Travel Support for Early-Career Scholars Attending the 27th lnternational Cartographic Conference and General Assembly, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20l5

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

This award will foster greater and a more diverse participation by U.S. cartographers in the global forum of the International Cartographic Association, which will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 2015. NSF support will facilitate the participation of nearly 20 early-career cartographers from the U.S. As has been demonstrated in follow-up reports from Americans who have been supported with previous travel grants to other major international meetings, such forums offer numerous opportunities 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. 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. Early-career scholars seeking travel support will be expected to submit their papers for publication in the conference proceedings and will be presenting papers at the conference. In addition to making presentations, American participants at the ICC are encouraged to become involved in the work of ICA commissions and working groups, thereby furthering their potential to build contact networks and be exposed to new ideas on the cutting edge of contemporary cartography and geographic information science.