US: Fraser Taylor, the Carleton University professor who introduced and pioneered the concept of cybercartography, has been awarded the 2014 Killam Prize. Taylor is one of five 2014 winners of the prize, which was created to honour Canadians who have made contributions to research that has had far-reaching national and international impact.
Taylor, director of the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre at Carleton, introduced the world to the power of cybercartography, an enhanced form of multimedia mapping using geographic information management.
Cybercartography, he said, is the application of geographic information processing to the analysis of topics of interest to society, and the display of the results in new cartographic forms that people can understand. Taylor’s cybercartographic atlases have been used worldwide to comprehend a wide range of complex issues such as trade and economic patterns, international development and the risk of homelessness.
Taylor said no cartographer or geographer had ever been awarded the Killam Prize. He said the award is recognition of those disciplines, which have not been widely recognized, despite their importance. Last year, Taylor received the International Cartographic Association’s Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal, the field’s highest international honour.
Source: Ottawacitizen
