Wayland, MA, September 9, 2002 – The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) invites expressions of interest from industry organizations to participate in a Model Advisory Team (MAT) regarding a nationwide Transportation Framework Data Content Standard, specifically the Public Transit component. This Transit MAT will develop data content standards and an associated Abstract Feature Model in Unified Modeling Language (UML), which will support the exchange of mapping information about public transit features between cooperating organizations and communities. This task is part of a larger effort to develop data content standards and other capabilities for the Geospatial One-Stop project currently underway by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). Content standards and models resulting from the MAT process will be submitted to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for adoption.OGC is seeking expression of industry interest to participate in the Transit MAT to provide modeling support. OGC will make small “scholarship” funds available to compensate some of the interested organizations. Expressions of interest should be delivered by email to kbuehler@opengeospatial.org by September 27, 2002, and must include 1) reasons for interest, 2) area of expertise (roads/transportation domain knowledge, UML modeling knowledge, or GML/XML Schema knowledge), and 3) whether scholarship funds are sought. Organizations selected for this effort will be invited to participate in MAT sessions to be held in October (applicants will be notified when date is finalized) in the Washington DC area. The remainder of the MAT activity will be conducted via email and telephone conferences.OGC is an international industry consortium of more than 230 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geoprocessing specifications. OpenGIS® Specifications support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web and mainstream IT, and empower technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at www.opengeospatial.org .– end –“