Shanoa Miller was born and raised on the island of Maui. She graduated from King Kekaulike High School in 2007. Shanoa is pursuing a degree in Information Science and a minor in Bioinformatics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). She is involved with the Environmental and Spatial Technology Lab (EAST) and Society of Women Engineers (SWE). She is also an Undergraduate Researcher at the Nanotechnology Center at UALR. Her interests are in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. In her spare time Shanoa enjoys going to the beach, swimming and dancing hula.

Home Island: Maui
High School: King Kekaulike High School
Institution when accepted: University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Akamai Project: Creating a Geoprocessing Model for Maui’s E911
Project Site: Akimeka
Mentor: Maria Nieves

Project Abstract:

Enhanced 911 (E911) is a system that automatically pinpoints a wireless caller’s physical location. The E911 system holds Geographical Information System (GIS) data that helps the operator locate the caller and gives the information needed to send the appropriate emergency service. Since the island of Maui is growing rapidly, many new roads, buildings, and subdivisions are being built. The emergency database must be updated to ensure safety. The goal of this project was to create a geoprocessing model that would update different data layers into the E911 system automatically. The model takes new subdivision and Tax Map Key (TMK) information and uses the appropriate tools and processes to translate the data into GIS data. Then the GIS data can be added into the emergency database. Maui has not been able to update their TMK GIS data since 2006. In two years, over 300 changes have occurred, and there is not enough time nor are there enough workers to manually update these changes to the GIS layers. The new automatic geoprocessing model will ensure that new data is being updated into the system. This will allow operators to find callers faster and save lives, no matter the location of the call.