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ERDAS Signs Statewide Licensing Deal with MississippiATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA, 19 November 1999 -ERDAS, Inc. has signed a statewide software licensing agreement that gives university students and faculty in Mississippi unlimited use of ERDAS IMAGINEŽ geographic imaging software products.The statewide licensing arrangement is funded by the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative (MSCI), a program developed jointly by NASA and the state to make Mississippi a national focal point of the commercial remote sensing industry. The Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning signed the agreement on behalf of eight public universities and 15 community colleges. "We are thrilled that Mississippi selected ERDAS for inclusion in this educational initiative," said ERDAS Vice President Bruce Q. Rado. "Unlimited access to ERDAS IMAGINE software will benefit Mississippi students in many different academic programs." Under the agreement, a total of nine campuses in the Mississippi public university system plus the 15 junior colleges will be equipped with the entire suite of ERDAS IMAGINE software. Installation of software is in progress at the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of Southern Mississippi and Jackson State. The only significant limitation placed on the licensing arrangement is the restriction of ERDAS product use to educational and academic research. No student or faculty member may use the software in commercial projects. "This software licensing program is critical to the research, development and training mission of the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative and to higher education in the state," said Dr. Frank Howell, a professor of sociology and research scientist at Mississippi State University. Howell is the administrator of the system-wide software licensing program on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Institutes of Higher Learning. He and a team of other MSCI coordinators created a unique deployment-and-compliance plan for this effort which is managed through the website, www.msci.msstate.edu, at Mississippi State. Unlimited access to ERDAS IMAGINE is expected to significantly increase the number of remote sensing, spatial data and GIS courses taught in the state. Currently, GIS classes are offered at 20 of the 22 university campuses, but remote sensing is only taught at five. "More than one thousand students will benefit in the first year of the licensing arrangement...with many more in the future as new teaching materials are developed with ERDAS software," said Dr. Allan Falconer, Executive Director of MSCI and a Professor of Geomatics at the University of Mississippi. Falconer added that remote sensing and geospatial research in the state would accelerate thanks to the software deal. Research professors and their students will no longer have to spend long hours applying for grants to purchase image processing software every time they initiate a new research project. "Mississippi students will be ahead of the curve in remote sensing technology," said Falconer, "and this will benefit the whole state because if we are going to build a commercial remote sensing industry in Mississippi, we need qualified people to do it." The state of Mississippi has other notable advantages in the race to become a preeminent player in the remote sensing industry. The John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County is home to NASA's Commercial Remote Sensing Program, which provides the critical link between government remote sensing research and the commercial business community. In addition, Space Imaging Inc. - an MSCI partner with headquarters in Colorado - recently launched the world's first one-meter imaging satellite. "The stars are lining up for the beginning of what we call the Imagery Information Age, and Mississippi is positioned to play a key role in this new era," said ERDAS' Rado. To celebrate the new statewide program, ERDAS sponsored a geographic imaging seminar and reception at the John C. Stennis Space Center, on Nov. 19, 1999, in conjunction with World GIS Day. www.erdas.com
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