IMIA is an international organization where mapmakers, publishers, geospatial technology companies, location-based services, content producers, and distributors come together to both connect and to conduct business in the spatial information and map related industry. It is a global organization and welcomes members from every corner of the globe. The Association is made up of three regions: IMIA EAME (Europe, Africa and Middle East), IMIA Americas (North America, South America, Canada, and Mexico) and IMIA Asia Pacific (Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific).

The IMIA Report reports the current issues of the worldwide mapping industry giving members information on new products, member news, plus items of interest to those in the industry. We encourage all our members to send to IMIA Headquarters their new product information and press releases for distribution. Advertising is available.  

 David Watkins (IMIA Americas President) Thanks Ron Lofton (USGS) for His Service  and Tremendous Value to the International Map Industry Association

Mr. Ronald Lofton joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1978 and is currently serving as Chief of Staff of the Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) located in Denver Colorado. The NGTOC provides essential support for the acquisition and management of trusted geospatial data, products, and services through world-class geospatial technical expertise and customer service for the U.S. Geological Survey and the Nation.

Captain John L. Hammer, III USN (Ret'd)

John Hammer III began his mapping career with the Navy when he attended the postgraduate program in Geodetic Science (major - geodesy, minor - photogrammetry) at Ohio State in 1977-79. His career in the Navy went on to include two commands of hydrographic survey units, secondment to the Royal Navy Hydrographic Service, work as hydrographer on the headquarters staff of the US European Command, Deputy Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory and finally as a hydrographic requirements officer at the Defense Mapping Agency (Now NGA) Hydrographic/Topographic Center (DMAHTC). He finished his navy career in 1987 in the post of Deputy Director of the DMAHTC.
 

Hammer went on to serve as a consultant in hydrographic matters, closely working with Mort Rogoff with whom he helped develop the standards for nautical electronic charting. During this period he founded the International Hydrographic Society of America (THSOA) and served as its first president and a trustee from 1983-1986.

In 1987 he joined Qubit, an English company pre-eminent in the field of marine positioning, navigation, data collection, and integrated geophysical location systems. He was program manager for a new precise navigational product as well as active in the strategic marketing for the firm's worldwide market. After a break of four years in the horse industry, Hammer went on to become Director of Marketing for YEOMAN. YEOMAN, a successor to Qubit, specialized in Geographic Information Systems (Laser Scan) as well as yachting navigational instruments (Brookes & Gatehouse), and consumer GPS-related navigational instruments which allowed users to place GPS-derived positions directly onto any paper map product.

During his time with YEOMAN, he began his membership in IMIA and was elected to the board in 1999. He became President of the newly constituted International Board in 2001 and served for more than two years. Hammer continued with YEOMAN until 2004 when he fully retired to work in a multitude of service projects, chief among them a community-building program in Honduras. He has kept up his membership in IMIA with active participation in meetings and peripheral activities such as serving as chair of the Communications Coordinating Committee until 2012.

Among others mapping and location-based activities he has served as chairman on the following map-related committees over his career:

• Fellow, Royal Institute of Navigation, July 1999-Present

• U.S. Representative on NATO Standardization Agreements Committees for:

  • AAP 4 - Mapping Glossary 1973-75

  • Military Geographic Documentation 1973-75

  • Maps and Charts 1974-75

• Chairman, Electronic Chart Updating Subcommittee, Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services, Special Committee 109 on Electronic Charts, 1983-1986.

• Chairman of THSOA Committee on the Electronic Chart and Information System (ECDIS), October 1983 - November 1986.

• Chairman, Glossary Subcommittee, Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services, Special Committee 109 on Electronic Charts, 1986-1988.

• Member, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping - Hydrographic Competency Review Board, 1984-1987.

• Member, Technical Advisory Group for Technical Committee 80, Navigation Instruments, International Electro technical Commission (IEC), 1985-1987.

Lovell Johns is one of the UK's largest independent mapping services companies offering a range of cartographic services to mapping and reference publishers worldwide. Alongside cartographic services, Lovell Johns will continue to provide GI solutions to the public and private sector throughout the UK and Europe.

Another core part of Lovell Johns' business is their publishing brand Maps International, which is a well-known name within the book and map trade. Maps International publishes a range of wall maps including the UK's bestselling World Wall Map* alongside a range of Continental and British Isles Maps.

David Stephens said "We believe this is a positive move for Lovell Johns, we were non-core to Times Media Group's ongoing business and now we can focus on growing Lovell Johns and the mapping services and products we offer. We are lucky to have a very talented team here in Oxford with lots of energy and enthusiasm."

Liz Murray added: "We are delighted to have completed the buyout and both David and I are incredibly positive about the future of the business. It is exciting to be entering Lovell Johns' 50th year of trading as a truly independent business."

*Nielsen Bookdata statistics

I'm pleased to announce that New Zealand National Library has acquired a copy of Earth Platinum.  We are told it should be on display for the general public late February / March.   
Also it is likely a full scale cartographic exhibition will also happen possibly later in 2015. All in all very exciting for us.  Below is a link to the New Zealand newspaper and a short  video of 2 people to turn each page.  Not really necessary if the book is upright.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/63498563/Capital-home-to-oversized-atlas

Also  included is a link to to a 10 min radio interview Mark  Bagnall (cartographic curator). 

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/20158601/giant-atlas-mark-bagnall

Regards.

Gordon
*************
Gordon Cheers, Managing Director
Millennium House
3 Carcoola Road, St Ives, NSW, Australia
Ph (612) 9402 7553
http://www.millenniumhouse.com.au

 Earth Platinum wins best overall mapping award 2013 at IMIA Americas'

Conference & Member Showcase in Boston, MA USA 

 The World Atlas wins the IMIA Asia Pacific book award and best overall award June 2010,

giving Millennium House this award for the third year in row.

 Earth is voted the best World Atlas at the 24th

International Cartographic Conference 2009 in Santiago, Chile 

Brian Fox

Systems Development Branch Chief

NGTOC, USGS

Denver, CO USA

[email protected]

Brian Fox is currently the Systems Development Branch Chief for USGS's National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) where he oversees development activity in support of The National Map. 

Prior to leading NGTOC's Systems Development Branch, Fox supported the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in a variety of roles, including joint military assignments in the United States and overseas.  He holds an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Minnesota and a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Missouri - Saint Louis.   

Danesh Prakash Chacko 

System Support Officer

Assetic Pty Ltd

Melbourne, Australia

[email protected] 

He also provides support through internal consultants across various projects. This includes setting-up databases and systems for sales consultant in time efficient manner, building custom reports and handling various asset management and infrastructure reports and projects.

Other responsibilities include frontline personnel support by handling customer support enquiries related to the software. Creates and updates online software documentation along the specifications. Conducts successful webinars on educating 4 - 20 clients per session on various facets of the software.

Collaborates with asset management consultant on various dataset cleansing projects, software version testing, providing presentation slides for the Directors and troubleshooting issues pertaining consultants' databases.

In addition to supporting a variety of GIS initiatives and research grants for the University, Anderson has been actively networked in the GIS community in Michigan, and has been instrumental in preparing students and colleagues for placement in the GIS Industry. He specializes in solutions engineering, and has applied a variety of statistical techniques, image filters, and vector based tools to resolve numerous custom GIS challenges throughout his career.

Evening Event Details  

Barcelona

Over the past several years, the idea of the being "smart" has emerged as a key mechanism for cities to find innovative solutions to the challenges that they are facing. Increased demand for infrastructure, housing, transportation, jobs, energy, food and water are all straining city governments and infrastructure, as people around the world flock to urban centers in hopes of a better life and more opportunity. For many years, the push to create smarter cities was led by technology companies looking for uses (and buyers) for their products. But in recent years, cities have begun to think more holistically about what being a smart city could mean, and have innovated new ways to modernize how a city serves its citizens.

For the past several years, I've published an annual ranking of smart cities, and with each passing year I have sought to improve the quality of the ranking methodology. This year, This year, I embarked on a rather ambitious experiment Leveraging an international advisory panel,

I expanded the survey to 62 indicators across the key components and subcomponents of the Smart Cities Wheel that I developed a few years ago.

Smart cities are a complex phenomenon and any effort to measure them needs to contain breadth and depth of indicators-and this year I have that. I have added several more information technology related indicators, like broadband Internet and the number of mobile applications that leverage open data initiatives. But I also have added low-tech indicators to ascertain how much a city is embracing shared mobility, like measuring the number of bikes and cars currently in their sharing programs. I have also added citizen participation metrics, such as the number of citizens engagement events held each year and percentage of citizens who vote in local elections.

I sent a survey of these 62 indicators to 120 cities around the world (30 cities in four regions). Unfortunately only 11 cities around the globe were able to participate due to the complexity and time required to collect such diverse data. Given the small sample size, and some inconsistencies in the data, this year I am not reporting formal rankings (you can read more about

the methodology of the selection here).

But I did learn a lot about what these cities are doing, and what makes a smart city in 2015. In looking at these examples of smart cities around the globe, I've divided them into three categories: Pioneering Smart Cities, cities that have been on the leading edge of smart city development for some time (for these cities, I also discuss the challenges that face them in advancing their development even further). Emerging Smart Cities are cities on the cusp of true innovation. And Next Stage Smart Cities will be on the leading edge of innovative metropolises soon, if they keep up their good work. To read the list, use the click below:

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3038765/fast-cities/the-smartest-cities-in-the-world