Roger Tomlinson, former student and Professor,1933-2014

tl_files/sites/ees/Images/news/rtomlinson.jpgRoger Tomlinson, Doctor of Sciencehonoris causa Acadia, "father of GIS", died on 9 February. Dr. Tomlinson was a member of the class of 1960 and at one time taught physical geography at Acadia. After he left Acadia he made a career in the field of geographic information systems (GIS) - hence the attribute "Father of GIS".  Shortly after his graduation, while working in Kenya, Roger conceived of the need for overlapping but integrated mapping of forests, and he later developed this into the geographic information systems we know today.

   Dr. Tomlinson has had a varied career, working from Ottawa on projects as diverse as the realignment of the Alaska Highway, forestry practices in Canada, USA, Africa, and landscape changes in the Brazilian rain forest. He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a place in the GIS Hall of Fame, and was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.
   Many graduates from Acadia science programs have him to thank for the transformation of the NS Survey School in Lawrencetown into the Centre of Geographic Sciences, one of the leading institutions in the study of GIS, remote sensing and Geography in Canada.

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