Christopher Hewitt
Research Associate and Contract Instructor
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Meet Christopher Macdonald Hewitt, who is currently working with an international team on the Smart Citizens Enabling Resilient Neighbourhoods (SCERN) project developing a participatory mapping web and smartphone application to collect data from participants around a study location. Christopher has also explored the socio-economic impacts of late-fall extreme weather events such as the 2011 October snowstorm in the northeastern United States. In 2022, Christopher was awarded a Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Esri Canada Higher Education group to visualize historical Canadian census data back to 1951. As a contract instructor, Christopher has taught a number of courses at Western and Brock Universities including introductory human geography, GIS, cartography, statistics and advanced remote sensing.
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1. What motivated you to pursue a career in geography?
I was inspired to study geography because of the analytical capabilities of GIS, cartography as well as the ability to explore both the human and natural environment.
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2. Could you share a significant moment or project from your early career that had a lasting impact on your research?
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My doctoral project on the Battle of Hastings (1066) explored
different aspects of the battle centered on the theme of human-environment interactions. I continue to publish research from this project.
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3. Are there specific conferences, journals, or resources you recommend for staying updated with the latest trends and research in geography?
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Conferences:
Any conference associated with a professional geography association or geography linked for profit company such as Esri Canada.
Journals:
Any academic journal associated with a professional geography association.
I also highly recommend attending Esri MOOCs which teach you how to use the latest Esri software and the different options available.
4. From your perspective, what do you think the future holds for the field of geography, especially concerning emerging technologies and methodologies?
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I believe the future of geography is in human-environment interactions as explored through GIS and data visualization including cartography.
Contact Us
Canadian Association of Geographers
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Email
info@cag-acg.ca
Address​​​​​​
PO Box 25039
Welland RPO Rose City, ON L3B 6G9