Alan MacEachren

Alan M. MacEachren (born 1952) is an American geographer, Professor of Geography and Director, GeoVISTA Center, Department of Geography, The Pennsylvania State University. He is known for his cross-disciplinary work in the fields of human-centered geographic visualization, scientific and information visualization, and in statistics.

Biography Alan MacEachren received a B.A. in geography in 1974 at the Ohio University, an M.A. in geography in 1976 from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in geography 1979 from University of Kansas.

From 1979 to 1983, he was assistant professor of geography at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Director of the Department of Geography Cartography Laboratory. From 1980 to 1983, he was Director of the Department of Geography Spatial Analysis Laboratory, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 1983, he became assistant professor of geography at the University of Colorado-Boulder and in 1985 switched to associate professor of Geography and Director of the Deasy GeoGraphics Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University, where he worked until 1992. From 1992, he was professor of geography, and since 1998 director, GeoVISTA Center, Department of Geography, Penn State University. In Fall 2007, he was visiting professor, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, and since 2007 also Affiliate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State University.

Awards for Alan MacEachren in 2004-2007 include the E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Professor of Geography, College of Earth and Mineral Science, Penn State University. He became an Honorary Fellow of the International Cartographic Association in 2005, making him only the sixth Fellow from the U.S. since 1974. In 2004, he was also recognized for Exceptional Scholarly Contributions to the Practice of Cartography, by the Canadian Cartographic Association.