Bridging Theory and Application

The workshop featured inspiring keynotes from Michael Goodchild (UCSB), Shashi Shekar (UMN), May Yuan (UT Dallas) and Rahul Ramachandran (NASA), followed by lightning talks focused on computational infrastructure, scientific discovery, and the integration of social science within GeoAI. During the session I presented my position paper (available here) titled:

“Discrete Global Grid Systems as a Framework for Geometrically Rigorous and Spatially Explicit GeoAI: A Research Agenda”.

Much of the discussions over the two days emphasized the need for sharper integration between machine learning and spatial cognition, as well as the importance of community building to address both short- and long-term forecasting challenges.

Next Steps: Defining the Future of GeoAI

The energy from the meeting is already being channeled into a major perspective paper on the future of GeoAI. We are working to synthesize the collective insights from our discussions into a formal research agend. It was inspiring to see such a strong sense of shared identity emerging from this community.

A big thank you to Wenwen Li, Dylan Connor, Patricia Solis, Heather Baier, Daoqin Tong, Drew Trgovac, Peter Rogerson et al. the entire organizing committee for such a seamless and inspiring forum. I look forward to contributing to the perspective paper and shape the future of GeoAI together.

A History of Collaboration

This appointment builds on a long-standing relationship with IJGI. My previous contributions to the journal include:

• 2019 Outstanding Reviewer Award: Recognized for excellence and dedication to the peer-review process.
• April 2020 Cover Story: My research about Cartographic Vandalism was featured as the cover story for Volume 9, Issue 4.
• Special Issue Editor: I have served as a Guest Editor for several collections:
  • Advances in Social Network Analysis – Spatio-Temporal and Semantic Methods
  • OpenStreetMap as A Multi-Disciplinary Nexus: Perspectives, Practices and Procedures
  • Advances in AI-Driven Geospatial Analysis and Data Generation
  • Advances in AI-Driven Geospatial Analysis and Data Generation (2nd Edition)

Safeguarding Scientific Integrity

As an advocate for open science and reproducibility, I am committed to fostering open scientific exchange while maintaining high-quality research standards. My focus will be on ensuring that research is sound and validated, which is essential for reducing research waste and accelerating progress in geospatial analytics. I look forward to working with the editorial team to safeguard the integrity of the scholarly record in our field.

Why use this?

Selecting a publication venue is often based on “gut feeling” or a single metric like Impact Factor. This tool allows for a more refined, multi-dimensional assessment of the field:

• Meta Rankings: Compare journals using a composite index of eight different metrics (IF, CiteScore, SJR, SNIP, etc.) to see a more stable picture of “prestige”.
• Open Access Trends: Monitor the shift towards OA
• Collaboration Networks: Interactively explore how jurisdictions (countries) collaborate. Our data shows that while the field is growing, the Global South remains underrepresented… a gap we hope to highlight and help close to build an inclusive community.
• Cost vs. Impact: View the relationship between Article Processing Charges (APCs) and journal rankings to find the best “value” for your research.

Built for Open Science

In the spirit of open principles, the dashboard is built using Shinylive. This means it runs entirely in your web browser via WebAssembly, which in turn requires no backend server or 3rd party resources. It is private, and permanently accessible. The initial Shiny dashboard is a reimplementation and expansion of the 2024 IJGIS article and it was built by Jorge Corcino. Stay tuned as we are releasing the updated dataset and the source code of the dashboard very soon.

A word to the wise

We want to be clear about our view on using journal metrics to evaluate research impact. Quite frankly, we are not a fan of them. However, we need to be realistic and understand that it is a common practice in the academic community to use them. Think about going up for promotion, demonstrating the impact of your work, or justifying funding applications. Most of these decisions rely on some sort of metrics, and journal metrics are a common choice, so in a sense they are a necessary evil. While we may fundamentally disagree with putting to much emphasis on journal metrics, a lot of us are still at the mercy of them and therefore we are releasing this dashboard to build a better, more holistic understanding of the GIScience journal landscape.

On the bright side, better approaches to assess research impact are rapidly emerging, and we hope to see more of them in the future. A good resource to get started is the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment that recognizes and formalizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated.

With all its flaws, we still hope that our GIScience journal assessment dashboard will serve as a useful resource for everyone from students selecting their first submission venue to senior researchers optimizing publication strategies to maximize the impact of their work.

Explore the dashboard here or launch the Full Screen version.

Why GATOR?

The GATOR acronym is a play on words. It stands for Geospatial Analytics, Technology and Open Research. It represents the Geospatial (or Geomatics), Analytics, Technology and Open Research pillars of my research. As an alumnus, and now faculty member I also found it important to pay tribute to the Florida Gators🐊, and ground our lab’s mission within The Gator Nation.

What’s ahead?

I am currently in the process of setting up our core infrastructure. The next and ongoing major step is to recruit. I am currently seeking two fully funded PhD students to join the lab. This is an exciting opportunity not only for me, but for the first few lab members, who will be an important part of establishing the lab’s culture and direction. I am not just looking for the usual candidates, but for people who are passionate about open science and eager to solve complex spatial problems through a data-science lens. While an excellent academic background is important, I am more interested in your intellectual curiosity and a critical mindset. I can’t stress the importance of this enough. Finding a mutual fit will make or break this experience. Committing to a long PhD program is a major decision. I want to commit to your future success as much as the success of the GATOR Lab, therefore, I am very intentional and selective about who I recruit. I expect you to be the same with making sure that the GATOR Lab and my mentorship are a good fit for you. With that being said, I am interested in the person behind the CV, and I am open to discussing your interests and aspirations. If you are interested in joining the lab, please consult the join page for more information.

It is my hope that the lab will extend beyond PhD students. In the future, I plan to recruit postdocs, visiting scholars, and collaborators to push the boundaries of geospatial science. I am also interested in working with industry partners, and I am open to discussing potential collaborations, which will benefit the lab in many ways: it will inform our research, teaching, and help us stay at the cutting edge of geospatial analytics and technology.

Where are we located?

We are located in sunny South Florida, at the Fort Lauderdale Research & Education Center. While not being located in Gainesville may seem unusual, it is a great location for research and collaboration. South Florida (Miami - Ft. Lauderdale - West Palm Beach) is a vibrant metropolitan area. It is a great place to be, and it also provides a great environment for research and collaboration: it is a hub of innovation and creativity, with a diverse population and a rich cultural heritage. It also lies at the forefront of man-made and environmental challenges waiting to be solved by science.