Roger Tomlinson

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Roger Tomlinson is the primary originator of modern computerized Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Tomlinson developed the Canadian Geographic Information Systems, the first of its kind. He named the field in the early 1960s and has been a leader ever since. He made a major contribution to the field by establishing geographic analysis in the working practices of high profile clients worldwide and creating the understanding that GIS had a contribution to make to practitioners in many disciplines. Tomlinson was Chairman of the International Geographical Union GIS Commission for 12 years. He pioneered the concepts of worldwide geographical data availability as Chairman of the IGU Global Database Planning Project in 1988. He is a past president of the Canadian Association of Geographers and a recipient of their rare award for Service to the Profession. The Association of American Geographers in the United States awarded him the James R. Anderson Medal of Honor for Applied Geography in 1995.

Tomlinson is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and winner of their Murchison Award for the Development of Geographic Information Systems. In 1996 he was awarded the GIS World Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime of work with GIS, and he was the first recipient of the ESRI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. More recently, he was made a fellow of University College London, was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and was awarded the Order of Canada by the Governor General for "changing the face of geography as a discipline." In short, no one has deeper or more recognized GIS consulting experience.

Tomlinson is currently president of Tomlinson Associates, a company of consulting geographers with branches in Canada, the United States, and Australia. In 2006, he received honorary Doctorates of Science from the University of Nottingham and from McGill University, where he completed his bachelors and masters degrees respectively.