Core Support for the NRC Geographical Sciences Committee

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The National Research Council (NRC) established a Geographical Sciences Committee (GSC) in 1997 because spatial and place-based approaches to human-environment science had demonstrated themselves to be of increasing importance in addressing major societal and environmental topics. This award renews core support for the GSC, which has as its mission: (1) to bring the theories and perspectives of the geographical sciences to bear on society's problems; (2) to foster international cooperation by serving as a liaison to other national geographical organizations and initiating collaborative research programs among those organizations; (3) to provide advice to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on all matters pertaining to geography, especially to the NAS Foreign Secretary on matters concerning international organizations, programs, and research; and (4) to serve as the official U.S. Liaison to the International Geographical Union (IGU) and promote and facilitate participation of U.S. geographers in the IGU. The GSC undertakes its work through the conduct of special studies and through meetings. Studies that the GSC plans to undertake in the near future include Measuring Community Resilience, a study initially requested by the NOAA Coastal Services Center; Community Restoration in the Aftermath of a Disaster: A Workshop, a workshop initially requested by the Department of Homeland Security; and Strategic Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Africa: Geospatial Tools for Analysis, a study initially requested by the U.S. Department of State. Continued support for the GSC will enable this group to continue to advance the role that geographers and related scientists play in a range of contexts in the U.S. and internationally through the IGU. The committee will continue to oversee studies like the recently completed studies that produced the following reports: Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences in the Next Decade; Tools and Methods for Estimating Populations at Risk from Natural Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Crises; Contributions of Land Remote Sensing for Decisions About Food Security and Human Health; and Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a Support System in the K-12 Curriculum. The committee also will continue to improve the effectiveness of the IGU and to promote the effective participation of U.S. geographers in the activities of the IGU.