William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Deadline for Nominations: Applications will not be accepted in 2024.

The biennial William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography supports innovative research into the computational aspects of geographic science. The award is intended to arouse a more general and deeper understanding of the important role that advanced computation can play in resolving the complex problems of space–time analysis that are at the core of geographic science. The award is one of the activities of the AAG Marble Fund for Geographic Science, which also includes the Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award and the Marble Fund Award for Innovative Master’s Research in Quantitative Geography.

The Garrison award consists of a cash prize in the amount of $3,500 and a formal certificate of merit. The formal presentation of the Garrison Award will take place at the annual meeting of the AAG following the announcement of the award. If they so choose, the Trustees of the Marble Fund may elect to award one or more additional certificates of merit to non-awardee finalists whose work is, in their judgment, of exceptional merit.

Eligibility

There is no restriction placed upon the formal disciplinary area of the research so long as it is directly related to advanced computational approaches to the spatial-temporal problems addressed by geographic science. The award is open to candidates associated with any institution of higher education, anywhere in the world, that is authorized to award the doctorate.

Dissertations completed in the two-year period beginning on September 1st of 2021 and terminating on August 31st of 2023 will be eligible for nomination. In the context of this award, a dissertation is considered to be completed when the final version of the document is deposited with and has been accepted by the institution of higher education awarding the degree.

Criteria

Proposals should demonstrate high standards of scholarship. The selection committee will observe the general purposes noted above when evaluating proposals. It should be noted that the emphasis of the Garrison Award is upon innovative computational approaches and award applications based upon the routine application of standard software packages are not encouraged. All nominations will be carefully reviewed and those determined to be within the stated goals of the competition will be invited to make a full submission for consideration.

Initial Nominations

Dissertations to be considered for this award may be placed in nomination by either the candidate’s doctoral advisor or by a member of the Dissertation Committee.

The nomination documents must consist of:

• A signed letter of nomination, prepared on institutional letterhead, that clearly sets forth the reasons for nominating the dissertation. The letter must also provide an objective assessment of the candidate’s future research potential,
• A current and complete vita of the candidate, and
• An extended abstract of the dissertation, including its full title, that addresses the selection of the research problem, the research methodology adopted (explicitly addressing the nature of the computational approach employed), and the anticipated contribution of the research results. The abstract is to be completed, without assistance, by the candidate. The abstract is limited to six (6) pages in length. The six-page limit is exclusive of references and a limited number of figures. The text should be in a 12 point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins; references may be single–spaced.
• As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

All nomination materials must be received no later than the deadline (Eastern Standard Time) to be considered in the competition. 

IMPORTANT: The initial nominating documentation is limited to these three items. Copies of the dissertation are not to be included.

Nominate Now

For questions or difficulties, please contact grantsawards@aag.org or call the AAG at 202-234-1450.

Finalists

Those nominees who have been selected by the Review Committee for final consideration must, when requested, submit the following materials:

• A complete English language copy of the dissertation. If the dissertation was prepared in a language other than English then the submission must consist of a copy of the original document and a complete translation of the original document into English done by a professional translator. The submission must consist of an electronic copy (in PDF format) of the document.
• A signed statement, on institutional letterhead, prepared by the relevant institutional representative, certifying that the final copy of the dissertation has been deposited and that the doctoral degree will be awarded. The document must explicitly certify that the date of deposit of the dissertation falls within the relevant award period. This statement must either be in English or accompanied by a certified professional translation into English. Transmission must consist of an electronic copy (in PDF format) of this document.
• A statement, signed by the nominee, agreeing to participate in the AAG award ceremony. This will involve registration and attendance at the AAG meeting in the year of the award as well as preparation and presentation of the required research paper. Subsequent failure to satisfy this obligation will result in forfeiture of the award and its public withdrawal.

All of the required materials must be in the hands of the Trustees no later than the close of business on the date given in the letter informing the finalists of their selection. Incomplete applications will not receive consideration and will not be carried forward to the next period of competition. January 2022 is the target period for formal notifications of the Trustees’ selection to be sent to the recipient of the Garrison Award and to the non-selected finalists.

Applications

All nomination materials must be in English, and submitted in electronic form. In addition, the originals of all signed materials and, for the selected nominees, a physical copy of the complete dissertation, must be made available upon request. Acrobat PDF format is required for all materials.

Nomination materials, or queries regarding nominations, should be directed to: cmannozzi@aag.org.

Dr. William L. Garrison

This award was created to honor the outstanding research and educational activities of Dr. William L. Garrison who, following service in World War II, received his Ph.D. in Geography from Northwestern University in 1950. While a young faculty member at the University of Washington, Garrison became one of the leaders of the resurgence of geographic science and many of his doctoral students (including Duane Marble, Brian J. L. Berry, John Nystuen, Arthur Getis, Richard Morrill, and William Bunge) were subsequently instrumental in the evolution of geographic science and geographic information systems. Bill Garrison was also one of the first geographers to make use of computational approaches to the solution of geographic problems. The early work at the University of Washington of Garrison and his students involved such historic computing systems as the IBM 604 and IBM 650. Garrison is currently Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Emeritus Research Engineer in the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley.

Trustees of the Marble Fund for Geographic Science

Dr. Jay Sandhu, ESRI
Dr. Donna Peuquet, Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Elizabeth Wentz, Arizona State University