Fonds FT - Fraser Taylor fonds

Professor Taylor received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Edinburgh and has done postgraduate work at the University of London and Harvard University. Currently he is Distinguished Research Professor of International Affairs and Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada as well as Director of the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre. Dr. Taylor's main research interests lie in the application of geomatics to the understanding of socio-economic issues. His interests in cartography and international development issues are often inter-related. Research included a major Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada research project entitled "Cybercartography and the New Economy" which involved the creation of a Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica and a cybercartographic product on Canada's Trade with the World. The Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica is also a case study for the InterPARES 2 project which deals with the authentication and preservation of dynamic electronic records. His numerous publications include: Guest Editor and contributor, with Sébastien Caquard, of a Special Issue of Cartographica on Cybercartography, April 2006; Cybercartography: Theory and Practice (ed. and contributor), Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005; Policy Issues in Modern Cartography (ed. and contributor), Pergamon, 1998, Electronic National Economic Atlas of China (ENEAC), (Advisor and Editor for the English Language Version in CD-ROM form), China Higher Education Press, 1996; the National Economic Atlas of China (Advisor and editor for the English language version), Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1994; and Visualization in Modern Cartography (ed. and contributor with Alan M. MacEachren), Elsevier Science Publishers, 1994.

He also has a strong interest in the theory of cartography and has introduced and developed the new paradigm of cybercartography. His interests in cartography and international development issues are often inter-related. He has extensive field experience in developing nations, especially in Africa, which included a six year period as an education officer in rural Kenya where he completed his Ph.D. thesis on Rural Development in Murang'a District. His research interests in this area include: development studies with special reference to Africa, China and Latin America; regional and rural development theory and practice sustainable development an indigenous development strategies; technology transfer in the field of geomatics; Canada's international policies in ODA; and technology transfer.

Dr. Taylor is a member of the Canadian Committee for CODATA and a Board member of the OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) Interoperability Institute. He chairs the International Steering Committee for Global Mapping (ISCGM), an international body involving over 160 national mapping agencies which is producing a digital map of the world with eight data layers to aid environmental and sustainable development decision making. He was Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Association of African Studies for 15 years, President of the Canadian Cartographic Association and President of the International Cartographic Association from 1987-1995.