Henk J. Scholten receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Henk J. Scholten receives Award
Dr. Henk J. Scholten has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contribution to advancing the science and technology of geographic information systems (GIS) throughout his career. The award is an ESRI-initiative and is presented for the 29th time. Dr. Henk Scholten has received the award on 13 July 2009 at the ESRI User Conference in San Diego, CA, from ESRI president Jack Dangermond.
With this award, ESRI recognizes dr. Scholten’s accomplishments as “one of the first adopters of GIS in the world and a prolific author of books on spatial analysis.” ESRI also pays tribute to his prominence in the field, and his research work as scientific director of the Spinlab, the Spatial Information Laboratory at the Free University of Amsterdam.
How it all started
Dr. Scholten studied mathematics and geography at the Free University of Amsterdam and obtained his Ph.D. in 1988. Since 1990 he has been professor in spatial informatics at the Faculty of Economics of the Free University of Amsterdam and director of the Spinlab. Henk Scholten brought GIS from the USA to Europe and developed it further.
Books and publications
Dr. Scholten has written various articles about GIS for publication in international books and journals. His latest book ’Geospatial Technology and the Role of Location in Science’ is about bringing together the expertise of leading GI-Scientists. The book traces the adoption and dissemination of Geospatial Technology in a range of disciplines. It examines the impact this technology has had, and is likely to have, on the explanation of spatial behaviour, phenomena and processes.
Co-founder Geodan
Dr. Scholten is co-founder and CEO of Geodan in Amsterdam, one of the largest European companies specialised in Geospatial Information Technology. Since its foundation in 1985 Geodan has grown into an independent group of companies with more than 130 employees, giving form and contents to all the aspects of the Geographical Information Systems. In his role as director of Geodan, dr. Scholten has been supervisor on a large number of national and international GIS projects. Dr. Scholten is advisor for several ministries in different countries.
