Harlan J. Onsrud
Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering and
National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
5711 Boardman Hall, Room 340
University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5711
(207) 581-2175, Fax (207) 581-2206
onsrud@spatial.maine.edu
http://www.spatial.maine.edu/~onsrud/index.html
Curriculum Vitae
Harlan J. Onsrud is Professor of Spatial Information Science and Engineering at the University of Maine and a research scientist with the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA). His research focuses on the analysis of legal, ethical, and institutional issues affecting the creation and use of digital databases and the assessment of the social impacts of spatial technologies. He teaches courses in information systems law, information ethics, environmental law, and cadastral and land information systems with an emphasis on emerging economies.
Professor Onsrud is Chair of the U.S. National Committee (USNC) on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA). CODATA is an interdisciplinary committee organized under the International Council of Science, a nongovernmental organization created in 1931 to promote international scientific activity in the different branches of science and their applications to humanity. CODATA’s general objectives include the improvement of the quality and accessibility of data, as well as the methods by which data are acquired, managed, and analyzed; the facilitation of international cooperation among those collecting, organizing, and using data; and the promotion of an increased awareness in the scientific and technical community of the importance of these activities.
Professor Onsrud currently serves also on the Mapping Science Committee within the Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources of the National Research Council (NRC). A licensed engineer and attorney, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association (GSDI) and is co-chair of its Legal and Economics Working Group. He is a recent past-president of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) and recently stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA Journal). He served as a long standing U.S. National Delegate to Fédération Internationales des Géomètres (FIG), on Commission 7 on Cadastre and Land Management and Commission 3 on GIS. He has published in numerous engineering, GIS, and legal journals. While at the University of Maine, he has been PI or co-PI on over 20 funded research grants from such funding agencies as the National Science Foundation, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, and the U.S. Department of Education.
Recent Invited Talks
“Open Source, Open Access and Public Commons Initiatives in the U.S.,” Information Technology Ownership: Legal Issues, Business Models and Social Change in a World Going “Open Source”, Technology Law Center, University of Maine School of Law, Portland, June 19-20, 2003. Invitation Accepted.
“Data Policies for Earth Observation and Spatial Data: US and European Approaches,” National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Sao Paulo, Brazil, 14 April 2003, and Simposio Brasileiro de Sensoiamento Remoto, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 9 April 2003. Invitation Accepted.
“Overview of Open Access and Public Commons Initiatives in the United States”, International Symposium on Open Access and the Public Domain in Digital Data and Information for Science, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, 10-11 March 2003. Invitation Accepted.
“Emerging Models for Maintaining Scientific Data in the Public Domain”, Symposium on the Role of Scientific and Technical Data and Information in the Public Domain, National Academy of Sciences, Sept 6, 2002, Washington, DC, On-line Proceedings at http://www7.nationalacademies.org/biso
"Location Privacy", At the Crossroads of Technology and Privacy, Transportation Research Board Annual Conference, Jan 15, 2002, Washington DC
"A Contract Approach to Addressing Privacy in the Use of Location-Based Services", Specialist Meeting on Location-Based Services, Santa Barbara, CA, December 14 - 15, 2001. On-line Proceedings at http://
“Commoditization of the Public Domain: A Multidisciplinary Academic Community Perspective”, Conference on the Public Domain, Duke University Law School, Nov 8-11, 2001, Video Archive at http://www.law.duke.edu/pd/realcast.htm
"Establishing an Intellectual Property Regime in Academe" Presented at Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM), August 2, 2001, St. Louis MO
"Database Protection and Academic Research" Presented at U.S. State Department Roundtable on "Database Protection and International Science and Technology Collaboration", July 11, 2001, Washington, D.C.
[Primary Research Interests] [Selected Publications] [Courses]
[GIS Law, Policy and Ethics] [GIS in Developing Countries] [GSDI Survey]
Full Curriculum Vitae in PDF