More than 150 expect to attend

The Departments of Geography and Ecosystem Science and Management at Texas A&M University and the Division of Social Sciences at Blinn College will be hosting the joint 2007 annual meeting for the Southwestern Division of the Association of American Geographers (SWAAG) and Mid-South American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). The meeting will be held November 1st through 3rd at the restored LaSalle Hotel in downtown Bryan. The Department of Geography hosted the meeting ten years ago and expects over 150 participants this year.

“We have a two and a half day program with four workshops in GIS and Remote Sensing topics, followed by two full days of paper and poster sessions with 163 presentations,” said Peter Hugill, Professor of Geography at Texas A&M University and Co-Chair of the event. “We encourage participants to take a three hour walking tour of Bryan that emphasizes the city's historic role in the Texas cotton economy.”

The formal opening reception will beThursday from 6-8 pm in the beautifully restored Astin Mansion. A banquet will be held Friday night in the Cotton Exchange room of the Howell Building.

SWAAG’s mission is to further professional investigations in geography; to encourage the application of geographic findings in education, government, and business; and to improve and elevate the public image of geography. ASPRS strives to advance knowledge and improve understanding of mapping sciences and to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and supporting technologies. For more information visit http://swaag07.tamu.edu.