Hamerlinck Named Associate Director of UW School of Computing

Jeff Hamerlinck has been appointed as the associate director of the School of Computing at the University of Wyoming.

Hamerlinck, who has served as director of UW’s Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) since 2004, brings a wealth of experience and leadership to his new role.

He holds a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Colorado-Boulder and maintains credentials as a certified Geographic Information Systems Professional and member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

As a long-serving UW research scientist, Hamerlinck has been involved in geographic information science and information and communication technology research on campus since the early 1990s. He held leadership positions in the former Wyoming Water Resources Center and the Spatial Data and Visualization Center, a National Science Foundation-funded research cluster that led to the establishment of WyGISC in 2001.

He currently serves on the Wyoming Governor’s GIS Advisory Board and was recently elected president-elect of the national University Consortium for Geographic Information Science.

“I am honored to take on this role and contribute to the growth of applied computing and data science education and research at the University of Wyoming,” Hamerlinck says.

As School of Computing associate director, Hamerlinck will be responsible for guiding development and operation of the school’s research centers and data-centric research initiatives, including overseeing the Data Science Center and the Wyoming Innovation Partnership DataHub project. Hamerlinck will stay on as WyGISC director, providing continuity for that unit following its move to the School of Computing last month. Another focus will be helping make computing and data science more accessible within the humanities and social and behavioral sciences.

“Jeff brings a wealth of experience to the School of Computing,” says Gabrielle Allen, director of the school. “He has deep connections across the university and the state, and he already has shown his talent in brainstorming and delivering new programs and initiatives around computing and data science. With this new role, he will contribute to the growth of the School of Computing and continue to oversee WyGISC.”

During his time as WyGISC director, the center tripled in size through research funding partnerships with numerous state and federal government agencies and nongovernment organizations. It was recognized for contributions to the geospatial community with a Catalyst Geospatial Excellence Award by the National States Geographic Information Council and a Spatial Achievement in GIS award by the Environmental Systems Research Institute.

In 2020, WyGISC also launched a new suite of interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate geospatial credentials that continue to thrive.