History and Significance

Since 2010, UCGIS has acknowledged those individuals who have contributed to the advancement of geographic information science and technology. The status of UCGIS Fellow is bestowed on the recipient who has had an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the spatial disciplines and communities of practice that use spatial information to complement and support their business operations or academic activities.

The geospatial community brings together individuals from diverse spatial disciplines including but not limited to cartography, computer science, geodesy, geography, geographic information science, photogrammetry, remote sensing, spatial information science, and surveying. These individuals participate in one or more communities of practice. Examples of communities of practice include agriculture, defense, education, emergency management, forestry, health, environment and natural resources management, education, government, landscape architecture, nonprofit groups, planning and public administration, transportation, tourism, and more.

Profile of UCGIS Fellows

Candidates for Fellow should have an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the spatial disciplines and communities of practice described above. Service that furthers the mission of UCGIS is a strong consideration to be elected to Fellow. That mission includes to:

• Advance research in the field of Geographic Information Science;
• Expand and strengthen Geographic Information Science education;
• Advocate policies for the promotion of the ethical use of and access to geographic information technologies; and,
• Build scholarly communities and networks to foster multi-disciplinary GIS research and education.

The UCGIS Board of Directors and the current UCGIS Fellows welcome nominations for others to join this illustrious group.

Nomination Instructions

The process for nomination and selection of new fellows is set forth under UCGIS Fellows Program. The FAQ site answers further questions and the Guideline for Selecting Fellows helps you understand how fellows are selected. The selection committee consists of all past UCGIS Fellows and the immediate past president, current president, and president-elect of UCGIS.

In a nutshell, the geospatial community from which UCGIS seeks Fellows consists of the diverse spatial disciplines including but not limited to cartography, computer science, geodesy, geography, geographic information science, photogrammetry, remote sensing, spatial information science, and surveying. Candidates for Fellow should have an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the spatial disciplines and communities of practice. Service furthering the mission of UCGIS is a strong consideration and includes (a) advancing research in the field of Geographic Information Science; (b) expanding and strengthening Geographic Information Science education, (c) advocating policies for the promotion of the ethical use of and access to geographic information technologies; and (d) building scholarly communities and networks to foster multi-disciplinary GIS research and education. While nominations and the accompanying documentation should address all of the UCGIS mission components (a through d), extraordinary accomplishments under all categories are not typically required.

Nominees will be inducted during the Annual Summer Symposium.

The intent and hope of the selection committee is to recognize an expanding group of exemplary and deserving contributors to the geographic information science community. We look forward to receiving your applications