Announcements

We had the pleasure of speaking with the Editor-in-Chief of the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (IJGI, ISSN: 2220-9964), Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kainz. Our goal is to present a behind-the-scenes look at the journal and provide insights into the Editor-in-Chief's perspective on the publishing process.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kainz, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area:

1. Could you please introduce yourself?
I hold a graduate degree in technical mathematics and a Ph.D. degree in geo-information science from the Graz University of Technology, Austria. Since 1981, I have been active in research, development and education in the GIS and cartography fields. My professional career includes full professor positions at academic institutions in the Netherlands and Austria. Currently, I am a professor emeritus at the University of Vienna, Austria, and a visiting professor at Wuhan University, China. In addition, I held visiting professor positions in the United States of America, Brazil, Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan and the Czech Republic. My scientific interests lie in the mathematical foundations of GIS and cartography. 

2. Could you give us a short overview of the research you are currently undertaking?
Together with my colleague Prof. Huayi Wu from Wuhan University, we have just finished the textbook “Mathematical Foundations of GIS”, which will appear in English and Chinese shortly. It is the first of a series of textbooks that will cover all major aspects of the disciplines involved in geo-information science and will be available in English and Chinese to support the education of graduate university students. Another aspect of my research interest is the application of fuzzy logic in GIS.

3. What are the purpose, scopes and features of IJGI?
IJGI is one of the scientific outlets of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), focusing on geo-information. The scope of the journal, as defined on the webpage, is geo-information science. The topics of remote sensing, photogrammetry, GNSS or geo-sciences (such as geology, geomorphology and hydrology) are not within the scope of IJGI. The journal offers various awards for authors and reviewers. Perhaps the most prestigious award is the Jack Dangermond Award, which entails USD 10,000 and is handed out every four years at the ISPRS Congress. 

4. What is your vision for the journal?
After 10 years since its foundation, I see IJGI becoming an established high-quality Open Access journal for geo-information science with a continuously increasing impact factor.

5. What does the future of this field of research look like?
The future of geo-information science will bring us closer to a real-time, nearly one-to-one model of our reality. This will require the ability to process huge amounts of data in real time, develop an even better understanding of the processes that need to be modeled, develop high-resolution 3D displays, including hyperglobes, holograms, and fully immersive human–machine interfaces, and make controlled use of geo-AI technologies. Beside the technological challenges, we will have to focus even more on the ethical and societal challenges these new technologies bring with them. 

6. What important piece of advice or suggestion would you give to the authors who want to contribute to IJGI in the future?
I would like to encourage potential authors to publish their scientific results related to geo-information science in IJGI considering the scope of the journal. To avoid disappointment, authors should only submit papers that fit the scope of the journal and that have been prepared observing scientific ethics.