and you can’t do it alone. It takes a village. Reach out if you want to learn more, get connected, and make a difference! Maybe we can catch a Cardinals  game and enjoy a cold beer, because we are a center of excellence for that too!

1. The GeoFutures Strategic Roadmap lays out a detailed pathway by which St. Louis can strengthen its position as the geospatial center of excellence over the next 10 years. The roadmap notes that St. Louis could gain a competitive advantage in geospatial technologies by focusing on four industry sectors: national security; digital/precision agriculture; transportation and logistics; and health care delivery.

2. NGA is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence in support of national security.

3. Geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT for short, is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. GEOINT consists of imagery, imagery intelligence and geospatial information.

4. The Taylor family patriarch, Jack Taylor founded Enterprise in 1957 after serving in WWII naming the family business after the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise upon which he had served. The St. Louis based company, with Jack Taylor’s granddaughter Chrissy at the helm as CEO, has 80,000 employees in nearly 100 countries and territories. The Taylor family is well known for its tremendous civic engagement and generous philanthropic activities. Most notably recently as the ownership of the St. Louis City Soccer Club, the first majority female-owned club in MLS history and one of the few in professional sports globally.

5. There is a second NGA facility in the area located in Arnold, MO.