Wayland, MA, USA, July 10, 2009. At the June meeting of the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC®) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, David Danko received the OGC's 11th annual Kenneth D. Gardels Award (http://www.opengeospatial.org/ogc/awards). The Gardels Award is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions in advancing the OGC vision of complete integration of geospatial information and services into the world's information systems.
Danko helped draft the OGC abstract specification for metadata and has long chaired the Metadata Working Group. He has played a key role in developing and maintaining a working relationship between the OGC and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC 211. Since 1996 he has made important contributions in numerous other key Technical Committee activities, including the Documentation Subcommittee, the OGC Review Board, and the Mass Market, Defense and Intelligence, and Catalog working groups. He also represents ESRI in the Planning Committee. In all committees and working groups, Danko has consistently set a high standard for serious, mature and professional input.
Mark Reichardt, president and CEO of OGC, said, “Dave is never afraid to ask the tough questions and he consistently provides good and unbiased judgment of others' ideas. He can be counted on to challenge conventional wisdom and lead groups in searching for new and creative solutions to difficult or complex issues. Dave is a valued participant in the vigorous and open-minded dialog that is critical to the OGC consensus process.”
The Gardels Award is given annually in memory of Kenneth Gardels, a founding director of OGC and OGC's former director of academic programs. Mr. Gardels coined the term “Open GIS,” and devoted his life to the humane and democratic uses of geographic information systems until he died in 1999.
The OGC is an international industry consortium of more than 385 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications. OpenGIS Specifications support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless and location services, and mainstream IT. They empower developers to make complex spatial information and services useful with all kinds of applications. See http://www.opengeospatial.org/.
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