Geospatial Information Technologies at the AAG Annual Meeting

The 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers will be held in Washington, D.C., from April 3-7. The meeting is expected to attract close to 8,000 academic, professional, and student geographers from across the globe, and will exhibit the latest research and scientific applications of geography, GIS, surveying, and mapping through nearly 1,600 of its 6,000+ presentations.

Of particular note is one of the 2019 Annual Meeting themes: Geography, GIScience, and Health: Building an International Geospatial Health Research Network (IGHRN). Building on a foundation of numerous AAG initiatives with the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, this Special Theme of the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting will explore new frontiers in geospatial health research and applications and generate research synergies through the expansion of the International Geospatial Health Research Network (IGHRN). It will also address progress achieved by the AAG Initiative for an NIH-wide Geospatial Infrastructure for Health Research. These AAG initiatives have generated an increased awareness by health researchers as well as other geographers of the core role that geography and GIScience can play in addressing global health needs, both in research and in practice. The theme seeks to bring together national and international scholars, practitioners, and policy makers from different specialties, institutions, sectors, and continents to share ideas, findings, methodologies, and technologies, and to establish and strengthen personal connections, communication channels and research collaborations through the IGHRN. With the proximity of the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and other agencies in the Nation’s Capital, the area provides an apt setting in which to partake in the approximately 80 sessions dedicated to this theme.

Other related topics will be explored including cyber GIS, unmanned aerial vehicles, urban systems, geospatial privacy, big data analytics, spatial analysis, cartographic techniques, and more. In addition, the 2019 Annual Meeting will offer a variety of workshops, field trips, and networking opportunities to learn about developing technologies and methodologies with like-minded GIScientists, environmental scientists, and GIS practitioners. For more information please visit, http://annualmeeting.aag.org.