Minutes of the Research Committee Meeting, Feb. 6, 2000

Status of book on 10 research challenges

Redefining research challenges

Research Committee participation in Summer, 2000, Assembly

Extent UCGIS committed to carrying out research agenda

International conference on GIScience

Clearinghouse for research grants

All but two chapters and introductory chapter complete.

Action Item Research Committee to push completion, select new authors as necessary and complete book before Summer Assembly.

Discussion that UCGIS cannot continue to rework the ten challenges. Suggestion (Babs) that we examine emerging challenges and retain existing ten. Each year we can add to the challenges. Committee discussed, agreed, and developed an approach involving a cyclic process of soliciting emerging research challenges, discussing in plenary session at Summer Assembly, developing white paper to be approved by the UCGIS Council in Winter Meeting, holding a specialist meeting on the challenge in the next Summer Assembly, and finally developing a showcase research project on the research challenge for display at the next Winter Meeting. The cycle requires two years to complete.

Action Item Research Committee will issue call to all UCGIS institutions for submission of emerging research challenges in Feb, 2000. Emerging challenges will be discussed at Summer, 2000, Assembly in a plenary session.

Plenary session on emerging research challenges will be scheduled.

Student participation in the Summer Assembly is desired. Discussion led to a decision that paper presentations will be included but with UCGIS or other well-known scientists to act as discussants. Students will be competing for funding support to travel to the meeting and for an award of best paper presented. Papers will be included in a Proceedings volume with an edited version (including revisions based on the comments from the discussant) published later with UCGIS approval.

Action Item Issue call to all UCGIS member institutions for extended abstracts (1000 words) of research papers from students.

These two items were treated together. With the demise of the GIS/LIS meeting, there is a need for an international forum for presentation of GIScience research. UCGIS, AGILE and other organizations can collaborate to host such a meeting which will help address UCGIS’s commitment to its research agenda. The proposed GIScience 2000 meeting with AAG and NCGIA already as sponsors, and a need for other sponsoring organizations, may be the forum to accomplish the implementation of this goal.

It was decided that this issue is more appropriately handled by the Research Projects Committee.