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NACIS News: May 2024

Date posted: May 16, 2024

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Be a part of NACIS 2024 in Tacoma

The deadline for proposals has been extended to May 31st

Join us in Tacoma, Washington for the 44th annual meeting (Español) (Français), October 16–19, 2024.

You can still submit proposals for the the Main Conference, Practical Cartography Day, specialty-themed sessions, discussion panels, workshops, field trips, or any other way that you are interested in contributing on themes related to cartography.

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

Meet our keynote speakers

OPENING KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Nick Zentner
Central Washington University

Nick Zentner is a distinguished geologist, educator, and award-winning host dedicated to sharing his passion for science beyond the traditional classroom setting. He has been teaching geology at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington since 1992.

Mr. Zentner received the esteemed James Shea Award in 2015 and the Geological Society of America Public Service Award in 2023, recognizing his outstanding contributions to advancing public understanding of earth sciences.

His PBS TV series “Nick on the Rocks” has received significant acclaim, including two Emmy Awards, for its informative content and compelling storytelling. Additionally, he hosts an engaging YouTube Livestream Series, which brings joy to the learning process.

BANQUET KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Danica Sterud Miller
University of Washington Tacoma

Dr. Danica Sterud Miller (Puyallup Tribe of Indians) is a distinguished educator renowned for her expertise in American Indian and Indigenous Studies.

Currently, she holds the esteemed position of Co-Director at the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies (CAIIS) at the University of Washington Tacoma. Dr. Miller is an associate professor at the Culture, Arts and Communication division of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.

Her notable achievements include the receipt of UW Tacoma’s Distinguished Teaching Award, recognizing her innovative pedagogical approaches in Native American studies. Dr. Miller’s teaching methodologies incorporate immersive experiences such as field trips, captivating storytelling, and hands-on learning techniques.

Corlis Benefideo Award nominations are open

NACIS is seeking nominations for the biannual Corlis Benefideo Award for Imaginative Cartography. Nominees can come from any discipline: arts, geography, social sciences, science. Change makers, deep thinkers, inventive tinkerers — who is inspiring you “at the edges” of cartography? Whose work do you think the NACIS community should know about?

Nominating is easy — just let us know about someone with a web link (if available) and a sentence or two about how they inspire you. Winners will receive an honorarium and expenses to attend the NACIS conference, and be featured on the NACIS website. You can read about the award and past winners here. We are looking for nominations by July 1, 2024.

Undergraduate scholarship: applicants wanted

The deadline to apply for the NACIS undergraduate scholarship has been extended to August 31st. Additionally, we have revised the application criteria to streamline the submission process and to allow for a wider variety of submission materials.

Please share the scholarship link, and any other student awards, with relevant people in your network. If you’re an instructor, we created a slide you can use to share current NACIS opportunities with your students.

Become a NACIS volunteer

If you’re attending the conference in Tacoma and would like to volunteer, please send an email to [email protected]. We’re in need of one more New Attendee Ambassador, Lunch Bunch organizers, a banquet photographer, and many more.

Not attending the annual conference but would want to learn more about volunteering opportunities? Don’t hesitate to send that email! Volunteering is a great opportunity to meet new people and to give back to our society. We look forward to hearing from you!

We invite you to attend our DEI meetings

The next Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee meeting is on May 29th at 6pm Pacific Time. The meeting is always open to everyone. You can join if you’re curious to learn about our DEI initiatives. The meeting links are shared on Slack or you can email [email protected] for questions.

Board news

Following the unexpected passing of NACIS Board member Dr. Carl Sack, the Board approved the appointment of Nick Martinelli to temporarily serve on the Board of Directors until the end of the NACIS Annual Business Meeting in Tacoma, in the position vacated by Carl.

The Board will be discussing at a future meeting how we will honor Carl at the meeting in Tacoma.

From our community

If you did any amount of freelance mapmaking (either as your main job or as a hobby) in the last year, please consider taking the 2024 edition of the Freelancer Rate Survey, overseen by Daniel Huffman and Aly Ollivierre.

The results from this survey help empower freelancers to better understand their worth and the business practices of our community. Please consider spending a few minutes sharing your experiences, and circulate this around among any colleagues you know who do any freelance cartography!

TAKE THE SURVEY

We call to your attention

The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has asked that NACIS bring to your attention Safety Recommendation H-16-016 regarding the inclusion of railroad grade crossing information in geographic data, including cartographic materials.

For information about this recommendation, please follow the this link.