Instructor Information

Greg Thomas was in the law enforcement intelligence analysis field for the 26 years before coming to Penn State. Greg received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Public Administration from the Pennsylvania State University, and a PhD in Administration and Leadership Studies PhD from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His dissertation work focused on the role of state and local law enforcement in homeland security.

Greg is a lifetime Certified Criminal Analyst through the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts. He has published articles relating to organized crime, criminal intelligence analysis, and terrorism. In addition to teaching at Penn State, Greg has provided instruction for law enforcement intelligence analysts and was an adjunct instructor at Central Pennsylvania College, teaching criminal intelligence analysis courses.

Greg's framework for teaching this course is from an analytical perspective. He intends to show how geospatial intelligence can be used as a technique for analyzing data.

Use the following link to see some additional information about me.

I am a Professor of Practice for Geospatial Intelligence in Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the founder and lead faculty of Penn State’s Geospatial Intelligence program. Penn State’s Geospatial Intelligence program is accredited by the United State Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and part of Penn State’s award-winning portfolio of Online Geospatial Education programs (link is external) that has served over 5,000 students since 1999.

My current research focuses on determining the optimal training and educational means to improve the sensemaking of the geospatial analyst working as part of an intelligence team. Sensemaking refers to the process by which humans are able to generate explanations for data that are otherwise sparse, noisy, and uncertain.

Before joining Penn State in 1994, I retired from the United States Army where he served in a variety of infantry, engineer, and geospatial intelligence assignments and positions. I was previously an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Computer Science and an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the US Military Academy. I hold a BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy, and a MS and PhD in Geography from Penn State University.

Cheers,

Todd

As an adjunct faculty member of the Penn State University, Dutton e-Education Institute team, I currently teach this course, GEOG 594a, and GEOG 850, Location Intelligence for Business. I have also participated in three GEOG 597, Comparative Geospatial Intelligence courses examining the practice of geospatial intelligence in the US, UK, Russia, and NATO member countries.

I hold a BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy and Masters of GIS (GEOINT Option) from Penn State University. My foundation in the traditional areas of geospatial intelligence is solid with coursework and experience in geodesy, cartography, cultural and political geography, remote sensing, and progressive uses of geographic information systems. It's fun for me to see how geography, mapping visualization, and GIS problem solving have shaped my career from experience in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the pharmaceutical industry, and now as a small business owner.

The Army trained me in terrain analysis, all phases of the cartographic process, and remote sensing at the Defense Mapping School in Virginia and Inter-American Geodetic Survey in Panama. Through 20 years of pharmaceutical operations, sales, and leadership I honed my GIS skills and applied business principles to spatially related risk assessment and decision making. Outside of Penn State, I own and operate Orion Mapping, providing business insights, imagery analysis, and geospatial intelligence/location intelligence to commercial, government, and community clients.