Draft:John W. Hessler
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John W. Hessler
[edit]John Hessler (September 30, 1960-) is an American computational geographer, geographic information systems scientist, and writer known for his work in the history of cartography, geographic information science (GIS), and the spatial analysis of pandemics. He is a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and from 2002-2022 was a specialist in computational geography and Geographic Information Science and curator, in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress.
As a GIS analyst during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hessler made contributions to the real-time mapping of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Beginning in early 2020, he advised members of the United States Congress and Senate on the spatial and genomic tracking of the outbreak, helping to inform public health decision-making through advanced geospatial visualizations and bioinformatic analysis. He also published a series of articles early on in the pandemic explaining the various mapping and GIS tools being used to track cases and the the spread of COVID-19:
- More Than Just Cases: Mapping the Spread of COVID-19 Using Geospatial Nucleotide Mutations and Pathogen Phylodynamics, by John Hessler (Issue 108 – Fall 2020)
- More Than Just Cases II - Using Artificial Neural Networks to Map COVID-19 Social Media Sentiment, by John Hessler (Issue 109 – Winter 2020)
His cartographic work during this period involved integrating case data, genomic sequence information, and the methods of geographic information systems (GIS) to visualize the global spread and evolution of viral mutations. He employed phylogenetic analysis tools such as Nextstrain and developed animations to map changes in key regions of the virus genome, including the spike protein codons associated with increased transmissibility.
In 2024, Hessler published the article To Save Lives: Lessons of a Pandemic Cartographer in the Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, documenting his methods and the challenges of communicating spatially complex data to policymakers during a global health crisis.
As part of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, Hessler also began archiving important geospatial data and maps associated with the pandemic and collecting information that would allow future researchers to reconstruct the transmission of COVID-19.
Hessler is the founder and director of BioMap Lab AI where they use bioinformatic and genomic data, machine learning, and advanced geographic information systems, to study the far-from-equilibrium and non-stationary transmission of zoonotic diseases and the movement patterns of their animal hosts. Their projects have been centered on mapping the spread of highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza in wild bird populations; on using wavelet and non-linear approximation methods to study the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; on mapping the earliest cases of COVID-19; and on reconstructing the dynamics of the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in west Africa.
Hessler has published extensively on the history of cartography and is the author of several books including, The Naming of America: Martin Waldseemuller's 1507 World Map and the Cosmographiae Introductio, A Renaissance Globemaker's Toolbox: Johannes Schoner and the Revolution of Modern Science, and was the editor of the New York Times selection, Map: Exploring the World.
His work has been featured many media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, the BBC, CBS News, Discover Magazine, and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Throughout his career Hessler has been interested in the history and mathematical foundations of geographic information science and was the author of the blog series Computing Space at the Library of Congress. A major portion of Hessler GIS work has deals with its use in public policy and as a tool to advise policy makers, members of Congress and Congressional committees on issues, like health care, the use and accuracy of census data, redistricting and urban development.
He currently lives in Nice, France.
Selected Publications:
[edit]Hessler, J. (2024). "To Save Lives: Lessons of a Pandemic Cartographer". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12703
Hessler, J. (2020). "More than Just Cases: Mapping the Spread of COVID-19 Using Geospatial Nucleotide Mutations and Pathogen Phylodynamics". The Portolan, 108, 47–50.
Hessler, J. (2020). "More than Just Cases II: Using Artificial Neural Networks to Map COVID-19 Social Media Sentiment". The Portolan, 109, 26–28.
Hessler, J. Map: Exploring the World (New York: Phaidon, 2015)
Hessler, J. A Renaissance Globemaker's Toolbox: Johannes Schöner and the Revolution of Modern Science 1475-1550 (London: Giles Ltd, 2011)
Hessler, J. The Naming of America: Waldseemullers' 1507 World Map and the Cosmographia Introductio. (London: Giles, 2008).
Hessler, J. W. (2006). "Warping Waldseemüller: A Phenomenological and Computational Study of the 1507 World Map". Cartographica, 41/2, 101-113. http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/N328-6721-3282-122N
Mapping the Electoral Dynamics of the United States, farewell talk at the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2024698314/
External Links
[edit]John Hessler's webpage.