ATLANTA – Nickolas L. Faust, associate director of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Center for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and a principal research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute's Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory, was elected to the board of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International at its November board meeting. Faust has worked with the Fund for many years to develop GIS systems that map the movements and habitat of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of central Africa.

The Fossey Fund, which is headquartered in donated offices at Zoo Atlanta, protects and studies endangered wild gorillas in Africa and runs extensive human health, education and community development projects in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Faust and his wife have been long-time supporters of these programs.

At Georgia Tech, Faust coordinates research on remote sensing GIS systems and visualization technology, develops multi-spectral stimulation techniques, and derives high-resolution geographic databases for selected areas of the world. He was elected to the Space Technology Hall of Fame and is a fellow in the Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers.

"Nick Faust has been a close partner with the Fossey Fund for many years and has developed systems that help the people of Rwanda learn more about their natural resources, including endangered wildlife," says Clare Richardson, President and CEO of the Fund. "He combines dedication to the survival of the mountain gorilla with unparalleled expertise in technology that is playing a key role in research and conservation planning."

"I've been close to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International since 1999-2000 when our group from Georgia Tech began to collaborate with them, first as a volunteer and then under a grant from the Georgia Research Alliance to create a GIS/Remote Sensing Center at the National University of Rwanda," says Faust. "I've been to Rwanda several times. I really enjoyed working with the Fossey Fund's people there, both the technical and field staff, and saw that the Fund has a good management system. I thought it would be appropriate to have a technical person on the board and I look forward to contributing that perspective."

Faust earned an M.S. degree in Geophysical Sciences and a B.S. in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His many scientific publications include "An integrated geomatics research program in mountain gorilla conservation in the Virungas" (co-author), in Conservation in the 21st Century: Gorillas as a case study (Kluwer Academic Press, 2007) and "GIS Applications for gorilla behavior and habitat analyses" (co-author), ARCNews (summer 2005).

The Fossey board is currently led by several major Atlanta business leaders, including Richard A. Horder of the law firm Kilpatrick Stockton LLP; Joanne Truffleman of the advertising firm TG Madison; Dennis Kelley of Zoo Atlanta; and Lynn Flanders of the Cobb Galleria Center. Judith C. Harris, a fund raiser and civic leader in La Jolla and San Diego, California, was also elected to the board in November.

About the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) was established by Dr. Dian Fossey to protect mountain gorillas in the wild. Since her death, the organization has carried on her mission, but expanded both the geographic reach of its programs and the number of ways in which it works to improve gorilla conservation. Unlike most other conservation organizations, one hundred percent of the organization's budget is devoted to protecting gorillas and their habitat.

DFGFI's flagship program and historic base is the Karisoke Research Center, Rwanda founded by Dian Fossey in 1967. Karisoke's 85 staff members are in the forest every day monitoring, protecting, and conducting research to ensure the survival of the last 380 Virunga mountain gorillas.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo DFGFI manages a landscape of more than 26,000 square miles of forest habitat in partnership with 250 Congolese staff. This wildlife corridor includes almost the entire range of the Grauer's (eastern lowland) gorilla. In both countries DFGFI provides programs in health, clean water access, micro-finance for small scale development projects, education and capacity building.

For more information about DFGFI, visit http://www.gorillafund.org

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
Media Contact: Barbara Joye, 404-624-5881; cell: 678-984-6497

Georgia Tech Research News
Media Contact: John Toon , 404-894-6986 or john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu