Dr. John M. Morgan, III ("Jay") is a professor of Geography and Environmental Planning at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. A graduate of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (1965), Dr. Morgan received his B.A. in 1969 and his M.A. in 1973 from Towson University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1980. His primary teaching and research interests include geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and digital image processing, emergency management and homeland security, outdoor recreation planning and management, and the geography of Alaska.
While an undergraduate student at Towson University, Dr. Morgan served as a cadet in the Two Year Army ROTC program at the Johns Hopkins University and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers in 1969. After completing the Engineer Officer Basic and Topographic Engineer Officer courses at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he served as a Geographic Officer with the 139th Engineer Detachment (Terrain), 656th Engineer Battalion (Topographic) (Army), U.S. Army, Europe in Schwetzingen, Germany (1970-72). He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve in 1975 at the rank of Captain.
Since joining the faculty at Towson in 1984, Dr. Morgan has taught a variety of courses including Introduction to Physical Geography, Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, GIS Applications, Computer Mapping, Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing, Outdoor Recreation Planning and Management, and graduate seminars on GIS, remote sensing and digital image processing, and outdoor recreation planning and management topics. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Morgan founded the Center for Geographic Information Sciences (1992) and served as its director until 2005. During this period, he was the principal investigator on nearly $13 million of contracts and grants with government agencies and businesses including a $2.5 million NASA/Raytheon/Synergy contract and a $1 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security Information Technology and Evaluation Program (ITEP) grant. Dr. Morgan was also responsible for the development of the Emergency Management Mapping Application (EMMA), a Web-based GIS that now serves as the "common operating picture" for Maryland's emergency management and homeland security efforts.
