The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) established the GIS Hall of Fame in 2005 to recognize and honor the most esteemed leaders of the geospatial community.
To be considered for the GIS Hall of Fame, an individual’s or an organization’s record of contribution to the advancement of the industry demonstrates creative thinking and actions, vision and innovation, inspiring leadership, perseverance, and community mindedness.
In addition, nominees must serve as a role model for those who follow. URISA Hall of Fame Laureates are individuals or organizations whose pioneering work has moved the geospatial industry in a better, stronger direction.
The first class of inductees included Edgar Horwood, Ian McHarg, Roger Tomlinson, Jack Dangermond, Nancy Tosta, and the Harvard Lab. Gary Hunter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 and both Don Cooke and Michael Goodchild joined him the following year, in 2007. Will Craig and Carl Reed were honored in 2009 and C. Dana Tomlin followed last year.
William Huxhold and Barry Wellar will join this esteemed group during URISA’s 49th Annual Conference in Indianapolis in November.
Bill Huxhold (Hux) is a triple threat in GIS. He has been an innovative leader in government, academia, and the GIS profession. Few others have shown this versatility and certainly not at his high level of achievement. He led the City of Milwaukee’s effort to establish one of the nation’s first GIS as Project Director of the City’s Policy Development Information System (1975-87). His genius was writing specifications that required an interface between the City’s operational databases with computer-aided mapping software to create a GIS. Other cities had computer-aided mapping, but no direct connection to their operational data. He believed in a pyramid of good decisions based on data from the operations of local government.
Few individuals are more deserving of this honor than Dr. Barry Wellar. His nearly 50 years of active and sustained work in the geographic information system (GIS) and related fields are filled with accomplishments and contributions to the industry and the community of GIS technology users. His roles as a researcher, teacher, GIS practitioner and manager, and consultant have focused on practical applications of GIS and other information technologies to problems and challenges faced by public agencies and private sector companies.
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