On October 18, 2016, former Vice President of Applied Geographics,Inc. (AppGeo), David Weaver, was presented with the Peter S. Thacher Award at the Northeast Arc Users Group NEARC annual conference held in Falmouth, MA. The award is given to individuals, such as David, who demonstrate long-term commitment and excellence in GIS, particularly in local resource management and conservation. AppGeo’s President, Rich Grady, presented the award.
In his remarks, David reminisced about the start of his GIS career in 1974, “[…] in the pen and ink days of mapping” and commented on the evolution of GIS and cartography over the last four decades. During his successful career and in retirement, David has seen GIS technology grow exponentially into a world of “web mapping, big data, large scale map accuracy, sophisticated analysis, and applications.”
As presenter of the award, Rich remarked of his long-term colleague and friend, “His love of cartography to communicate complex information with clarity, and genuine concern for the coastal environment and our natural resources have marked his career, including his work with dozens of local communities on accurate base-mapping. I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of this award based on measurable contributions to real GIS work in New England for the past 40 years.”
David’s expertise in GIS geographic analysis and cartographic design set a standard of excellence for his colleagues at AppGeo and beyond. His portfolio of work included numerous projects for the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, NOAA Coastal Services Center and the MWRA, several federal agencies, and municipalities across New England. He is currently actively crowdsourcing environmental data and volunteer geographic information (VGI). In addition to his long-term love of sailing, he has been photographing extreme high tide for MyCoast.org and curating his 20th-century map collection.
