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The Mapman

I have been teaching cartography and GIS at BYU since 1997, after receiving my MS and PhD in Geography from SUNY-Buffalo. My research focuses on historical GIS and cartography, figuring out how to use the geographic perspective to better understand the past, especially the history of Utah and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am also very interested in the underlying ontology of geographic information, how we understand and represent the world. And I'm something of a "geo-collector." Once I'm interested in something, I feel the need to map every one of them; I've built GIS datasets of 550 hillside letters, 350 old LDS churches, 7,000 historical LDS wards and branches, I've driven almost every highway in Utah, and so on.

Beyond work, I enjoy spending time with my wife Jamie and five children (and two great daughters-in-law and 3 grandchildren!), hiking, and exploring the wonders of this "pretty, great state."
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2022 #30DayMapChallenge

November 02, 2022 11:29 PM
Joining a cartographic celebration
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U.S. Public Lands

November 01, 2022 09:36 AM
October 2022, 6ftx3ft
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Bonneville Shoreline Trail Panorama

October 31, 2022 03:02 PM
2022, 42"x15"
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9. Manti-La Sal National Forest

July 14, 2019 08:04 PM
Maple Canyon Arch, Box Canyon, July 13 2019
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7. Dixie National Forest

July 01, 2019 10:37 PM
Bristlecone Pine and Vermillion Castle Trails, June 26 2019
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#6? Antelope Island State Park

April 09, 2019 07:35 PM
Dooley Knob, April 9 2019
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