David William Rhind

Photograph of David William Rhind. David Rhind was an outstanding geographer, who instigated, developed and applied digital cartography to many aspects of science and society. He also had excellent interpersonal skills, which he applied to senior roles within the academy and government agencies. In 1968 he was awarded a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in geomorphology, after which he applied his digital cartographic skills to the production of maps at the Royal College of Art. He then moved to the Geography Department at the University of Durham, where he adapted his cartographic and database skills to the social sciences. From Durham he moved to the Department of Geography at Birkbeck College, University of London, where he optimized his technical and leadership skills, before becoming the director general of the Ordnance Survey in 1992. At the Ordnance Survey he changed processes from analogue to digital and increased its engagement with the general public. From the Ordnance Survey he moved to become vice-chancellor of City University, London. In 2001 he was a awarded a CBE from Her Majesty the Queen and in 2002 an FRS from the Royal Society and an honorary FBA from the British Academy. At City University he was responsible for major changes in strategy and infrastructure. He retired in 2007 only to carry out a number of responsible duties within society, such as chairman of the Portsmouth NHS Trust, the Bank of England Pension Fund and the Nuffield Foundation. Sadly, he passed away having suffered from Parkinson's disease with Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's.