Prof. Wolfgang Kainz

Wolfgang Kainz
University of Vienna
Austria

Cartography and the Others – Aspects of a Complicated Relationship

Abstract

Cartography as a science is just about 100 years old. Cartographic representations, however, exist since thousands of years and have been used and produced by various disciplines. Map making has been attributed with many different characteristics such as technique, art, and science. Because nearly everybody uses maps or cartographic representations, to draw the line between what is the product and its use and what is the science behind has become a difficult task. It became even more difficult with the advent and rise of GIS. This keynote presents cartography what it is, where it came from, where it might go, and its relationship with the neighboring disciplines.

Short CV

Wolfgang Kainz is a professor at the Department of Geography and Regional Research of the University of Vienna where he heads the research group on cartography and geographic information science. He holds a graduate degree in technical mathematics and computer science and a PhD in GIS from the Graz University of Technology, Austria. He has more than 30 years of experience in education, research and consulting in the field of geographic information science. In his research he focuses on the theoretical issues of GIS in particular related to spatiotemporal modeling, uncertainty, and topology. He was one of the early pioneers working on formal research on spatial relationships based on topology and ordered sets, and led several research groups in Austria and The Netherlands where his expertise was requested in numerous consulting projects worldwide. Prof. Kainz has guided more than 20 international PhD students, has excellent scientific connections worldwide, and held visiting professor positions at universities in Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Kuwait, Taiwan, and the USA. He served on several commissions of ICA and as president of Technical Commission II of the ISPRS. Currently, he is editor-in-chief of the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information and the chair of the Austrian Cartographic Commission.