Obituary for Professor Christopher M. Gold
Professor Christopher M. Gold was a distinguished scientist in geographic information science, computational geometry and spatial information modelling, with a career spanning several decades of significant contributions to the development of spatial data structures and geographic information systems. He was particularly well known for his pioneering work on Voronoi diagrams and Delaunay triangulations, and for promoting their use as fundamental tools for spatial analysis, topology, dynamic mapping, terrain modelling and three-dimensional GIS.
Gold held academic and research positions in Canada, including at Université Laval in Québec, where he played an important role in advancing research in geomatics and spatial information science. He later joined The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, contributing to research and education in land surveying and geo-informatics. From 2004 to 2007, he held an EU Marie Curie Chair in GIS at the University of Glamorgan in the United Kingdom, and he later became Emeritus Professor at what is now the University of South Wales. From 2011 to 2016, he served as a Professor (part-time) at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China.
Professor Gold had contributed extensively to ISPRS scientific activities in spatial information science. He played an important role in promoting and organizing the series of ISPRS International Workshop on Dynamic and Multidimensional GIS (DMGIS) workshops. He served as Chair of the ISPRS Inter-Commission Working Group II/IV on Dynamic and Multi-dimensional Systems and Applications (2004-2008). In recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements, Professor Gold received the Wang Zhizhuo Award at the XXI ISPRS Congress in Beijing in 2008, becoming the first recipient of this award. The award recognized his important and innovative contributions to spatial information science, particularly in the areas of spatial data structures, Voronoi diagrams, dynamic mapping and 3D modelling.
Beyond his scientific achievements, Chris Gold will be remembered as an original and enthusiastic scientist, a dedicated teacher and mentor, and a strong advocate of international scientific exchange. His ideas and research have left a lasting legacy in geographic information science, and his contributions to ISPRS and the wider geospatial community will continue to be remembered with great respect.
Professor Christopher M. Gold passed away on 12 August 2026. ISPRS extends its sincere condolences to his family, friends, former students and colleagues.
Chen Jun
ISPRS President 2012-2016
August 2026