Thomas Edward Carter

I am currently working on a degree in Geographic Information Sciences at UMD. I am mainly interested in the social aspects of GIS as they pertain to crime mapping, military analysis and defense applications. Due to my previous military experience, I understand the importance of remote sensing technologies and advanced mapping software in the pursuit of national defense. While learning about different GIS software, applications and technologies at UMD, I'm interested in understanding the path of geographic information from the analysts using these technologies to influence high-level decision makers in the government.

I'm originally from Glen Burnie, Maryland, and before attending UMD, I was in the U.S. Navy for 6 years, where I served as an Arabic linguist. During my time as an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, I was able to work in many different countries (Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Italy, Greece and Turkey), experience different cultures and witness the defense applications of GIS. In 2010, I was deployed to Iraq as a geospatial analyst, which is what initially peaked my interest in GIS and motivated me to study GIS at UMD.

I have no internship experience, yet. I separated from the military in January of 2013 and began attending UMD the same month. I chose to attend classes full time last summer as a means of graduating this spring. This summer I would like to intern with START for the experience and networking opportunities. I also am planning on applying to the MPSGIS program at UMD for the fall. I hope to eventually work for an organization like the State Department, NSA or the ATF. I want to use my military experience and knowledge of GIS to work in an anti-terrorism division providing detailed geospatial intelligence products that influence local, regional and national level defense decision-making.