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Archive: December 2015 (8 Posts)

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Computing Space III: Papers of the “Father of GIS” Come to the Library of Congress

Posted by: John Hessler

Today’s post is the third of a series called,”Computing Space,” which will highlight the lives and work of many of the mostly unknown cartographers, geographers, mathematicians, computer scientists, designers and architects who had a hand in the birth of today’s computer cartography.  ’Amateur’ field geographers can speak with authority about the clarifying effects on the …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Computing Space II: Taking Waldo Tobler’s Geography 482

Posted by: John Hessler

Today’s post is the second in a continuing series called,”Computing Space,” which will highlight the lives and work of many of the mostly unknown cartographers, geographers, mathematicians, computer scientists, designers and architects who had a hand in the birth of today’s computer cartography. When working with the archives and personal papers of the pioneers of …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Computing Space I: Ernesto and Kathy Split a Sandwich

Posted by: John Hessler

This post is dedicated to the memory of  Katherine Kiernan, one of the only female programmers at the Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis, during the early years of the development of Geographical Information Systems. She passed away last year. Today’s post is the beginning of a series called,”Computing Space,” which will highlight …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

The Changing Mexico-U.S. Border

Posted by: Carlyn Osborn

Stretching nearly 2,000 miles from the Pacific Coast to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mexico-U.S. border is the world’s single most crossed international boundary. With over a billion dollars worth of goods moving between the countries every day and 11 million people living within the border region, the history of the Mexico-U.S. boundary line is worth …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Putting Boston on the Map: Land Reclamation and the Growth of a City

Posted by: Tim St. Onge

The Back Bay neighborhood of Boston is home to some of the city’s most famous landmarks, including Prudential Tower, the Boston Central Library, Trinity Church, and the posh shopping district of Newbury Street. It’s hard to imagine that about 150 years ago, this area was almost completely covered in water. Back Bay was, in fact, …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

In Maudslay’s Shadow: Imaging Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica

Posted by: John Hessler

The Library of Congress’ Geography and Map Division is home to a large collection of Pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts donated by the collector Jay I. Kislak, many of which are on display as part of the Exploring the Early Americas Exhibit in the Thomas Jefferson Building here in Washington, DC. The artifacts that make up the …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Researching Climate Change in the Geography and Map Division

Posted by: Carlyn Osborn

As the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) began this week, it is important for all of us to study how we are affected by global climate change. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), future changes to our Earth include a warmer atmosphere and oceans, more acidic oceans, higher sea levels, and larger …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Einstein at 100: Mapping the Universe

Posted by: John Hessler

Last week we passed an important milestone in the history of science. November 25th, 2015, marks one hundred years since Albert Einstein delivered his now infamous address to the Prussian Academy of Sciences, during which he laid out the series of equations which lie at the heart of his General Theory of Relativity. This anniversary …