Alumni Profile Series: Brian Timoney

Cartographer Takes Interpersonal Approach to Maps

October 10, 2005

Brian Timoney and his company, The Timoney Group, develop interactive maps for professionals who save time and gain insight by looking at their data in a geographic context with tools designed to be easier to use than a traditional GIS. He believes that technology is not the answer; rather it is only part of the solution.

Brian's interest in cartography developed while he was a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. He only had access to paper topographic maps, as GPS was just coming on to the scene. "I was not considered of sufficient rank to merit possession of a GPS unit, something that, fifteen years later, every weekend hiker has," he says. Beyond the exposure to maps, Timoney emphasizes that the military gave him the skills to manage projects and lead people - skills that would have been difficult to acquire in a civilian context in his early 20s.

Originally from Philadelphia, Brian entered the graduate geography program at Penn State after receiving his bachelor's degree in philosophy-economics at Columbia University. He saw geography as a great opportunity to mix his liberal arts background with geospatial technologies in order to take a more robust set of analytical skills back to the private sector.

After completing his graduate work, Brian keyed in on the fact that after the tech boom of the late 1990s, there was a backlash against the idea that technology alone was going to magically solve everyday business problems. After working in companies involved with petroleum, environmental remediation, and defense, he created his own company at the end of 2004.

Located in Denver, CO, The Timoney Group is a small consulting firm that specializes in creating spatial datasets and applications that are powerful yet easy-to-use. "A real problem in a variety of organizations is that the hands-on analysis occurs a rung or two below the decision-making level, and with complicated software a busy manager is not going to have time to learn," he says. "By equipping higher-ups with easy-to-use tools that address their specific challenges, executives have greater confidence that they have a handle on their organization's key data points." Brian emphasizes that the emergence of the Google technologies is a leap forward in allowing a more general audience to view and analyze data geographically.

An early project Brian participated in as an independent consultant was an environmental contamination assessment in the Great Lakes region. While the prime contractor was looking for assistance with 3-D interpolation techniques, "issues such as data accuracy and appropriate metadata that seem so tedious in a school setting became critical in defending the results of a real-world analysis that carries high-dollar repercussions for a client," according to Timoney.

One of Brian's greatest achievements is his work with a Web site depicting the standardized test scores for all 1,623 of Colorado's public schools. This project came from Brian's desire to work with Google Maps API and the public's interest in the topic of public schools in their area. "No one had bothered to put the scores in a geographic context except for mind-numbing tables that very few would bother to comb through," he says. So The Timoney Group created an easy-to-use map that visitors can view to make quick geographical comparisons. They are also able to find detailed data about the different schools. View the results of this project.

In his free time, Brian enjoys spending his weekends either hiking or skiing around the nearby areas of Colorado.

"What will set you apart from the masses is your ability to use spatial reasoning," Brian advises Penn State students. "Any program can teach software and what button to press." He believes that actually understanding why you pressed that button is the real skill and will be more advantageous. He also believes in going to your statistics classes; spatial statistics, especially, are invaluable to understanding numbers and basic databases. "Data management is a common entry-level task, but being good at it is the passport to the more interesting and lucrative analytical work," he says.

Brian also stresses the importance of the ties you create with your peers after you graduate. "The Department of Geography does an excellent job of preparing students to be bright, intelligent people in the work force, but it is also important to remember that most geography types are fairly nice people; and you can never have too many of those in your life," he says.

To learn more about The Timoney Group and view Brian's work, access the company Web site.