An Ambassador for the Oceans
Chief scientist and oceanographer Dawn Wright has taken a leading role within Esri over the past few years pushing the possibilities of GIS in the hydrographic and oceanographic world for the benefit of environment, safe navigation and the Blue Economy. She talked to Hydro International at the Esri User Conference in San Diego, USA, in July about the needs for mapping the oceans, not just for charting but for the betterment of humankind at large.
By Durk Haarsma, publishing director, Hydro International
Can you share your thoughts about the liaising and ambassadorial role you hold within Esri?
My role as chief scientist is really to be a liaison between Esri and the scientific community. To do this most effectively means serving on boards and panels internationally, including the National Science Foundation in the US, the US National Academy of Sciences and some of the federal agency science advisory boards such as NOAA. Internationally, I’ve been working with UNESCO, particularly the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and similar bodies. My role is to ensure that Esri contributes as a member of the scientific community, rather than just as a software vendor. This is because science underpins most of what we do at Esri and therefore we have to understand the science community as well as using science to produce effective software and services.