@amherst.eduAndyAndersonPhD
Academic Technology Services
Mathematical and Spatial Data Analysis, et al.
There's always a way to hack your data!
I work with faculty and students to support their use of the software applications ArcGIS, Mathematica, and Matlab, along with mapping technologies such as GPS and Google Earth, academic applications of Excel, R, SPSS, various programming languages, Unix applications, high-performance computing, and virtual reality. I also support our classroom response systems (aka clickers) and build interactive web sites when appropriate. I provide secondary support for graphics applications such as Illustrator / Inkscape, Photoshop / GIMP, and InDesign / Powerpoint, and academic use of the College Web sites and the Moodle learning management system (LMS).
I teach short courses on these technologies, I’m occasionally involved in semester courses to varying degrees, and I provide one-on-one assistance.
I am also the academic technology consultant for these academic departments and programs: Anthropology and Sociology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Biology, Black Studies, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Environmental Studies, Geology, LJST, Mathematics and Statistics, Neuroscience, Physics and Astronomy, Political Science, and Psychology.
Because of the widespread applicability of geographic information systems (GIS), I also often find myself working with faculty and students in History, American Studies, and digital humanities. In addition, I am an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts.
I have a Ph.D. in Physics, and more than thirty years experience in research, teaching, and using and supporting academic technology in higher education.
My Activities
— Teaching — Projects — Presentations — Conferences
— Faculty Projects and Student Theses for Which I've Provided Support
Teaching
Interterm 2017 Courses:
Community Service with Web-Based Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST)
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Projects
Assessing the Impact of the Inner Belt: MIT, Highways, and the Housing Market in Cambridge, Massachusetts
A research paper in the Journal of Urban History,
written with Prof. Hilary Moss and Yinan Zhang ’12.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Tutorial
Mapping Beyond Shangri-La
The Immigrant City: A Mapped-Based Augmented Reality Game
Cityscapes, An Online Discovery Tool for Urban and Cultural Studies
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Presentations
Open Educational Resources for Community Service with Web-Based Geographic Information Science and Technology
NERCOMP Professional Development Opportunity on OER: Obtaining Exceptional Results, College of the Holy Cross, February 2018
Cities, Schools, and Highways Powerpoint PDF
Institute for Social Science Research, University of Massachusetts Amherst, December 2015
Research Computing at Amherst College
Future Directions in Research Computing in the Northeast, Waltham MA, September 2015
Community Service with Web-Based Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST): Blended Pedagogies for the Twenty-First Century
Five College Blended Learning Institute, Amherst College, May 2015
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Conferences
Co-organizer, Amherst Student Summer Research Poster Session, September 2015
Co-organizer, NEArc Spring Conference, May 2015
Co-organizer, Amherst Explorations: A Celebration of Student Research and Creative Work, April 2015
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Faculty Projects for Which I've Provided Support
Professor Robert Benedetto
Article: “Small Dynamical Heights for Quadratic Polynomials and Rational Functions”
Professor Ronald Rosbottom
Map of Hitler’s Tour of Paris for the book: When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation, 1940–1944
News: “Rosbottom Reflects on the Success of ‘When Paris Went Dark’”
Professor Larry Hunter
Article: “Using the Earth as a Polarized Electron Source to Search for Long-Range Spin-Spin Interactions”
News: “Physicist’s Work Sheds New Light on Possible ‘Fifth Force of Nature’”
Professor George Greenstein
Web Site: Interesting Problems for Astronomy 101 or 102
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Student Projects for Which I've Provided Support
Economics Major Fabián Rivera Reyes ’19
Thesis: “The Economic Effects of Insurrectionary Activity”
Neuroscience Major Christianna Mariano ’21
News: “The Sound of Science”
Economics Major Alvaro Morales ’14
Thesis: “The Effect of Civil Conflict on Child Abuse: Evidence from Peru”
History Major Larissa Davis ’13
News: “A Staunch Advocate for a Better Amherst College”
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