Mei-po Kwan

Mei-Po Kwan is Professor and Chair of Graduate Studies in the Department of Geography at the Ohio State University (OSU). Her research interests include 3D geovisualization, 3D network data models, geocomputational algorithms for evaluating individual space-time accessibility and qualitative GIS. Her work also seeks to integrate GIS methods with substantive research. Kwan was the coordinator and one of the instructors of the annual CSISS (Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science) workshops on “Accessibility in Space and Time: A GIS Approach” from 2001 to 2003. She is the Principal Investigator for OSU for a multi-institution consortium entitled “Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement” (SPACE). Funded by the National Science Foundation, the consortium includes UCGIS as a partner and has launched a three-year program that centers on a series of professional development workshops. Kwan was an invited participant of the UCGIS-sponsored Homeland Security Workshop in November 2003. She has conducted research and published on homeland security issues from GIS perspectives.

The high priority of homeland security issues on the national research agenda means that this is an opportune moment for greatly increasing federal and public recognition of the value of GIScience in addressing significant national concerns (as the UCGIS Winter Meeting 2004 amply demonstrated). If I become a UCGIS board member, I will actively contribute to identifying important issues for the strategic planning and future of UCGIS. I will actively participate in the development of new research directions and opportunities for UCGIS. As a coordinator and an instructor of CSISS and SPACE workshops in the past four years, and as the PI for one of the partner institution (Ohio State University) of the SPACE program, I will continue to work together with CSISS and UCGIS in disseminating GIS-based spatial analytical methods to audiences in various social science disciplines. I will actively seek to promote the public profile and influence of UCGIS through these educational workshops and other activities.