Mike, considered the father of Geographic Information Science, was our chair from 1998 to 2000 and is currently the Associate Director of the Alexandria Digital Library, Director of the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science, Chair of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, and Director of space@ucsb. Mike's many awards include the Prix Vautrin Lud, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Geospatial Information and Technology Association; the Robert T. Aangeenbrug Distinguished Career Award from the Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group of the AAG; the Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society; and being named Educator of the Year by the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.