Sunday, June 17. 2007

Photo of the Day: Nobel Winner Maathai with Dangermond and Tomlinson

At the ESRI Senior Executive Summit, Jack Dangermond, president of ESRI and Roger Tomlinson, summit host, introduced Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, keynote for the UC and special guest at the summit. Her comments were brief: "It (GIS) is a wonderful tool and it is a very encouraging tool. With climate change...we are very concerned with the protection of forests. We want to educate and motivate people to plant trees."

Maathia is a native of Kenya and the founder of the Green Belt Movement, which has helped thousand of women and their families to improve their lives through planting trees.

Quote of the Day: Tomlinson on Dangermond

Dr. Roger Tomlinson, the man known as the "father of GIS" has a few choice quips in describing Jack Dangermond while introducing him at the Senior Executive Summit as this year's ESRI UC. Tomlinson's dry humor and wit extolled some of Dangermond's virtues:

"It may surprise you to know that he is a farmer...a 'so so' fisherman and a builder of a company with worldwide reach. I've watched him as a small entrepreneur to a manager of a major corporation. Jack has done it and done it beautifully. Time and time again he has made major decisions in leading the world to using better tools to manage the environment. Jack Dangermond is dedicated to leaving the world as a better place.

Tomlinson was the host of the Senior Executive Summit and his introductions of speakers are remarkable for their weightiness and collegiality. We should all be so lucky to be merely introduced by him.

Quote of the Day: Dangermond Sends Message to "classic geographers"

In addressing the Senior Executive Summit at the ESRI User's conference today, Jack Dangermond, president of ESRI had a brief message for "classic geographers."

"To classic geographers...(GIS) is just this mechanical thing...No, I don't think so...GIS is to geography what the telescope was to astronomy."