Group Travel Support for U.S. Participants to the 20th International Cartographic Conference, Beijing, China, August 2001

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

In cartography as in many other scientific fields, advances in research and education increasingly rely on the development of international collaborations that bring together skilled scholars and educators from many different nations. International contacts and collaborations develop through many different means, but one of the most successful has been periodic meetings of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). The ICA has been the primary international forum for cartographic research since 1959, and it currently involves 79 nations. The ICA's next biennial meeting will occur in Beijing, China, in August 2001. To facilitate the continued involvement of U.S. scientists in ICA activities and to facilitate the involvement of more Americans in international networks at early stages of their careers, this award will provide group-travel support to enable at least ten early-career cartographers from the U.S. to attend the ICA meeting. Funds will be distributed to U.S. cartographers whose applications are evaluated using a number of criteria associated with active participation in the meeting. Travel grants will be given to more junior scientists in order to encourage their participation in international discussions and communications. This award will foster greater participation by U.S. cartographers in the global forum of the International Cartographic Association. As has been demonstrated in follow-up reports from Americans who have been supported with previous travel grants to other major international meetings, opportunities abound for meeting professional colleagues from many other nations, for hearing ideas and information from a broad range of different perspectives, and for participating in discussions that frequently result in successful research collaborations.