Travel for Participants to the 26th International Cartographic Conference, Dresden, Germany, 2013

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

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 the biennial meetings of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). The ICA has been the primary international forum for cartographic research since 1959, and it currently involves over 80 countries. The ICA's next biennial meeting will occur in Dresden, Germany in August 2013. To facilitate the continued involvement of U.S. scientists in ICA activities and to facilitate the inclusion of more Americans in international networks at early stages of their careers, this award will provide group-travel support to enable at least 22 early-career cartographers from the U.S. as well as a limited number of mid-career professionals to attend this 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. This award will foster greater and a more diverse 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.