Geospatial Technologies in New York City's Zika Response

SPEAKER:
Dr. Michael Porter
Executive Director of Informatics,
Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
PhD, Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUNY Graduate Center

Wednesday, October 19, 2016
1:45 pm to 2:30 pm
1022 HN

Abstract: Over the past several months the New York City Department of Health has taken several steps to minimize the risk of local transmission of the Zika Virus. Geospatial technologies and spatial data analyses played an important role in those efforts. In this presentation I will discuss the application of tools and practices the New York City Department of Health used to identify high risk areas, communicate with the public, and monitor health impacts. These efforts represent two concurrent trends in geospatial technologies. First is the diversification of the tools and platforms used for storing, analyzing, and presenting spatial data, and second is the integration of these technologies into enterprise data systems.

Biography: Michael Porter is the Executive Director of Informatics in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Division of Environmental Health. In that capacity he oversees a team responsible for creating tools and infrastructure to support the acquisition, analyses, and presentation of data so that it can meaningfully inform day-to-day and emergency operations. Prior to his current position, Dr. Porter served as the Department’s Director of Data Use and Strategic Analyses and as a Senior Analyst in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response. He also has over 20 years’ experience as software engineer and architect. Dr. Porter holds a PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the CUNY Graduate Center, an MA in Geography from Hunter College, and a AB in history from Princeton University.