We have recently completed the integration of member maps on the ISIE website. This feature is the result of a suggestion by one of our members, Lynnette Widder, who recommended that a map would help identify colleagues that are working close by. This can be useful for collaborations, to submit joint funding proposals, or to simply see who else is active in the vicinity.
We've had to wait until the ISIE started managing its membership, which we've started doing earlier this year. And it turns out that there is in fact a lot of merit to such a map! Not only does it allow individual members to see who is nearby, but it also helps the ISIE better understand where the members are located. Something we already knew, but which is illustrated even more clearly through this map, is how the ISIE has a strong presence in the Global North but members from the Global South are underrepresented. We have recently reactivated our membership committee, which will be looking at how to develop our membership base. Our new pricing structure already provides more opportunities from members from low-income countries to join the ISIE, but we certainly need to take additional steps to create a wider geographical spread.
In addition to the map of all our members, there are also maps for each of our sections. We hope you find these maps useful and interesting, and we would like to thanks Lynnette for this great idea!
Practical details
The maps are generated by looking up the location of each member's affiliation. If a member is not affiliated with an organization, or if the organization can not be found, then the pin will be marked in the city of residence. The lookup is not perfect, but it seems to place most people in the right place. Slight differences in spelling of the affiliation of members may place members from the same institution at slightly different locations.
This map only shows active members who have a public profile. To improve the location of your own pin, please ensure you have entered your affiliation, city and country in your profile. You can remove the pin by not making your member profile public. These settings can all be configured in your account.
If you have any questions or feedback about the member maps, please don't hesitate to contact us.
