—The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) has selected Esri founder and president Jack Dangermond as one of its2012 fellows. Dangermond, who is being recognized for his contributions to the advancement of geographic information systems (GIS), UCGIS, and conservation, joins Dr. Luc Anselin, Dr. David Cowen, Dr. Max Egenhofer, Dr. Gerard Rushton, and Dr. Waldo Tobler in the 2012 UCGIS Fellow class. The group will be formally presented at the upcoming UCGIS 2012 Symposium May 30–June 1, 2012, in Washington, DC.

The grade of fellow is bestowed on those who have had an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the spatial disciplines and communities of practice that use spatial information to complement and support their business operations or personal activities.

A landscape architect by training, Dangermond founded Esri in 1969 with a vision that a mapping and analysis framework provides a deeper understanding of our world, enabling people to design a better future. Dangermond's leadership and vision have accelerated the ongoing innovation of GIS technologies that enable people to make insightful decisions and improve the quality of life everywhere.Esri supports a wide variety of global communities using GIS to increase spatial literacy, protect the environment, and assist with disaster response.

About Esri

Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news.

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About UCGIS

The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) is a nonprofit organization of universities and other research institutions dedicated to advancing our understanding of geographic processes and spatial relationships through improved theory, methods, technology, and data. UCGIS members include the nation's best GIScience research and educational universities, professional societies, and private affiliates.