Michael Frank Goodchild主 要从事地理信息科学、空间分析、地理数据不确定性等研究，在地理信息系统理论、方法与应用领域做出杰出贡献，是地理信息科学的倡导者与积极推动者，在全球 地理信息科学与技术领域享有崇高威望，是全球公认的地理信息系统领域的学术权威。为美国科学与艺术院院士（2006－），英国皇家科学院外籍院士 （2010－），美国国家基金委社会行为与经济学咨询委员会主席。
发表GIS论文400余篇，出版专著15部，近年主要论文有：
2. M.F. Goodchild (2009). Geographic information systems and science: today and tomorrow. Annals of GIS15(1): 3–9.
3. M.F. Goodchild (2009). What problem? Spatial autocorrelation and geographic information science. Geographical Analysis 41(4): 411–417.
4. M.F. Goodchild (2009). Challenges in spatial analysis. In A.S. Fotheringham and P.A. Rogerson, editors,The SAGE Handbook of Spatial Analysis, pp. 465–480. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Part I: Science Issues in Geo-informatics
The lecture includes a brief history of GIS and its evolution into the geospatial information technologies of today. Basic principles of GIScience are introduced, including objects and fields, relational and object-oriented data models, and Tobler’s First Law of Geography. Uncertainty is introduced, and models of uncertainty are discussed. The lecture summarizes the current suite of data standards and the institutions that develop and promote them. The concept of Digital Earth is introduced, and discussed using the example of Google Earth.
Part II: Geographical Spatial Modeling
The lecture builds on the previous lecture with a discussion of data models for 2.5D and 3D representation. alternatives are reviewed in terms of advantages and disadvantages for analysis and accuracy. Methods of analysis are reviewed and discussed, including intervisibility, trafficability, and simulation of catchment processes.
Part III: Spatial Statistics and Analysis
The lecture first establishes alternative ways of organizing the techniques and models of spatial analysis. The major methods are discussed within an organizational schema, beginning with extraction and visualization and progressing through optimization to hypothesis testing. Spatial interpolation, density estimation, buffering, spatial joins, and overlay are discussed.
Part IV: New Geography and Future GIS
The lecture begins with a focus on volunteered geographic information and crowdsourcing. Examples are cited and the problem of data quality is explored. VGI has especial value in time-critical situations such as emergencies. Discussion then moves to speculation about the future of GIS, based on current trends and anticipated developments in technology and the availability of data.
