American Association of Geographers

American Association of Geographers
The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a non-profit scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. The organization was founded on December 29, 1904, in Philadelphia, as the Association of American Geographers, with the American Society of Professional Geographers later amalgamating into it in December 1948 in Madison, Wisconsin. the association has more than 10,000 members, from nearly 100 countries. AAG members are geographers and related professionals who work in the public, private, and academic sectors.
In 2016, AAG president Dr. Sarah Witham Bednarz announced in the AAG Newsletter: "Effective January 1, 2016, the AAG will begin to operate under the name "American Association of Geographers", rather than "Association of American Geographers... in an effort to re-think our systems of representation to acknowledge our growing internationalism." Spearheaded under the presidency of geography professor Eric Sheppard (UCLA, formerly University of Minnesota), the name change reflects the US-based organization's diversity and inclusion of non-American members and participants.
Publications
The Annals of the American Association of Geographers and The Professional Geographer are the association's flagship journals. Additional journals published by the organization include the AAG Review of Books, GeoHumanities, and African Geographical Review. The AAG also publishes a monthly newsletter that contains reflections on programs and issues of concern in society of a geographic nature, a jobs column, and accomplishments and innovations of AAG members. The AAG additionally publishes the Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas, a description of programs in higher education in North and South America that offer a geography degree, a geography certificate program, and/or geography courses. Another publication is Earth Interactions.
Specialty groups
The AAG has more than 80 specialty or affinity groups, voluntary associations of AAG members who share interests in regions or topics. Specialty groups have long provided a way for geographers with specific interests to collaborate and communicate, including organizing and sponsoring sessions at the annual meeting as well as granting awards to their members. The AAG also offers Knowledge Communities, a set of online tools for collaboration.
Annual meetings
Since its founding in 1904, the AAG has held an annual meeting for the geography community. In recent years, this conference has attracted between 7,000 and 9,000 attendees. The annual meeting offers upwards of 4,000 papers and presentations on topics as diverse as soil moisture, climate change, population dynamics, political instability, sustainable agriculture, natural hazards, urban landscapes, geography and militarism, and technologies such as geographic information systems. Hands-on workshops on methods and technological tools are an important part of these meetings. The annual meetings also offer an extensive exhibit hall featuring publishers, technology companies, universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Field trips are offered in the diverse locations that these conferences are held.
The annual meetings are held in February, March, or April each year for four to five days. In recent years, the meetings have been held virtually (2020, 2021, and 2022) and in person in DC (2019), New Orleans (2018), Boston (2017), San Francisco (2016), Chicago (2015), Tampa (2014), Los Angeles (2013), New York (2012), and Seattle (2011).
The AAG also sponsors fall meetings based within each regional divisions of the organization. These regional divisions are groupings of several states in the United States, and include, Pacific Coast, Great Plains/Rocky Mountains, Southwest, West Lakes, East Lakes, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Middle States, and New England/St. Lawrence Valley.
Partnerships
To effectively advance geography in society requires partnerships. The AAG has a long history of fruitful partnerships with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private industry. These include the National Council for Geographic Education, the United States Geological Survey, the National Institutes of Health, the American Geosciences Institute and others.
Awards
The Applied Geography Specialty Group James R. Anderson Medal of Honor
The James R. Anderson Medal of Honor (the Anderson Medal) is awarded by the AAG Applied Geography Specialty Group to recognise highly distinguished service to the profession of geography in the field of industry, government, literature, education, research, service to the profession, or public service. It is named for James R. Anderson, the third chief geographer of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Winners of the Anderson Medal include:
Mei-Po Kwan (2022)
Budhendra "Budhu" Badhuri (2018)
William Derrenbacher (2015)
Jerome E. "Jerry" Dobson (2014)
Jeffrey Osleeb (2013)
Lee R. Schwartz (2012)
Robert B. Honea (2011)
Michael DeMers (2010)
Michael Sutcliffe (2007)
Marilyn A. Brown (2004)
Barry Wellar (2003)
Richard D. Wright (2002)
William B. Wood (2001)
Kingsley E. Haynes (2000)
Joel R. Morrison (1999)
Jack Dangermond (1998)
Frank H. Thomas (1997)
John W. Frazier (1996)
The G. K. Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research
The G. K. Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research (not to be confused with the G. K. Gilbert Award given by the Geological Society of America), is presented to the author(s) of a single significant contribution to the published research literature in geomorphology.
Other Awards
AAG also issues an annual award to a university geography program that is helping advance the field of geography.
It also has a series of awards for significant books about geography, the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize, the AAG Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography, and the AAG Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography.
Presidents
†died during his tenure
See also
Areography (geography of Mars)
Biogeography
Cartography
Climatology
Cultural geography
Demography
Development geography
Economic geography
Gamma Theta Upsilon
Geodesy
Geographic Information Science
Geographic Information Systems
Geographical space
Geography
Geomatics
Geomorphology
Geovisualization
Glaciology
Health geography
Historical Geography
Human geography
Hydrology
Landscape ecology
National Council for Geographic Education
Oceanography
Palaeogeography
Pedology
Physical geography
Planetary Science
Quantitative geography
Remote sensing
Technical geography
Time geography
Transportation geography
Urban geography
References
Notes
Further reading
External links
AAG YouTube Channel
AAG Knowledge Communities
National Council for Geographic Education
Archives of the AAG held at the AGS Library, UW Milwaukee
1904 establishments in Pennsylvania
Geographic societies
Scientific societies based in the United States
Scientific organizations established in 1904
Professional associations based in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Geographic data and information organizations in the United States