CUHK Professor Nina Lam Siu-ngan receives 2026 American Association of Geographers Lifetime Achievement Honours

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CUHK Professor Nina Lam Siu-ngan receives 2026 American Association of Geographers Lifetime Achievement Honours

Professor Nina Lam Siu-ngan, Wei Lun Professor of Geography and Resources Management at CUHK, has been awarded the 2026 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising her lifelong dedication to advancing the field of geography and her innovative research, which has profoundly benefited society.

Professor Nina Lam Siu-ngan, Wei Lun Professor of Geography and Resources Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has been awarded the 2026 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Lifetime Achievement Award. This prestigious accolade recognises Professor Lam's lifelong dedication to advancing the field of geography and her innovative research, which has profoundly benefited society.

Professor Lam said: "I am deeply honoured to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the AAG. This is not only a recognition of my teaching and research career spanning over four decades but also a testament to my research and my teams over the years. I remain committed to advancing GIScience and hope to further apply our research outcomes to address global challenges such as climate change and disaster management, contributing to the sustainable development of our society and benefiting the world."

An internationally renowned scholar, Professor Lam is a pioneer in GIScience, remote sensing, environmental health and disaster resilience. After completing her bachelor's degree in Geography at CUHK, she pursued her master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. She then served as a professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) in the US, where she was appointed the E. L. Abraham Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences in 2013. Over a career exceeding 40 years, Professor Lam's pioneering research on spatial analysis, scale and fractal analysis has established fundamental principles that have laid a solid foundation for the contemporary development of GIScience.

Professor Lam is dedicated to translating her research findings into practical applications for environmental health, disaster resilience and sustainable development, enhancing public understanding of geographical sciences. The Resilience Inference Measurement (RIM) model she has developed leverages GIScience expertise to conduct in-depth data analyses on the threats posed by natural disasters, the extent of damage and community recovery. This model assists researchers and government agencies in making more accurate assessments of a community's capacity to withstand and recover from disasters, significantly improving disaster prevention and emergency response strategies worldwide.

Professor Lam has also demonstrated extraordinary participation and service in public academic affairs. She has served as the Geography and Regional Science Programme Director at the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and President of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS). She has consistently advocated for diversity, equity and inclusion within academia. Her outstanding leadership and mentorship have left a profound and lasting impact on both society and the academic community.

About the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Lifetime Achievement Honours

The Honours recognise geographers who have had a unique, path-breaking impact on the discipline through a combination of research and public engagement, including as leaders in academia or other sectors where they have championed the discipline, in their publication record and in their service to the discipline.

For more information, please visit: https://www.aag.org/2026-aag-awards-recognition/

Professor Nina Lam Siu-ngan, Wei Lun Professor of Geography and Resources Management at CUHK, has been awarded the 2026 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising her lifelong dedication to advancing the field of geography and her innovative research, which has profoundly benefited society.