Mingma Norbu Sherpa

Mingma Norbu Sherpa was born October 31, 1955, in Khunde village in the Sherpa homeland of Khumbu within what is now Sagarmatha (Chomolungma/Mt. Everest) National Park. Because he spoke several local languages and English, he was working as a translator for visiting trekkers and conservationists in his teens. He became a protégé of Sir Edmund Hillary who in 1953 became the first Westerner to scale Mount Everest. Mingma was in the first class of the first school established by Hillary around Everest. He continued on to graduate from Lincoln College (now a branch of New Zealand’s University of Canterbury), in 1980. He earned a master’s degree in natural resources management in 1985 from the University of Manitoba. As a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Michigan in 1987, he created a plan for environmental education in Nepal. Mingma, along with Chandra Gurung, was central to the development of the conservation area concept in Nepal. In 1985 a team including Mingma and Chandra proposed and planned the establishment of Annapurna Conservation Area where Mingma later served as the first director. Mingma and Chandra felt that the conservation area approach would not reach its full potential until local residents assumed full responsibility for conservation area management as they now have in Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. Mingma hoped that this would spread to all of Nepal’s national parks including Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park. He became a ranger there in 1980 and within six months became the park’s first Sherpa warden. Mingma joined the WWF in 1989 to direct programs in Nepal, Bhutan, and the Terai Arc region of Nepal and India. Among other projects, he led efforts to protect endangered wildlife, including the Bengal tiger and the greater one-horned rhinoceros.

Mingma Norbu Sherpa (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(10): 6.

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Albert J. Larson

Albert J. Larson taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago for over 35 years, where he was known for his effective teaching. He was nominated 11 times for the UIC Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching. A contributor to many textbooks, he also published more than 50 articles in geographical and anthropological journals over the course of his long career. In addition to his work at UIC, Larson served the Chicagoland area as an adjunct professor at Carroll College, Elmhurst College, North Central College, Wilbur Wright Community College, the College of DuPage, and Harper College. A native Chicagoan born in 1934, Larson passed away recently at the age of 72.

Albert J. Larson (Necrology). 2007. AAG Newsletter 42(3): 21.

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Fred Broome

Fred Broome, born February 18, 1940, a longtime employee of the Geography Division at the U.S. Census Bureau, passed away quietly from cancer on December 2, 2006, near his home in Augusta, West Virginia. Broome was the U.S. government’s first employee with the title of “Computer Mapping Specialist” and was relied upon for his expertise in geospatial techniques. He played key roles in developing the address coding guidelines of the 1960s, the GBF/DIME program of the 1970s, assisted in creating TIGER in the 1980s, helped develop the Bureau’s automated cartographic system, formulated the concept of map image metafile (MIM) language, and played a substantial role in the development of the GPS and imagery update techniques currently in use.

Broome served the Census Bureau in several roles throughout his tenure, including as Chief, Mapping Operations Branch; Chief, Geospatial Research and Standards Staff; and lastly as Chief, National Geographics Partnership Team, Geography Division. He retired from the Census Bureau in 2003 after retiring from the U.S. Army Reserves as a lieutenant colonel in 2000.

Broome also played a key role on the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) where he was devoted to building the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and where he also served as Chair of the Subcommittee on Cultural and Demographic Data. Broome provided technical support to the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health for an important study of breast cancer on Long Island. Broome taught GIS for the Center for Disease Control’s Maternal and Child Health conferences and also served as an adjunct faculty member for the Department of Geography at the University of Maryland and for George Mason University, where he taught automated cartography and GIS.

Frederick Roland Broome (Necrology). 2007. AAG Newsletter 42(2): 20.

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Adalberto Vallega

After a courageous struggle, International Geographical Union (IGU) President Adalberto Vallega succumbed to cancer on November 22, 2006, in Liguria, Italy. He was seventy-two. Vallega carried out his duties as IGU President with his habitual thoroughness and vigor throughout rigorous courses of surgery and chemotherapy in the eighteen months preceding his death. He represented the IGU at the Festival International de Géographie in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges at the end of September and remained actively engaged in IGU affairs until a few days before his demise.

Prior to his election as IGU President at the Glasgow International Geographical Congress in August 2004, Vallega served as a Vice President of the IGU from 1996 to 2000 and as First Vice President from 2000 to 2004. He had earlier founded the IGU Study Group on Marine Geography that later became the IGU Commission on Marine Geography. During his 1996-2000 tenure as an IGU Vice President, Vallega promoted the “Oceans 21—Science for the Sustainable Use of Ocean and Coastal Zones Program” in cooperation with the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission of the United Nations Economic, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a program designed to promote interdisciplinary research on deep-ocean and coastal management. Vallega was instrumental in founding the Villa Celimontana—Home of Geography office in Rome, which houses the IGU’s archives and provides a meeting place for geographers. Among numerous other responsibilities he undertook for IGU, Vallega was its representative at the UNESCO World Conference on Science in 1999.

As IGU President, Vallega’s priorities were the establishment of the Mediterranean Renaissance Program, a cooperative multinational research and instructional program focused on problems and questions specific to the Mediterranean and adjacent areas, and the IGU’s Cultures and Civilizations for Human Development (CCHD) initiative, which he conceived, designed, and launched. The goals of the CCHD initiative are 1) to adopt approaches and undertake actions for valuing cultural identities and encouraging inter-cultural and inter-civilizational cooperation, with a view toward pursuing the Millennium goals concerned with social concerns, and helping the operation of UNESCO conventions pertaining to intangible cultural heritage, cultural identities and manifestations of cultural diversity; and 2) to propose to the United Nations the proclamation of an international year on inter-cultural and inter-civilizational collaboration for human development.

Vallega was professor of urban and regional geography at the University of Genoa, Italy. His teaching encompassed human, urban, and regional geography, including coastal management and cultural geography. In addition to his role as professor, Vallega served as Director of the university’s Institute of Geographical Sciences and the Department of Urban, Regional and Landscape Planning. He was also head of the Faculty of Education. Vallega held leadership roles in several geographic organizations, serving as president of the Association of Italian Geographers (1983-85), a member of the executive committee member of the Italian Geographical Society (1985-97), and chairman of the Italian Committee for the International Geographical Union (IGU).

In 1992 Vallega was the scientific coordinator of the “International Conference on Ocean Management in Global Change,” held in Italy with the cooperation of the United Nations as part of the Celebrations for the Discovery of the Americas. In 1993 he designed and promoted the establishment of the International Centre for Coastal and Ocean Policy Study (ICCOPS), which was accredited to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, recognised as a non-governmental organisation of the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) and given observer status with regard to the Barcelona Convention. In 1998 he served as scientific coordinator of the “International Conference on Education and Training in Integrated Coastal Area Management” held in Italy to celebrate the 1998 International Year of the Ocean with the co-operation of UNESCO, IOC, the United Nations International Development Organisation (UNIDO), and (UNEP/MAP) and with the support of the European Commission.

Vallega was a respected member of many scientific organizations and institutions, including the Academia Europæa, and was a scientific consultant to the Italian navy. The University of Nantes recognized Vallega’s work on ocean and coastal zone management with its Laurea Honoris Causa in 2001. The University of Bucharest designated him Doctor Honoris Causa in March 2006. He was the author of more than twenty books, in Italian, French, English, and Spanish, and more than 300 journal articles and papers. Further details of his accomplishments and publications are available at www.vallega.it

Messages of condolence to Adalberto’s wife Bruna and the family may be addressed in care of the IGU Home of Geography in Rome (d.bissell@homeofgeography.org). Donations in Adalberto’s memory may be made to the IGU Promotion and Solidarity Fund at the IGU Secretariat. The fund provides travel grants and research awards to young geographers and those from developing countries. Details regarding wire transfers to the Promotion and Solidarity Fund are available from the secretariat.

Adalberto Vallega (Necrology). 2007. AAG Newsletter 42(1): 26.

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Voit Gilmore

Public servant, travel and tourism scholar, and geographer Voit Gilmore died October 15, 2006. Gilmore was born October 13, 1918, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1939 with degrees in journalism and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where years later he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in geography.

Gilmore’s early career included a job with Pan American Airlines and two years in the U.S. Navy. After World War II, he moved to Southern Pines, North Carolina where he founded Four Seasons Travel Service.

Gilmore served as president of several organizations including the American Society of Travel Agents, the American Forestry Association, and the North Carolina Forestry Association (he operated his family’s lumber manufacturing business from 1947-61).

Gilmore also served as mayor of Southern Pines, North Carolina, as a state senator for two terms, and in a variety of capacities for four North Carolina governors. He was the first director of the U.S. Travel Service, forerunner to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, a post he held during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Over the years, he served as a correspondent from Vietnam, the Arctic and Antarctic for a group of North Carolina newspapers.

In 2000, he and his former wife, Kathryn McNeil, donated more than 500 acres of land and buildings at Purchase Knob to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The gift became the Appalachian Highland Science Learning Center, one of only five such educational centers in the National Park System, with more than 5,000 students participating each year.

Gilmore was a life fellow of the Royal Geographic Society of London, a recipient of the “Mr. Travel” Award from the Golden Helm Society of World Travel Leaders and a member of the Travel Association Hall of Leaders.

In 2004 Gilmore received North Carolina’s highest honor, the North Carolina Award for Public Service, an annual presentation to those who have made significant contributions in science, literature, fine arts and public service.

He established the Voit Gilmore Distinguished Professorship in Geography and the John D. Eyre Geography Travel Fund at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Voit Gilmore (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(10): 23.

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Benjamin Moulton

Benjamin Moulton, longtime chair of the Department of Geography and Geology at Indiana State University died September 30, 2006 at age eighty-nine in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Professor Moulton graduated from Clark University in 1939, earned a master’s from Butler University in 1941 and a second master’s from Indiana University in 1945. He received a PhD from Indiana University in 1950. Before joining the faculty at Indiana State University in 1961, he taught at Butler University, University of Florida, Florida State University, Western Reserve University, Flint Community College, and Eastern Michigan University. He served as professor and chairman of the Department of Geography and Geology from 1964 to 1983. He founded the master’s programs in geography and geology and the PhD program in geography at Indiana State University. The graduate programs were founded with a focus on satellite remote sensing and computer spatial analysis and set the new graduate program apart from others. When he retired in 1983, thirty-five graduate students were in residence.

Professor Moulton published seventeen articles, reviewed more than forty books, taught graduate courses in geography at six colleges and universities, directed twelve field courses to Alaska and the northwestern United States, led annual field trips throughout Indiana, served on more than twenty-five Indiana State University committees, and directed in-service institutes for teachers of earth science. He worked with fourteen science fairs in Michigan and Indiana and was a judge in ten others. He was honored by the National Council for Geographic Education for his outstanding contributions to undergraduate and graduate education in geography and for his excellence in mentoring students. Upon his retirement, the Benjamin Moulton Award was established at Indiana State University for students demonstrating excellence in graduate academic prowess. Moulton remained an active participant in departmental functions throughout his emeritus years.

Benjamin Moulton (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(11): 22.

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Chandra Prasad Gurung

Chandra Gurung was born in the mountain village of Siklesh, the largest Gurung village in what is now Annapurna Conservation Area. Gurung—the general name for the indigenous people of the region as well as his surname—earned a master’s degree in rural development planning from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and a PhD in medical geography from the University of Hawaii in 1988. He specialized in eco-tourism, sustainable development, integrated conservation and development, and protected area management.

Chandra was a pioneer in designing and implementing the first community-based integrated conservation and development project, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). He worked together with Mingma Sherpa on the scouting mission and planning for ACAP and later worked as its second director. This project is regarded worldwide as a success in integrating conservation with sustainable rural development and eco-tourism. Chandra, along with his colleagues, was a pioneer in the proposal and implementation of the Terai Arc Landscape, an ambitious conservation project in the southern plains of Nepal. He also served as member secretary of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation and received awards from the President of Finland, His Majesty Late King Birendra of Nepal, and His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. Since July 1999, Chandra served as a country representative for Nepal for the WWF. He was also a visiting professor at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Chandra Prasad Gurung (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(10): 6.

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Christopher Exline

Christopher H. Exline, longtime Chair of the Department of Geography at the University of Nevada, died on April 11, 2006.

Exline, born on July 23, 1947, earned an associate’s in 1969 from College of Marin, a bachelor’s in 1971 from Sonoma State, a master’s in 1974 from San Francisco State University, and a doctorate in 1978 from the University of California, Berkeley.

Exline taught at College of Marin from 1973-77 and at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs from 1977-81 before coming to the University of Nevada in 1981. Exline served as Chair of the Geography Department there from 1981-97.

Over the years, Exline received many awards for his teaching and commitment to the university and community including the F. Donald Tibbitts Distinguished Teacher Award (1988), the Distinguished Alumni Award Sonoma State University Alumni Association (1991), the American Planning Association Nevada Chapter Meritorious Service Award (1995), the City of Sparks and Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency Meritorious Service Award (1995), and the Board of Regents Undergraduate Advisor Award (2000).

He also served on the City of Sparks Planning Commission (1987-95), the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency (1989-95), and was involved in the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers for many years

Exline joined the AAG in 1971 and was a member until his death.

Christopher Exline (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(6): 16.

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David Weaver

David C. Weaver died in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on April 3, 2006, at the age of sixty-three. Born in Dudley, England, Weaver received his BA degree in geography from the University of Manchester in 1964. He pursued graduate work in geography at the University of Florida, receiving his MA in 1967 and his PhD in 1972. In 1980 he added a Masters in Community Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Weaver taught at West Georgia College from 1970 through 1977, moving to the University of Alabama in 1977 as associate professor. He was promoted to professor in 1982, and became departmental chair in 1987, a position he held for thirteen years. After stepping down from the chair’s position, Weaver continued to be an active contributor to departmental operations and a mentor to undergraduates, graduate students and faculty alike. He made substantial contributions to the development of the department’s night program.

Weaver’s teaching interests and abilities included historical geography, the geography of National Parks, introductory physical geography, climatology, geography for teachers, a wide array of planning topics, and the geography of Europe, the Middle East, and the American South. As part of Weaver’s efforts on behalf of K-12 teachers, beginning in 1990, he provided annual teacher workshops to improve geographic and environmental education to teachers in conjunction with the Alabama Geographic Alliance, and Legacy Inc., Partners in Environmental Education.

Weaver first joined the AAG in 1964. In 1992 he received the Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award from the NCGE, and in 1997 he received the Outstanding Service Award from SEDAAG.

Weaver’s research was published in such publications as the Journal of Tropical Geography, the Tijdschrift voor Economishe en Sociale Geografie, the Southeastern Geographer, The Professional Geographer, and the Journal of Geography, among others, as well as several books and monographs, technical reports, and maps.

David C. Weaver (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(6): 16.

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Walter W. Ristow

Walter W. Ristow, former Chief of the Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, Washington, died on April 3, 2006. Ristow, born April 20, 1908, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, devoted his life to the study of cartography, the history of cartography, map librarianship, and map collecting.   He received his formal training in geography from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (BA 1931), a master’s in geography and geology from Oberlin College, Ohio (1933) and a PhD in geography from Clark University (1937).

Upon completion of his graduate work, Ristow began his long career in map librarianship as he served as head and later Chief of the Map Division of the New York Public Library (1937-46). He also served with the Military Intelligence Service as a wartime map analyst from 1941-44. He moved to Washington in 1946 to begin his thirty-two year career in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress (1946-78). He served as Assistant Chief from 1946-68 and Chief from 1968-78. After retirement he was named Honorary Consultant in the History of American Cartography at the Library of Congress (1978-87).

Ristow devoted substantial energies to the scholarly organizations in his field. He served as Secretary of the Association of American Geographers 1949-50 and also held positions as editor, consulting editor, and advisory editor for several scholarly journals, including the Canadian Cartographer, Imago Mundi, Acta Cartographica, and The Map Collector.  He was as member, vice chairman (1954-57), and chairman (1957-59) of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

Walter Ristow was a prolific writer with a long list of publications prepared between 1933 and the late 1980s. Among his most noteworthy contributions were The Emergence of Maps in Libraries (1980), the prized American Maps and Mapmakers; Commercial Cartography in the Nineteenth Century (1985), (with R.A. Skelton) Nautical Charts on Vellum in the Library of Congress (1977), the scholarly commentary to the facsimile of A Survey of the Roads of the United States of America in 1789 by Christopher Colles (1960),(editor of) A la Carte; Selected papers on maps and atlases (1972), Marketing Maps of the United States (1951, 1952, and 1958), and Aviation Cartography (1956, 1957, 1960).

During his direction of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, he oversaw the development of machine readable cataloging for cartographic objects (MARC maps). He was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the Library of Congress in 1978. During his career he received honors from the Special Libraries Association, the ACSM, and the AAG. Since 1994, the AAG Cartography Specialty Group has offered the Dr. Walter W. Ristow Prize in the History of Cartography, in recognition of academic achievement in the history of cartography or map librarianship

Following his retirement, additional honors were named in his honor, including the Walter W. Ristow Endowment Fund of the Library of Congress (for the advancement of understanding of the Geography and Map Division Collections and American Cartography) established in 1998, and the Ristow Prize of the Washington Map Society, presented annually to the most outstanding submission on the history of cartography.

Walter W. Ristow (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(6): 16.

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