Personal & Professional
BACKGROUND
Roger Tomlinson
Known by many as the ‘Father of GIS’, Roger Tomlinson was a prominent geographer and the inventor of computer based geographic information systems. His ideas for enhanced data visualizations beyond regular maps allowed for new problem solving abilities in the realm of geography and spatial sciences. The project that led Roger to create computerized map overlays was for Canada’s Land Inventory in the 1960s. The project would otherwise have taken over 500 geographers, 3 years to complete.
“There are three legs to the stool of future development: technology, people and data,” … “The availability of accurate data is crucial.”
“All this you can get from maps, but if they’re on paper, we don’t have a chance of responding in time. (With GIS technology) we now have the essential capability, and it’s being used for every damned thing you can think of! The greatest block to the uptake of the technology is the lack of people – we are at least 3000 people short each year of people trained in GIS.”
