CaGIS 2026 Conference Program

Tuesday Sep. 8th

8:00 am

Breakfast

St. Louis Room

9:00 am

Plenary Session: Lauren Bennett (ESRI)

St. Louis Room

10:20 am

Coffee Break

St. Louis Room

10:40 am

Panel 1: AI and the Evolution of Trust

Patrick Ellis, NGA | Mark Munsell, GeoFutures STL | Peng Luo, U Iowa

St. Louis Room

12:00 pm

Boxed Lunch

St. Louis Room

2:00 pm

Session 1A – GeoAI, Spatial Cognition, and Decision-Making (Research)

St. Louis Room

details:
Yue LinThe Limitations of Large Language Models for Understanding Spatial Cognition and Experience
Somang Kim, Junbo Wang and Yuhao KangThe Place You See: Reconstructing Geographical Imagination from Brain Activities Using the Mind2Place Diffusion Model
Zhe Wang, Zhaonan Wang and Takahiro YabeScene-Level Vector Spatial Representation Learning for Map Understanding
Yuhang Xie, Leeje Jang, Haofeng Tan and Oluwadamilola SalauAn Agentic Vision–Language Framework for Multi-Source Flood Assessment: Structured Spatial Reasoning and Human–AI Collaborative Decision Support
Session 1B – GeoAI, Disaster Mapping, and Hydrography (Research)

Rooms 352/353

details:
Yifan Yang and Lei ZouRAPIDMap: Rapid multi-Agent Pipeline for Interpretable Disaster Mapping from Satellite and Street-view Imagery
Yue Qin, Xiaowei Jia and Rosta FarzanA Latent Model of Street-Level Urban Flood Prediction Using Open Data
Lawrence Stanislawski, Pierfranco Costabile, Barry Kronenfeld, Margherita Lombardo and Barbara P. ButtenfieldLinking scale-specific sinuosity to hydrogeomorphic domains in Alaska watersheds
Jinwen Xu and Daniel RodriguezUnderstanding Human Displacement and Mobility Dynamics from Cell Phone Data: The Case of 2024 Floods in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Chiamaka Nwajiaku and Caglar KoyluVisualizing Geographic Sequences: A case study Intergenerational Migration

3:20 pm

Break

3:40-5:00 pm

Session 2A – Cartography, GIScience, and Critical Perspectives (Vision)

St. Louis Room

details
Peng Luo and Xiayin LouThe Cartographer as Auditor: From Invisible Uncertainty to Reliable Spatial Knowledge
Natalie CorreaFeminizing Geovisual Analytics
Barry Kronenfeld and Gaurav SinhaFrom Accessibility to Empowerment: Rethinking the Role of Voice Control In GIS
Session 2B – GeoAI, Automation, and Geovisualization (Lightning)

Rooms 352/353

5:30-7:30

Reception & Poster Session

St. Louis Room

details
Mirza Md Tasnim Mukarram and Marc LindermanExplainable GeoAI Cartography for Delineating Urban Flood Priority Corridors in a Deltaic Environment
Reyhaneh Ahmadi and Kaveh GhamisiMapping Transit Deserts and Socioeconomic Vulnerability in Oklahoma City
Philip Thiem, Samantha Arundel, Christy-Ann Archuleta, Jenni Clark and Silvia TerziottiMonotonic8 – A tool for Grounding Stream Networks
Riley Pacer, Susan Meerdink, Benjamin Swanson, Martha Fey, Charlotte Hanfland and Nicole RamkerHow Constructed Prairies Help Cool the Landscape: Insights from Field Measurements and Drone Imagery
Samuel TaylorThe Water is Getting Warmer: Spatiotemporal Water Quality Trends from the Multi-decadal Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project (CLAMP)
Susan Meerdink, Hillary Cooley, Pablo Ruiz, Drew Hiatt and S. Luke FloryMapping The History of Disturbances in Everglades National Park with Satellite Time Series
Iniobong BensonA Novel Multivariate Drought Index for Enhanced Drought Monitoring in the Greater Horn of Africa
Quazi Umme Rukiya, Marc Linderman and Mirza Md Tasnim MukarramSatellite-Based Assessment of Depth-Dependent Soil Moisture Drought Dynamics in the State of Iowa
Atlas GuoLEGO Cartography: From Practice to Framework
Maxwell DonaldsonReading the Scale Bar: A Computer Vision Pipeline for Automated Metadata Extraction from Historical Maps
Babu GounderAn Interactive Geospatial Web App for Local Access and Public Health: Mobilizing Technology to Disseminate Data and Build Community Knowledge
Yiuman TseFlood Risk and Residential Property Values: Evidence from Parcel-Level Analysis in St. Louis
Ashton PietzmanRiver Network Line Generalization at Small Scales: A Comparative Approach
Philip Thiem, Samantha Arundel, Christy-Ann Archuleta, Jenni Clark and Silvia TerziottiMonotonic8 – A tool for Grounding Stream Networks
Tatyana DimascioExpanding Trail Connectivity: The US Geological Survey’s Trail Planning Application

Wednesday Sep. 9th

8:00 am

Breakfast

St. Louis Room

9:00 am

Plenary Speaker: Jeremy Crampton

St. Louis Room

10:20 am

Coffee Break

St. Louis Room

10:40 am

Panel 2: Effects of Geospatial Automation on Decision-Making

Sam Arundel, USGS | Robert Stewart, Oak Ridge Natl Lab | Vasit Sagan, St. Louis U. | Zhenlong Li, Penn State

St. Louis Room

12:00 pm

Boxed Lunch

St. Louis Room

2:00 pm

Sesslion 3A – The Cartographer in the Loop (Vision)

St. Louis Room

details
Robert E. Roth, Amy L. Griffin, Anthony C. Robinson and Mingguang WuThe Cartographer in the Loop? Reframing Cartography + GeoAI as a Problem of Interaction (not Automation) in Geovisual Analytics
Jim ThatcherTranslating across disciplinary boundaries: Cartography, Math, and Machine-Learning towards more equitable climate outcomes
Stephanie DeitrickSpatial intelligence by design: embedding GIS expertise in AI driven government data infrastructure
Session 3B – Climate, Risk, and Resilience (Research)

Rooms 352/353

details
Emine Senkardesler, Anna Liljedahl and Elhan ErsozWho Decides the Risk? Permafrost Thaw Risk Assessment in Wainwright Community, Alaska
Bijoy Mitra and Guiming ZhangGeoAI-Based High-Resolution Mapping of Thermal Stress and Surface Interventions in Bangladesh
Yuan Niu, Zhe Zhang, Wenwen Cheng, Anni Yang, Changjie Cai, Dongying Li, Demi Hu, Zhenlei Song and Yuhang XieKeeping the Cartographer in the Loop: A Participatory Spatial Decision-Support System for Urban Heat Resilience Planning
Krishna Chaitanya Mummadi and Dr. Mia Karisa DawsonSpatial Patterns of Vacancy and Reinvestment in Baltimore
Session 3C – GeoAI, Remote Sensing, and Terrain Mapping (Research)

Student Govt Mtg Room

details
Xihan Yao, Koutian Wu, Rushi Bhatt, Brendon Hall and Yuhao KangCartographer in the Loop: Interactive Land Cover Change Detection Using Geospatial Foundation Model Embeddings
Ashutosh Pawar, Vasit Sagan, Derek Tesser, Edward Boyda and Aaron DavittLinking Manure Management to Emissions: A Satellite–GeoAI Traceability Pipeline for U.S. Cattle Operations
Emmanuel StefanakisEvaluating Neural Relief Shading Across Alberta’s Physiographic Gradient Under Varying Scale, Terrain, and Parameter Conditions
Jung Kuan Liu, Ethan Shavers, Samantha Arundel and Rongjun QinEvaluating the Reliability of U.S. Geological Survey Three-Dimensional Elevation Program Lidar-Derived Building Heights through Multi-Source Comparison

3:20 pm

Session 4A – CaGIS Student Paper Competition Finalists

St. Louis Room

details
Jasper Fangsheng Zhou and Carolyn FishLines, Polygons, and Imagery: Comparing Map Designs for Communicating Glacial Retreat
Alton L. Hipps and Jonathan K. NelsonUncertainty and Trust in Geovisual Analytics with Heuristics in Mind
Susannah Cox and P. William LimpisathianNavigating ADHD: Using VR to Explore ADHD Group Navigational Differences
Maryam Torkashvand and Caglar KoyluMissing Locations, Missing Ties: Spatial Bias in Kinship Networks
Session 4B – Human-Centered Risk Mapping and Analysis (Lightning)

Rooms 352/353

details
Jinyi Cai, Caglar Koylu, Erin Wissler Gerdes, Carly Mahoney, Grant Brown, Jacob Clark, Mary Charlton, Emily Roberts, Jacob Oleson and Sarah NashUser-Centered Dashboard Design for Map Understanding: A Conceptual Framework for Small-Area Cancer Mapping
Babu GounderProgressing Environmental Health and Justice through GIS: Developing Lead Surveillance from Critical Spatial Analysis of Risk, Screening Rates, and Socioeconomic Hardship
Elif KorkmazUnderstanding Social Vulnerability in Multi-Hazard Contexts
Akinwale OladimejiWhen Risk Maps Mislead: Why Uncertainty matters in Widlife-Vehicle Collision Mapping
Atlas Guo, Qunying Huang and Robert RothVisual Blending as Cartographic Design Practice for Multivariate Natural Hazard Mapping
Jakob BarkerFRED: An Automated Change Detection System that Keeps the Cartographer in the Loop
Frederick SandersSuitable for Intended Use: Charting a Course for Human-Centric AI use in Maritime Navigation
Session 4C – Human mobility, and human-environment interactions

Student Govt Mtg Room

details
Meicheng Xiong, Sheng Wang, Zhongfu Ma, Jacob Harris and Di ZhuMapping Behavioral Spatial Interactions from Individual Human Mobility Data
Nirab Shrestha, Vasit Sagan, Derek Tesser, Ashutosh Pawar and Hadi Ali AkbarpourScalable Digital Twins for Complex Architecture: Preserving Neural Geometry via Deterministic Alignment
Leah M. Mungai, Raechel A. Portelli and Zhijie ZhouGround Truth and Local Roots: A Framework for Grounded GIScience and Participatory Land Management
Zongrong Li, Lei Zou and Jinsil Hwaryoung SeoA 3D Framework for Quantifying and Geovisualizing Window-View Green Visibility from Indoor Perspectives

Thursday Sep 10th

Geo-Resolution
details

All CaGIS conference participants are invited to attend Geo-Resolution 2026 which will be held on September 10 at the Busch Student Center. Geo-Resolution is a one-day free event that will bring together academia, industry, and government to discuss challenges and opportunities in the geospatial community.  Geo-Resolution is an annual event cosponsored by Saint Louis University and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. 

Friday Sep 11th

Workshops

Click here for workshop information.

Join the largest Cartography and Geographic Information Science network.