American Association of Geographers
American professional academic organization
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In 2016, AAG president Dr. Sarah Witham Bednarz announced in the AAG Newsletter: "Effective January 1, 2016, the AAG will begin to operate under the name "American Association of Geographers", rather than "Association of American Geographers... in an effort to re-think our systems of representation to acknowledge our growing internationalism." Spearheaded under the presidency of geography professor Eric Sheppard, the name change reflects the US-based organization's diversity and inclusion of non-American members and participants.
Specialty groups
The AAG has more than 80 specialty or affinity groups, voluntary associations of AAG members who share interests in regions or topics. Specialty groups have long provided a way for geographers with specific interests to collaborate and communicate, including organizing and sponsoring sessions at the annual meeting as well as granting awards to their members. The AAG also offers Knowledge Communities, a set of online tools for collaboration.
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Annual meetings
Since its founding in 1904, the AAG has held an annual meeting for the geography community. In recent years, this conference has attracted between 7,000 and 9,000 attendees. The annual meeting offers upwards of 4,000 papers and presentations on topics as diverse as soil moisture, climate change, population dynamics, political instability, sustainable agriculture, natural hazards, urban landscapes, geography and militarism, and technologies such as geographic information systems. Hands-on workshops on methods and technological tools are an important part of these meetings. The annual meetings also offer an extensive exhibit hall featuring publishers, technology companies, universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Field trips are offered in the diverse locations that these conferences are held. Since the early 1990s, the AAG has hosted the "World Geography Bowl" at the annual meeting, a quiz bowl style tournament in which teams of students from the various regional divisions compete.
The annual meetings are held in February, March, or April each year for four to five days. The most recent meeting was held in Detroit, Michigan between March 24–28, 2025, while the forthcoming meeting for next year will take place in San Francisco, California, between March 17–21, 2026, the annual meeting for 2024 was held in Honolulu, Hawaii from April 16–20, 2024. The 2023 meeting was held in Denver . During the COVID-19 pandemic, the meetings were held virtually (2020, 2021, and 2022). Prior to the shift online, the annual meetings were held in person in Washington D.C. (2019), New Orleans (2018), Boston (2017), San Francisco (2016), Chicago (2015), Tampa (2014), Los Angeles (2013), New York (2012), and Seattle (2011).
The AAG also sponsors fall meetings based within each regional divisions of the organization. These regional divisions are groupings of several states in the United States, and include, Pacific Coast, Great Plains/Rocky Mountains, Southwest, West Lakes, East Lakes, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Middle States, and New England/St. Lawrence Valley.
Partnerships
To effectively advance geography in society requires partnerships. The AAG has a long history of fruitful partnerships with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private industry. These include the National Council for Geographic Education, the United States Geological Survey, the National Institutes of Health, the American Geosciences Institute and others.
Awards
Applied Geography Specialty Group James R. Anderson Medal of Honor
The James R. Anderson Medal of Honor (the Anderson Medal) is awarded by the AAG Applied Geography Specialty Group to recognise highly distinguished service to the profession of geography in the field of industry, government, literature, education, research, service to the profession, or public service. It is named for James R. Anderson, the third chief geographer of the U.S. Geological Survey. Winners of the Anderson Medal include:
- Harvey Miller (2025)
- Gary Molyneaux (2023)
- Mei-Po Kwan (2022)
- Budhendra "Budhu" Badhuri (2018)
- William Derrenbacher (2015)
- Jerome E. "Jerry" Dobson (2014)
- Jeffrey Osleeb (2013)
- Lee R. Schwartz (2012)
- Robert B. Honea (2011)
- Michael DeMers (2010)
- Michael Sutcliffe (2007)
- Marilyn A. Brown (2004)
- Barry Wellar (2003)
- Richard D. Wright (2002)
- William B. Wood (2001)
- Kingsley E. Haynes (2000)
- Joel R. Morrison (1999)
- Jack Dangermond (1998)
- Frank H. Thomas (1997)
- John W. Frazier (1996)
- Roger Tomlinson (1995)
- Thomas J. Wilbanks (1995)
- William L. Garrison (1994)
- Lay J. Gibson (1993)
- Edward A. Fernald (1992)
- Harold M. Mayer (1991)
- Howard L. Green (1990)
- T. R. Lakshmanan (1989)
- David L. Huff (1988)
- Brian Berry (1987)
- Gilbert F. White (1986)
- Bart J. Epstein (1985)
- Evelyn L. Pruitt (1984)
- Joseph A Russell (1983)
Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group Tobler Lecture Award
The Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group (GISS SG) hosts a session annually to honor the legacy of Waldo Tobler with prominent speakers in Geographic information science. Speakers are awarded the "Waldo Tobler Award".
Winners of the Waldo Tobler Award include:
- Marc P. Armstrong (2008)
- David M. Mark (2009)
- André Skupin (2010)
- Richard J. Aspinall (2011)
- Dawn Wright (2013)
- Matt Duckham (2014)
- Elizabeth Wentz (2015)
- Alan MacEachren (2016)
- Arthur Getis (2017)
- May Yuan (2018)
- Keith Clarke (2019)
- Elizabeth Delmelle (2021)
- Robert Roth (2021)
- Clio Andris (2022)
- Trisalyn Nelson (2022)
- Christopher Lippitt (2023)
- Shaowen Wang (2023)
- Yao-Yi Chiang (2024)
- A-Xing Zhu (2024)
- Song Gao (2025)
- Kathleen Stewart (2025)
G. K. Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research
The G. K. Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research (not to be confused with the G. K. Gilbert Award given by the Geological Society of America), is presented to the author(s) of a single significant contribution to the published research literature in geomorphology.
Awards from the AAG Marble Fund for Geographic Science
In 2005, Duane Marble established the AAG Marble Fund For Geographic Science with the help of ESRI CEO Jack Dangermond. The fund promotes quantitative geography by rewarding student research that focuses on applying GIScience and computers to spatial problems. These awards include the Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award, the Marble Fund Award for Innovative Master's Research in Quantitative Geography, and the William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography.The Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award is named for the Duane Marble and Geographer A. R. Boyle. It seeks to promote computer science and quantitative geography by providing undergraduates a cash prize of $1000 for their research. The Marble Fund Award for Innovative Master's Research in Quantitative Geography is named for Duane Marble, the creator of the Marble Fund. This award recognizes masters students who have performed innovative research advancing quantitative geography with $2000 and a certificate of merit. The William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography is named for the transportation geographer William Garrison. William Garrison was highly influential in the quantitative revolution in geography and had many graduate students (dubbed the space cadets) who went on to be highly influential within the discipline, including Brian Berry, William Bunge, Michael Dacey, Arthur Getis, Duane Marble, and Waldo Tobler. Like the undergraduate and masters awards, this award seeks to recognize innovative research in quantitative and computational geography. Awardees are given a $3500 prize and a certificate of merit.
Other awards
AAG also issues an annual award to a university geography program that is helping advance the field of geography.
It also has a series of awards for significant books about geography, the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize, the AAG Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography, and the AAG Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography.
Presidents
The role of president has existed within the AAG since its founding in 1904. People who have held the role include the following:
- William Morris Davis (1904–1906)
- Cyrus Cornelius Adams (1906–1907)
- Angelo Heilprin (1907)
- Grove Karl Gilbert (1908–1909)
- William Morris Davis (1909–1910)
- Henry C. Cowles (1910–1911)
- Ralph Stockman Tarr (1911–1912)
- Rollin D. Salisbury (1912–1913)
- Henry G. Bryant (1913–1914)
- Albert Perry Brigham (1914–1915)
- Richard E. Dodge (1915–1916)
- Mark Jefferson (1916–1917)
- Robert DeC. Ward (1917–1918)
- Nevin M. Fenneman (1918–1919)
- Charles R. Dryer (1919–1920)
- Herbert E. Gregory (1920–1921)
- Ellen Churchill Semple (1921–1922)
- Harlan H. Barrows (1922–1923)
- Ellsworth Huntington (1923–1924)
- Curtis F. Marbut (1924–1925)
- Ray H. Whitbeck (1925–1926)
- John Paul Goode (1926–1927)
- Marius R. Campbell (1927–1928)
- Douglas W. Johnson (1928–1929)
- Lawrence Martin (1929–1930)
- Almon E. Parkins (1930–1931)
- Isaiah Bowman (1931–1932)
- Oliver E. Baker (1932–1933)
- François E. Matthes (1933–1934)
- Wallace Walter Atwood (1934–1935)
- Charles C. Colby (1935–1936)
- William Herbert Hobbs (1936–1937)
- W. L. G. Joerg (1937–1938)
- Vernor C. Finch (1938–1939)
- Claude H. Birdseye (1939–1940)
- Carl O. Sauer (1940–1941)
- Griffith Taylor (1941–1942)
- J. Russell Smith (1942–1943)
- Hugh H. Bennett (1943–1944)
- Derwent Whittlesey (1944–1945)
- Robert S. Platt (1945–1946)
- John Kirtland Wright (1946–1947)
- Charles F. Brooks (1947–1948)
- Richard J. Russell (1948–1949)
- Richard Hartshorne (1949–1950)
- G. Donald Hudson (1950–1951)
- Preston E. James (1951–1952)
- Glenn Thomas Trewartha (1952–1953)
- J. Russell Whitaker (1953–1954)
- Joseph A. Russell (1954–1955)
- Louis O. Quam (1955–1956)
- Clarence F. Jones (1956–1957)
- Chauncy Harris (1957–1958)
- Lester E. Klimm (1958–1959)
- Paul Siple (1959–1960)
- Jan O. M. Broek (1960–1961)
- Gilbert F. White (1961–1962)
- Arch C. Gerlach (1962–1963)
- Arthur H. Robinson (1963–1964)
- Edward B. Espenshade, Jr. (1964–1965)
- Meredith F. Burrill (1965–1966)
- Walter M. Kollmorgen (1966–1967)
- Clyde F. Kohn (1967–1968)
- John R. Borchert (1968–1969)
- J. Ross Mackay (1969–1970)
- Norton S. Ginsburg (1970–1971)
- Edward J. Taaffe (1971–1972)
- Wilbur Zelinsky (1972–1973)
- Julian Wolpert (1973–1974)
- James J. Parsons (1974–1975)
- Marvin W. Mikesell (1975–1976)
- Harold M. Rose (1976–1977)
- Melvin G. Marcus (1977–1978)
- Brian Berry (1978–1979)
- John Fraser Hart (1979–1980)
- Nicholas Helburn (1980–1981)
- Richard Morrill (1981–1982)
- John S. Adams (1982–1983)
- Peirce F. Lewis (1983–1984)
- Risa Palm (1984–1985)
- Ronald F. Abler (1985–1986)
- George J. Demko (1986–1987)
- Terry G. Jordan (1987–1988)
- David Ward (1988–1989)
- Saul B. Cohen (1989–1990)
- Susan Hanson (1990–1991)
- John R. Mather (1991–1992)
- Thomas J. Wilbanks (1992–1993)
- Robert Kates (1993–1994)
- Stephen S. Birdsall (1994–1995)
- Judy M. Olson (1995–1996)
- Lawrence A. Brown (1996–1997)
- Patricia Gober (1997–1998)
- William L. Graf (1998–1999)
- Reginald Golledge (1999–2000)
- Susan L. Cutter (2000–2001)
- Janice J. Monk (2001–2002)
- Duane Nellis (2002–2003)
- Alexander B. Murphy (2003–2004)
- Victoria A. Lawson (2004–2005)
- Richard A. Marston (2005–2006)
- Kavita Pandit (2006–2007)
- Thomas J. Baerwald (2007–2008)
- John A. Agnew (2008–2009)
- Carol P. Harden (2009–2010)
- Kenneth E. Foote (2010–2011)
- Audrey Kobayashi (2011–2012)
- Eric Sheppard (2012–2013)
- Julie Winkler (2013–2014)
- Mona Domosh (2014–2015)
- Sarah Bednarz (2015–2016)
- Glen M. MacDonald (2016–2017)
- Derek Alderman (2017–2018)
- Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach (2018–2019)
- David H. Kaplan (2019–2020)
- Amy Lobben (2020–2021)
- Emily Yeh (2021–2022)
- Marilyn Raphael (2022–2023)
- Rebecca Lave (2023–2024)
- Patricia Ehrkamp (2024–2025)
- William Moseley (2025–2026)
- Sara Smith (2026-2027)