Many people don't realize it, but there are far more uses of the technology behind your car's GPS than just getting you from your house to the store.

"GIS (Geoinformatic Information Systems) is really an emerging field and people don't realize it's used in nearly every aspect of our lives," said Melissa Scott Brown, program adviser for geoinformatics at the University of Oklahoma.

Geographic Information Science is a growing field in academic, business and governmental areas, with roots in geography, Brown said.

OU is preparing students to enter that field.

A new Geographic Information System-based bachelor's degree offered this year is geoinformatics, offered through OU's College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences. Students in the program study the science and technology of gathering, analyzing, interpreting, distributing and using geographic information.

This week, Brown and other staff members organized a contest to get the word out about the new geoinformatics program.

Undergraduate OU students can use their own GPS device or check one out from OU through Thursday in order to find clues hidden around OU's campus. The GeoCash geocaching contest will offer cash prizes to students who successfully use GPS coordinates to find the clues, which all provide information about the geoinformatics program.

The contest coincides with Geographic Information Science Day and is sponsored by the geoinformatics program, the Oklahoma NASA Space Grant and the Center for Spatial Analysis. Students in geoinformatics work closely with the Center for Spatial Analysis, said Brown, who also is the assistant director of research and education at CSA.

"Our goal is to get every student involved in some sort of internship or assistantship," she said.

The experience helps students after graduation, and their expertise is highly sought-after, she said.

GIS software creates a spatial visualization of data for a variety of purposes.

Lesley Williams is one of about a dozen geoinformatics majors at OU. She is an undergraduate research assistant at CSA where she is mapping populations of fish in the Gulf of Mexico. She is gathering data from previously published studies and inputting that information into GIS software that is mapping fish and their environmental data in order to aid in ecological conservation.

Williams said she majored in geoinformatics because she liked geography but GIS offers more variety with information systems.

"I want to work with the Geospatial Intelligence Agency with the Department of Defense," she said. She said GIS-based degrees are in high demand in remote-intelligence gathering. She recommends the degree track she's on now for others with like interests.

"If people enjoy statistics, gathering that data and being able to analyze it, then they would enjoy GIS," she said.