Michael Peterson (geographer)

Michael P. Peterson is an American geographer and cartographer whose fields of research include Geographic information systems and computer cartography in relation to the Internet and World Wide Web. He has been a professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha since 1982. He was also the president of the North American Cartographic Information Society between 1996 and 1997, as well as the editor of the journal Cartographic Perspectives from 1998 to 2001.

Education and field
Peterson has both a Masters and Ph.D. in geography, with a B.A. in Earth Science from the University of Wisconsin in 1976. He received his Masters degree from Boston University in 1978 with a dissertation titled "An Evaluation of Cross-Line No-Class Computer Choropleth Mapping." He completed his Ph.D. from the State University of New York-Buffalo in 1982. His thesis was titled "Map, Image and Mind: A Pattern Quality Test of Graduated Point Symbol Maps." His research primarily focuses on implementation of GIS and computer cartography, especially as related to the internet.

Academic
Peterson's first academic position was a postdoctoral assistantship at the University of Zurich between 1981 and 1982. He then became an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha in 1982, where he became a full professor in 1997. He has since remained a professor at the University of Nebraska. He has held visiting, adjunct, and research collaboration positions at other institutions worldwide including the University of Canterbury and TU Wien.

Research
Peterson's research has focused on developing and understanding cartographic and GIS practices, ethics, and applications. Peterson has investigated topics including animated mapping, computer cartography, and distributed GIS.

Professional service
Peterson was vice president of the North American Cartographic Information Society from 1995 to 1996 and president of the organization from 1996 to 1997. He has also held leadership positions in the journal Cartography and Geographic Information Science and chaired an International Cartographic Association commission on maps and the internet.

Publications
Peterson wrote entries for choropleth mapping, isoline, and Web GIS in the Encyclopedia of Geographic Information Science. He has authored or served as an volume editor for books including:



Awards and recognition
Peterson's awards include an Honorary Fellowship from the International Cartographic Association in 2011, the 2008 Higher Education Distinguished Teaching Award from the National Council for Geographic Education, and the 2000 Distinguished Service Award from the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS).