The employees of GeoEye and our partners take pride in being proactive leaders in the geospatial technology sector.  We believe we have an obligation and social responsibility to help others utilize our products for mapping, monitoring and measuring the Earth and our changing environment. Satellite imagery, after all, is directly tied to the Earth. We also know that we can help those who are learning about geospatial technologies at the university level to be more prepared to enter the workforce.  Finally, we know that satellite imagery may be helpful for non-governmental organizations that need imagery in support of disaster relief and humanitarian support.   

For these reasons, in March 2007 GeoEye formed the GeoEye Foundation, a Virginia-based 501(c)(3) non-profit, to provide archive satellite imagery to universities and non-governmental organizations. (http://geoeye.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=18). A Foundation Employee Advisory Committee (FEAC), consisting of employees from different departments of the company, reviews all applications for an imagery award grant. The company Foundation grants data to support student and faculty research projects over specific areas of the Earth. Imagery awards are normally for an area that covers a few hundred square kilometers and not large areas of the Earth’s surface.

Mission

The GeoEye Foundation is a not-for-profit philanthropic organization headquartered in Dulles, Virginia. The GeoEye Foundation’s mission is to foster the growth of the next generation of geospatial technology professionals. The Foundation provides satellite imagery to students and faculty at select educational institutions to advance research in geographic information systems and environmental studies. The Foundation also offers select imagery to support non-governmental institutions in their missions of humanitarian support and environmental research.

Vision

The Vision of the GeoEye foundation is a new generation of innovative and diverse users who apply geospatial technology to meet local, national and global challenges.

Application Criteria

The Foundation considers each application on a case-by-case basis.  Applicants will be awarded a limited amount of archive imagery (a few hundred square kilometers) at no cost, provided they meet the following criteria:

• Applicants may be enrolled as a student or a faculty member at an accredited university level educational institution/organization.  If a student, the applicant must be an active participant in an accredited research program.  The applicant’s area of study/research must be provided, as well as faculty advisor contact information.
  
  
• Or, special considerations will also be made to analysts or researchers at non-governmental organizations who may be conducting research to benefit humanitarian or environmental efforts. (The Foundation has a particular interest in how Climate Change may be impacting the Earth’s surface.)
  
  
• Applicants must agree to provide feedback in the form of an article, thesis or white paper.
  
  
• The award data may not be used commercially or shared with anyone who might use it commercially.

Application Process

To simplify and expedite the process, award candidates should use GeoEye’s ImageSearch tool (http://imagesearch.geoeye.com) to identify desired IKONOS or OrbView-3 image scenes.  Once the desired scenes are identified, candidates must fill out the Image Request Form, and e-mail it to Kerri-Ann Rose (rose.kerri@geoeye.com), GeoEye Foundation Program Manager or to info@geoeyefoundation.org.  After a feasibility analysis, all requests are submitted to an internal Foundation Employee Advisory Committee which reviews all requests and makes any imagery award determinations.  This process normally takes 7 business days to complete.

Notification and Delivery

All applicants will be notified via email, no later than 10 business days after an award has been successfully granted or denied.  Once an award has been granted, the recipient’s data will be ordered, processed and shipped by the Foundation’s Program Manager according to the recipient’s delivery specifications and date of project completion.  Every attempt will be made to complete the award process before the requested deadline. 

Awards Granted (as of April 1, 2008, in alphabetical order)

Institution	Area of Research/Study
Arizona State University	National Security/Intelligence
Duke University	Biodiversity, Land Cover
George Washington University	Population Growth, Disaster Response/Recovery, Risk Management
Georgia Tech	Environmental Studies, Forestry, Biodiversity, Land Cover (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in cooperation with Satellite Imaging Corporation (SIC)
Indian Institute of Science	Population, Urban Planning, Natural Resource Management
Institute of Research and Development, Bondy France	Environmental Studies, Population, Urban Planning, Land Cover
International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering	Environmental/EcoSystems Studies
International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation	Urban Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Transportation, Urban Planning
Metro State College	Environmental Studies, Forestry, Biodiversity, Land Cover, GIS
Mountain Studies Institute	Environmental Studies
Ohio State University	Environmental, Coastal Studies, Disaster Response
Oklahoma State University	Agriculture, Climate Change, Environmental, Land Cover, Invasive Species
Planetary Coral Reef Foundation	Environmental, Coastal, Marine Biology
San Diego State University	Fire, Forestry, Land Cover
Texas A&M	Environmental, Population, Natural Resource Management, Biodiversity, Land Cover, Urban Planning
University of Alaska, Juneau	Climate Change, Ice and Glacier Research
University of Arkansas	Environmental Studies, Population, Natural Resource Management, Coastal Studies, Urban Planning
University of Bonn, Germany	Climate Change, Forestry, Biodiversity, Land Cover
University of California at Berkeley	Climate Change, Forestry, Environmental, Land Cover
University of Denver	Community Development, Cultural Heritage Management
University of Maryland	Environmental studies, Forestry, Land Cover
University of Minnesota	Environmental, Biodiversity, conservation
University of North Carolina at Wilmington	Environmental and Coastal Studies
University of South Carolina	Health, Population, Disaster Response/Recovery
Victoria University, Melbourne Australia	Climate Change, Water and Natural Resource Management, Biodiversity, Bathymetry
Yale University	Archaeology