Geography lost a great practitioner when Bill Wood, Geographer of the
Department of State, passed away on July 04, 2005.
Dr. Wood served concurrently as The Geographer of the United States,
providing guidance to federal mapping agencies on the proper depiction
of international boundaries and foreign place names for U.S. cartographic
products.
He conceived the Geographic Information for Sustainable Development
project, which was a most successful project bringing much geographic
data and science to Africa during the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
He was a prime mover in incorporating geographic information systems
into the Department of State. He recognized the value of remote sensing
and geographic information to diplomacy and humanitarian efforts and
worked constantly in the diplomatic community to expand their use.
He negotiated tirelessly for the release of Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission data for humanitarian uses. The Humanitarian Information Unit,
which he conceived of and established, has used geographic data, science,
and tools to help humanitarian efforts, for instance, after the Sumatra-Andaman
Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami and during the genocide in Darfur
and identify the nations with most critical humanitarian needs. His
many accomplishments benefited people throughout the world.
