Dr. Dawn Wright has for many years been interested in solving problems related to the management and spatial analysis of oceanographic data, with an emphasis on application issues for GIS. She has completed oceanographic fieldwork in some of the most geologically active regions of planet, and has had three dives in the Alvin submersible. Dr. Wright is professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University, and holds degrees from UC-Santa Barbara (Ph.D. in marine geology and geography), Texas A&M (M.S. in oceanography), and Wheaton College in Illinois (B.S. in geology). She serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Geographical Information Science, Transactions in GIS, and Geospatial Solutions, as well as on the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Geophysical and Environmental Data. Dr. Wright is a National Councillor for the Association of American Geographers and Research Vice-Chair for the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. She is the past recipient of the Milton Harris Award in Basic Research from the OSU College of Science, an NSF CAREER award, a Fulbright to Ireland, and Excellence in Mentoring awards from the OSU College of Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences.