Dr Simon Cox, research scientist.

Dr Simon Cox: researching geospatial interoperability standards

Dr Simon Cox’s primary research areas include information modelling and transfer standards, spatial data infrastructures, vocabularies and semantic web technologies, governance of community standards.

• 21 February 2011 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements
• Professional activities

Current activities

Dr Simon Cox specialises in distributed architectures and interface standards for environmental data, focusing on geoscience for AuScope GRID (National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy), and water data through WIRADA (Water Information Research and Development Alliance).

He also leads several international standards activities for the Open Geospatial Consortium and in the ISO Geographic Information Technical Committee.

Background

Dr Cox trained in geology and geophysics, starting his research career studying the mechanical properties of rocks in the laboratory.

Re-joining CSIRO after a few years lecturing at Monash University in Australia, he moved into visualisation and information management, doing early work in web-mapping and metadata systems before focusing on geospatial information standards.

In 2009-10, Dr Cox was based in the Spatial Data Infrastructures Unit at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in northern Italy, working on harmonisation of several international geospatial initiatives.

Academic qualifications

Dr Cox has completed a:

• Bachelor of Arts in Geological Sciences from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1980
• Master of Science in Rock Mechanics from London University, UK in 1981
• Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics from Columbia University, USA in 1987.

Achievements

Dr Cox is the author of 28 journal articles, over 50 reports, over 100 conference papers, and has edited or contributed to over 20 international standards.

He was awarded the 2006 Gardels Medal by the Open Geospatial Consortium.

Professional activities

Dr Cox is a member of the American Geophysical Union and the European Geosciences Union. He is a councillor of the International Association of Mathematical Geology, and previously served on the council of the Commission for Geoscience Information, and the Dublin Core Advisory Council.

He customarily chairs or co-chairs of various Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) working groups.

Dr Cox is additionally the editor of ISO 19156, chair of the OGC Naming Authority, and is a member of several other committees in OGC and ISO/TC 211.