 I'm Karen Schuchman and I teach topographic mapping with LiDAR. LiDAR is one of the most interesting and popular forms of GIS data available today because it's a very rich, three-dimensional, dense point cloud that shows us representations of terrain, of building features, and so on. Along with the richness of LiDAR data, there's also increased complexity in terms of the data format, the way that it's classified, and the ability of various software packages to be able to import it and use it effectively. This course is really important because it gives students insight into how LiDAR systems operate and how the data is processed to produce useful information, such as topographic maps and tree canopy studies. In the course, you'll get a lot of step-by-step instructions about how to use LiDAR data, but you'll also have an opportunity to actually work with data of your own choosing in an application that's of interest to you. Students have done projects such as understanding shoreline change after a hurricane in coastal areas, looking for archaeological evidence of Indian mounds, and also estimating solar potential by studying building rooftops in an urban environment. These are just a few examples. The possibilities are endless. Take this course and explore some ways to use LiDAR data in an application that's of interest to you.