Ferjan Ormeling Receives Doctorate Honoris Causa in Cartography

In a ceremony held on 7 May 2015, Ferjan Ormeling received the academic title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece, for his outstanding contributions to international cartography. Ferjan Ormeling is a former ICA secretary general and treasurer (1999-2007) and recipient of the Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal (2009).

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Faculty of Engineering, unanimously accepted the proposal of the School of Rural and Surveying Engineering following the academic nomination by Profs E. Livieratos, C. Boutoura, A. Kousoulakou (AUTH Cartoheritage Group).

Evangelos Livieratos, Chair of the ICA Commission on Digital Technologies in Cartographic Heritage read the Laudatio, highlighting Ferjan’s career highlights and achievements in cartography at home and internationally, as well as his support and contribution to contemporary Greek cartography, which was also acknowledged in 2008 by a honorary membership in the Hellenic Cartographic Society.

Ptolemy's Impact

In front of a full audience – including the rector, faculty deans, school chairs, professors and the Hellenic Cartographic Society president L. Tsoulos – the new AUTH Doctor h.c. gave a lecture on “Ptolemy’s heritage: the Atlas as an ordering device”. With a series of illustrated evidence he recalled the impact of Ptolemy’s “Geographia” in the development of the atlas legacy in the Low Countries starting with Erasmus in 16th century with the first published “Geographia” in West Europe in Greek language. He showed how the conceptual and contextual structure logic and the sequential patterns introduced by Ptolemy are still basis for the ordering and hierarchies of the content of modern atlases.