{"id":520932,"date":"2022-06-28T19:59:42","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T02:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=520932"},"modified":"2025-04-01T14:40:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T21:40:22","slug":"an-important-meeting-of-the-minds","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/an-important-meeting-of-the-minds","title":{"rendered":"An Important Meeting of the Minds"},"author":5752,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10932,369792,457141],"tags":[209772,287612,341402,176332,138062],"arcnews_issues":[479682],"class_list":["post-520932","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-esri-user-conference","category-location-intelligence","category-scientific-currents","tag-esri","tag-event","tag-gis-and-science","tag-gis-user-community","tag-science","arcnews_issues-summer-2022","arcnews_sections-gis-people"],"acf":{"short_description":"The Esri Science Symposium at the Esri User Conference is a unique event that showcases how science and geospatial technology intersect.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Esri has always embraced its mandate to help solve the world\u2019s biggest problems by using GIS software and services\u2014an endeavor that fosters sustainability and resilience along the way. Succeeding in this requires a very broad view of science, one that recognizes the value and rigor of both the physical and social sciences, as well as the digital humanities. It also entails engaging in reliable, verifiable methods of scientific investigation and sharing the results broadly, all with the aim of increasing people\u2019s understanding of the world."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Editor's Note:<\/strong> The Esri Science Symposium is now known as the Science Summit.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Some years ago, it became evident that a subset of attendees at the Esri User Conference (Esri UC) could benefit from discussions that went beyond traditional geography and GIS and delved into disciplines such as agriculture science, climate science, conservation biology, ecology, forestry, geology, health sciences, hydrology, ocean science, and various social sciences. The idea emerged that it might be beneficial to put on a special, science-focused event at the Esri UC, and the Esri Science Symposium was born.\r\n\r\nFounded by yours truly in 2015\u2014with critical input and support from University of California, Santa Barbara, professor emeritus of geography Michael Goodchild\u2014the Esri Science Symposium affirms Esri\u2019s commitment to supporting scientists who are expanding fundamental understanding in many scientific fields by developing innovative GIS tools. The aim of the gathering is to engage with Esri UC attendees who are interested in science and enlighten them on how the pressing issues of today\u2014such as climate change and sustainability\u2014intersect with visualization, geodesign, and the growth of geospatial technology. The symposium also salutes the work of product and solution engineers and industry managers at Esri who are actively involved in scientific research and organizations and publish papers in scientific journals and books."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":519282,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"One of the symposium\u2019s biggest benefits is the networking and community building that happens among scientists. Before, this typically occurred throughout the week of the Esri UC at disparate paper sessions and special interest group meetings, in demonstration theaters, and at technical workshops. Now, the 1,000 or so Esri UC participants\u2014among tens of thousands of attendees\u2014who are academic or government scientists have a home of their own, of sorts, within the larger conference. And the popularity of the symposium keeps growing. In 2015, organizers expected around 30 people to attend a special science reception at the Esri UC, yet more than 300 showed up! In 2016, when a formal registration system was established for the inaugural Esri Science Symposium, that number swelled to 650 attendees.\r\n\r\nFor that first symposium, Dr. Margaret Leinen, director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, delivered the keynote speech. She talked eloquently about what it takes to understand and protect the planet and people. She discussed the use of innovative data arrays and statistical modeling to better comprehend the impacts of climate change around the globe and the regional interconnectivity of changes in sea surface temperatures, drought, and increase in fire events throughout Southern California.\r\n\r\nThe following year, Dr. Jonathan Foley\u2014who was then the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences and is now executive director of the climate change solution nonprofit Project Drawdown\u2014challenged the audience to improve the world\u2019s condition by communicating scientific ideas in ways that focus on hope instead of fear, solutions rather than problems, and stories over straight data. And in 2018, Dr. Camilo Mora of the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawai\u2019i at M\u0101noa delivered a compelling keynote about what he consistently sees as some of the most important climate change issues, including the dangers of deadly heat waves."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Curious about past Esri Science Symposium presentations? Check out the following:\r\n