Redlands Native and Esri Founder Jack Dangermond Recognized by Economist

Redlands native Jack Dangermond, the founder and president of Redlands-based Esri, was recognized for his innovative GIS work in November 2012 by The Economist, the 170-year-old weekly magazine published in London, England.

Dangermond and John Hanke, vice-president of product management at Google's Geo division, were recognized "for pioneering and popularising the use of geographical information systems," which include computerized maps such as Google Earth, according to the magazine's website.

The awards were presented Nov. 15 by Tom Standage, digital editor of The Economist and editor of Technology Quarterly, at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in London.

Dangermond was not at the awards ceremony, and a colleague from Esri UK accepted the award on his behalf, an Esri spokeswoman in Redlands said Jan. 2.

Dangermond and Hanke were recognized for their contributions to computing and telecommunications, one of eight categories. The other categories were bioscience, consumer products, energy and the environment, process and service innovation, social and economic innovation, corporate use of innovation, and a flexible "no boundaries" category.

The Economist was established in 1843 to take part in "a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress," according to its editors.

"One of the chief ways in which intelligence presses forward is through innovation, which is now recognised as one of the most important contributors to economic growth," Economist editors said.

Esri, the Environmental Systems Research Institute, is based on New York Street in Redlands. Dangermond founded Esri in 1969.

Esri, also known as Environmental Systems Research Institute, develops geographic information systems for local, state and federal governments, public safety and military clients, as well as private sector businesses.

Esri has 2,900 U.S.-based employees, 350,000 clients, more than 1,600 business partners, and 80 distributors worldwide, according to the business' website.

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