Thanks to Brian Klinkenberg, who has agreed to be our keynote speaker for 2015.
Brian is well-known to SKI. He has participated in the community from its early days. He is one of Canada's foremost GIScientists. He received an M.Sc. in biogeography and a Ph.D. in GIS and Landform analysis from UWO. He began his university career at the University of Toronto, obtaining a B.Sc. in Survey Science. A former professional land surveyor, Brian is now a Professor in the Department of Geography at UBC (Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis). He pesently supervises eight graduate students who work with GIS, remote sensing, data visualization, spatial modeling, open data and eDemocracy. Over the years he has been president of the Canadian Cartographic Association (1997/98) and editor of Cartographica (1999-2004), and a plenary speaker at the AAG (2005). Brian's research has a particular focus on spatial analysis and GIS as applied to biogeography and medical geography.
Brian's recent research and graduate students' work focuses on VGI (e.g., public participation and the geoweb, and digital identity authentication) and endangered species (e.g., geospatial analysis of African elephant movement).His best-known VGI initiatives include the development of two significant biogeographic atlases—E-Flora BC and E-Fauna BC. These citizen science initiatives involve over 1,000 volunteers, who submit geo-referenced data related to species' occurrences, and who provide the scientific expertise behind the sites.
His research in medical geography includes studies on the spatial distribution and biogeography of pathogenic species (e.g., Cryptococcus gattii, West Nile Virus, and Lyme Disease), with recent initiatives in public health.
His research on endangered species (Species At Risk) includes status assessment (for the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), predictive mapping, and recovery planning.
With over 100 publications, Brian's work crosses the breadth of GIScience. We are lucky to have him in Canada and at SKI 2015.
