Spatial Analysis and Modeling - Plenary Sessions

2025 Plenary Speaker

Since 2000, in cooperation with Geographical Analysis (GA) and the Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, the Spatial Analysis and Modeling (SAM) Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) has established a tradition of co-sponsoring a plenary speaker at the annual AAG meetings.

Year Location Speaker Title
2025 Detroit, MI Elizabeth Delmelle It Probably Doesn't Cause Gentrification: Reflections from an Urban Spatial Analyst

The AAG Spatial Analysis and Modeling (SAM) specialty group and Geographical Analysis are delighted to announce this year's annual lecture in Detroit will be given by Elizabeth Delmelle from the University of Pennsylvania. The title of her talk is, "It Probably Doesn't Cause Gentrification: Reflections from an Urban Spatial Analyst." Time to mark those calendars and make your plans to be there!

Delmelle's lecture is scheduled for Thursday, March 27th, at 4:10pm in Room 260 on Level 2 of Huntington Place. This is an in-person only event.

As is our tradition, the lecture will be immediately followed by a celebratory reception for session attendees! However, this year's reception is *extra* special and unprecedented-a celebratory two-fer as SAM/GA and the Transportation specialty group join reception forces to co-honor both Fleming and SAM/GA Lecture speakers! You'll want to say you were there! One room, three fantastic events: Fleming Lecture, SAM/GA Lecture, reception (for all attendees of either Lecture!)!

Hope to see you there!

Past Plenary Speakers

Year Location Speaker Title
2024 Honolulu, HI Peter Rogerson Testing Hypotheses When You Have a Few Too Many
2023 Denver, CO Jennifer Miller On null models in spatial ecology
2022 Virtual
2021 Virtual Sergio Rey Big Code
2020 Virtual
2019 Washington, DC Alan Murray Spatial Analysis and Modeling: Analytics and Spatial Data Science
2018 New Orleans, LA Harvey Miller Some big thoughts about Spatial Analysis and Geographic Information Science in an era of plenty
2017 Boston, MA Daniel Griffith Some Robust Assessments of Eigenvector Spatial Filtering
2016 San Francisco, CA Stewart Fotheringham Dispelling some Myths about Geographically Weighted Regression
2015 Chicago, IL Keith Clarke On the topology of topography
2014 Tampa Bay, FL Helen Couclelis Ignorance in the Age of Information: Prediction and Uncertainty When the Numbers Just Aren't There
2013 Los Angeles, CA Morton E. O'Kelly Hub location: a geographic analysis
2012 New York, NY Robert Haining Space-time modelling to support local policing
2011 Seattle, WA Geoffrey Jacquez Key problems and some solutions in geospatial health analysis
2010 Washington, DC Peter Nijkamp Behavior of Humans and Behavior of Models: A Cognitive Perspective
2009 Las Vegas, NV Denis Pumain Modeling spatial evolution: the example of urban systems
2008 Boston, MA
2007 San Francisco, CA Luc Anselin Spatial econometrics: retrospect and prospect
2006 Chicago, IL Kingsley Haynes Innovation, technology and latecomer strategies: evidence from the mobile handset manufacturing sector in China
2005 Denver, CO Richard Church Beyond 9-11: the new challenges for spatial analysts
2004 Philadelphia, PA
2003 New Orleans, LA Nina Lam Challenges in spatial analysis: an assessment
2002 Los Angeles, CA Arthur Getis Invention as the mother of necessity: a brief history of quantitative methods in geography
2001 New York, NY Michael Batty Generating urban landscapes at the fine-scale: cells, agents, form and development
2000 Pittsburgh, PA Michael Goodchild Spatial analysis in a communicating world