Georgetown University and the World Bank have joined forces to aid Haiti by providing the Haitian government with high-quality satellite and aerial geographical data. The information will allow the government to quickly assess damage and better plan for rebuilding, according to a university press release.

On Jan. 31, the World Bank began sending the data from San Diego to Georgetown’s University Information Systems in Washington via Internet2 networking. The transfer took four days. UIS then transferred the data onto portable disks, which will be flown to Port-Au-Prince.

“The transfer of that much data, first from San Diego to Washington, in such a short period of time is an extraordinary accomplishment,” UIS Associate Vice President Ardoth Hassler said in a press release released March 1. “The before and after high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery is able to give a building-by-building assessment of damage in severely affected regions of Haiti.”

According to the press release, Georgetown was chosen to help transfer the data due to its Jesuit tradition of service.

“When approached with the inquiry to assist with the data transfer, I learned it was because of Georgetown’s well-known institutional commitment to service,” Hassler said in the press release.

Stuart Gill, of the World Bank’s Disaster Risk Management Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, indicated that the university helped provide a tremendous service to the Haitian government that would significantly benefit recovery efforts.

“Through their efforts we were able to provide critical information to the Haitian government and relief organizations on the ground that will assist in rebuilding this country after such a devastating loss,” said Gill in the press release.

[Read the original Saxaspeak post.](https://saxaspeak.thehoya.com/2010/03/01/uis-transfers-haiti-earthquake-data/)”