| Description |
CIESIN’s mission is to provide access to and enhance the use of information worldwide, advancing understanding of human interactions in the environment and serving the needs of science and public and private decision making. The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) was established in 1989 as an independent non-governmental organization to provide information that would help scientists, decision-makers, and the public better understand the changing relationship between human beings and the environment. In 1998, CIESIN became a center within the Columbia University Earth Institute. From its offices at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory campus in Palisades, New York, CIESIN continues to focus on applying state-of-the-art information technology to pressing interdisciplinary data, information, and research problems related to human interactions in the environment.CIESIN has a diverse and multi-disciplinary staff, including experts in: Computer science, Information and library sciences, Demography and public health, Political science and international affairs, History, Urban affairs, Natural resource management and ecology.
CIESIN was one of the first organizations involved in developing and providing interactive data access and mapping tools via the Internet. Given the great diversity of scientific data and information resources now available, CIESIN continues to implement innovative approaches to data identification, access, visualization, and analysis across distributed data systems. This includes efforts to develop global and regional information systems, create innovative decision-support tools, and provide training and technical support services. |
United States