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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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Playing with Projections

February 15, 2019 07:55 PM
Dr. Plewe's Projection Toy
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#5 Zion National Park

December 30, 2018 08:14 PM
Steamboat Mountain Pioneer Trail, December 29 2018
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#4 Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

December 23, 2018 08:26 PM
Owen's Trail, December 15 2018
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A year in the parks

December 15, 2018 03:17 PM
40 Parks(ish) in 12 Months
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Maps and Air Photos Redux

December 11, 2018 03:19 PM
Redesigning Geog 211
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Wasatch Front Trails

July 03, 2018 03:24 PM
My (first) 2018 Map-for-the-Heck-of-it 1:80,000 scale, 3ft x 6ft
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