Dr. Dawn Wright
Oregon State University
Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri)**

Dawn Wright received an Individual Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Physical 
Geography and Marine Geology from the University of California-Santa Barbara 
in 1994. She is professor of Geography and Oceanography at Oregon 
State University, and Chief Scientist for the Environmental Systems Research 
Institute (Esri). 

Dr. Wright's research interests include geographic information science, 
ocean informatics and cyberinfrastructure, as well as benthic terrain and 
habitat characterization, tectonics of mid-ocean ridges, and the processing 
and interpretation of high-resolution bathymetry and underwater videography/
photography. She has completed oceanographic fieldwork in some of the most 
geologically-active regions of the planet, including the East Pacific Rise, 
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge, the Tonga Trench, and 
volcanoes under the Japan Sea and the Indian Ocean. Dr. Wright has dived 
three times in the deep submergence vehicle "Alvin" and twice in the 
"Pisces V." 

As Esri Chief Scientist, she aids in formulating and advancing the
intellectual agenda for the environmental, conservation, climate, and 
ocean sciences aspect of Esri's work, while also representing Esri to 
the national/international scientific community. 

Dr. Wright serves on the editorial boards of the "International Journal of 
Geographical Information Science," "Transactions in GIS," "Journal of Coastal 
Conservation," "The AAG Annals," and "Geography Compass," as well 
as on the National Academy of Sciences' Ocean Studies Board, Committee on 
Strategic Directions in the Geographical Sciences for the Next Decade, 
and Committee on an Ocean Infrastructure Strategy for U.S. Ocean Research in 
2030. She is a past National Councillor of the Association of American 
Geographers and past Research Committee Chair for the 70+-member University 
Consortium for Geographic Information Science. 

Dr. Wright's recent books include "Coastal Informatics: Web Atlas Design 
and Implmentation" (co-edited with Ned Dwyer and Val Cummins, IGI-Global, 
2011), "Arc Marine: GIS for a Blue Planet" (co-authored with Michael 
Blongewicz, Pat Halpin, and Joe Breman, ESRI Press, 2007), "Place Matters: 
Geospatial Tools for Marine Science, Conservation, and Management in the 
Pacific Northwest" (co-edited with Astrid Scholz, Oregon State University 
Press, 2005), "Undersea with GIS" (published by ESRI Press, 2002), and 
"Marine and Coastal Geographical Information Systems" (co-edited with Darius 
Bartlett, Taylor & Francis, 2000).

Dr. Wright's awards include designation as an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, 
AAAS Fellow, the Milton Harris Award for Excellence in Basic Research from 
the OSU College of Science, a Fulbright to Ireland, an NSF CAREER award, 
the Raymond C. Smith Distinguished Alumni Award from UCSB, Excellence in 
Mentoring awards from the OSU College of Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences, 
OSU Honors College Professor of the Year, and the Oregon Assembly for Black 
Affairs Education Award. 

In 2007 she was named U.S. Professor of the Year for the state of 
Oregon by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and 
the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
-----

**"Esri is the world's fifth largest privately-owned technology company, and the
world's leader in GIS software, research and development. Esri software is
used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide, including each of the 200
largest cities in the US, most of the world's governments, more than
two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7000 colleges and
universities. Esri applications, which run on more than 1 million desktops and
thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's
mapping and spatial analysis."