Egenhofer, Max (1958–)

Max J. Egenhofer is a geographer whose research has included work on spatial reasoning and knowledge representation; user interfaces for geographic information systems; the design of spatial database systems; and mobile spatial information appliances. He has been an influential figure in the development and analysis of geographical information systems (GIS) not only in academia but also in the private sector.

Egenhofer is a professor in spatial information science and engineering (since 1999), a cooperating professor in computer science (since 1991), and former director of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis at the University of Maine (1993–2006). He has held the Libra Professorship of the College of Engineering at the University of Maine and visiting professor appointments at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Univesität Münster, Germany (2004), and the Università de L'Aquila, Italy (1993). He earned an MS in surveying engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1985 and a PhD in surveying engineering from the University of Maine in 1989.

Egenhofer has proved to be an exceptional research leader. As director of the National Center for Geospatial Intelligence Standards for 12 years, he made this unit the premier place worldwide for research in the technical domain of geographic information science, and he moved the University of Maine into the top rank among universities that receive research funding from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. His service to the scientific community includes the organization of more than 20 national and international conferences. He is the founder of a highly successful GIScience conference series, has been program chair of most academic conference series in GIS, is a past editor of GeoInformatica, sits on six editorial boards, and has served on more than 120 program committees.

Egenhofer's work has had a significant influence in industry. Several international standards have been formulated explicitly around his work, and a series of commercial GIS and spatial databases (by Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, Intergraph, Environmental Systems Research Institute [ESRI], Intelligent and Spatial Technologies) have implemented his formalizations. In ISO 19107, the model of topological relations he developed was the “Egenhofer Operators.” Fittingly, the University of Maine recognized him with the 2002 Presidential Research and Creating Achievement Award, and the UCGIS has honored him with the 2003 Researcher of the Year Award.

As an educator, Egenhofer has had an enormous impact on generations of doctoral and master's students in SIE. His SIE graduates have successfully published in competitive outlets and have gone on to become leaders in academia around the world or head their own successful companies (e.g., IST, Planet One, Spatial Minds).

Egenhofer has published more than 100 articles in refereed outlets, among which are the most frequently cited papers in four journals and another three conference series, including the most cited paper in the GIS flagship publication, [Page 877]the International Journal of Geographical Information Science. Egenhofer's research record includes more than 50 research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Federal Geographic Data Committee, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, ESRI, and many others.

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