Prof Michael Batty: recipient of Waldo-Tobler GIScience Prize 2019

The Austrian Academy of Sciences through its Commission for GIScience is awarding the GIScience Prize named after Prof Waldo Tobler to a scientist having demonstrated outstanding and sustained contributions to the discipline worthy of inspiring young scientists in Geoinformatics or Geographic Information Science, and having accomplished significant advances in research and education.

By unanimous decision by an external panel of peers, the 2019 prize will be awarded to Prof Michael Batty (UCL Bartlett Professor, Chairman, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis - CASA) - congratulations!

A glimpse into Prof Batty's work is offered at http://www.complexcity.info - summarizing his outstanding contributions to the development of computer models of cities and regions, helping to understand and better manage these urban environments now home to a majority of the world's population.

These achievements, documented in an outstanding publication and supervision record, are based on a stellar academic career culminating in the position of  Bartlett Professor of Planning, and Chair of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at University College London (UCL).

Prior to that Prof Batty served at different universities in the UK and in the US. From 1990 to 1995, he was Director of the NSF National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) in the State University of New York at Buffalo. From 1979 until 1990, as Professor of City and Regional Planning in the University of Wales at Cardiff he acted as the Dean of the School of Environmental Design (1983-1986) and Head of the Department (1985-1989). His early career was as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Manchester (1966-1969) and as a Research Assistant, Lecturer, then Reader at the University of Reading (1969-1979). He has held several visiting appointments in computing, engineering, planning, and geography at the Universities of Illinois, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Bristol, and Michigan

Prof. Batty has made many contributions to research and education in Geographic Information Science (GIScience) and Geoinformatics, respectively. His current research interests integrate spatial planning concepts, spatial modelling and methods and concepts from Geoinformatics – just to name some of the most important fields of interest and achievements.

Congratulations to this recognition of a lifetime of leadership and excellence - we at ÖAW GIScience are honoured to welcome you as the 2019 recipient of the Waldo-Tobler GIScience Prize!