Anthony C. Robinson

Anthony C. Robinson is Professor of Geography and the E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Professor at The Pennsylvania State University. He serves as Director of Online Geospatial Education Programs through the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute and Director of the GeoGraphics Lab within the Department of Geography in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Robinson also holds leadership positions as Vice Chair of the International Cartographic Association Commission on Geovisualization and Chair of the AAG Cartography & Mapping Specialty Group.

Dr. Robinson earned his B.S. in Applied Geography from East Carolina University (2002), followed by his M.S. (2005) and Ph.D. (2008) in Geography from Penn State. His academic career at Penn State has progressed from Research Assistant (2003-2008) to his current position as full Professor (2024-present), with previous appointments as Assistant Professor (2015-2019) and Associate Professor (2019-2024).

Robinson's research focuses on designing and evaluating geovisualization tools to improve geographic information utility and usability across multiple domains including epidemiology, crisis management, national security, and higher education. His key contributions include characterizing how users assemble analytical results, studying visualization tools through eye-tracking methodologies, and exploring map symbol standardization for emergency management. Recent innovative work examines viral cartography in social media, techniques for visualizing the 'presence of absence' in big spatial data, and geographic dimensions of learner engagement in educational analytics.

His publication record demonstrates a consistent trajectory toward increasingly complex geospatial challenges, with early work focused on foundational geovisual analytics methods evolving into current research addressing big data cartography, social media geovisualization, and educational applications of geographic information science. Robinson's scholarly output bridges theoretical cartographic principles with practical applications across diverse domains, particularly emphasizing user-centered design approaches.

• E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Professor in Geography
• Past President of the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS)
• Co-Chair of the International Cartographic Association Commission on Visual Analytics
• Co-Director of GeoGraphics Lab
• Director of Online Geospatial Education Programs since 2014

As an advisor, Robinson has mentored doctoral students including Tim Prestby (recent PhD graduate) and currently supervises PhD candidate Lily Houtman. He actively seeks graduate students interested in cartography and geovisualization, user-centered design and evaluation, and health and ecological informatics. His research has been supported through institutional positions at Penn State including leadership of online geospatial education programs serving thousands of students globally.

Robinson directs the GeoGraphics Lab, which serves as an incubator for innovative geospatial projects including community mapping initiatives and geospatial storytelling devices focused on community resilience and climate action. The lab recently hosted its inaugural Community Mapping Day at Penn State, engaging students, faculty, and community members in mapping pollinator pathways. Through the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, he leads Penn State's GIS Certificate, Master of GIS, and Master of Spatial Data Science programs, which have educated thousands of professionals worldwide.