Professor of Geographical Information

Contact Details

• Tel: 0116 252 3853
• Email: pff1@le.ac.uk
• Fax: 0116 252 3854
• Office: Bennett Building F53

Biography

I hold a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Lancaster, a MSc in Pedology and Soil Survey from Reading and a PhD in Geography from Kingston Polytechnic.  I have previously worked at Kingston Polytechnic, at Kent State University in Ohio USA, and at City University.  Previously between 1991 and 2004 I worked at Leicester as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and eventually Professor.  My PhD was awarded in 1982.  I studied the mid-Quaternary history of the south-bank tributaries of the Middle reach of the Thames, and at that time I also did some soils research in association with archaeologists.  Since then, however, all my research has been founded in computer applications in geography in general and Geographical Information Science in particular.

Research Interests

My principal research interest has been in aspects of the uncertainty associated with geographical information. I have worked on visibility analysis (the viewshed operation), and uncertainty associated with algorithm and implementation uncertainty, database error, and uncertainty associated with the actual question being asked.  I have looked at probabilistic models of uncertainty in soil maps and elevation models, and in fuzzy models of uncertainty.  In the latter area, I have most recently looked at type-2 and type-n fuzzy sets in the context of recognising mountains and forests. 

From 1998 to 2007, I served as editor of the International Journal of Geographical Information Science.  I have edited six books:  Innovations in GIS 2 (1995),  Virtual Reality in Geography (2002, with David Unwin), Spatial Data Quality (2002, with John Shi and Michael Goodchild), Developments in Spatial Data Handling (2004), Re-Presenting GIS (2005, with David Unwin), and Classics from IJGIS (2007).  I have published over 80 papers in Refereed Journals as well as nearly 50 book chapters.

PhD Supervision

Current

• Abdel Rahman Al-Shabeeb (with Kevin Tansey)

Geographical information science; natural resources applications of GIS (especially land cover, soils and elevation), modelling spatial uncertainty, especially employing probabilistic and fuzzy formalisms; visibility analysis.

• Geographical Information Science Research Themes

Enquiries: If you are interested in studying for a PhD in one of these research areas, please make informal enquiries via geogPhD@le.ac.uk

Most Recent Publications

P.F.Fisher, T.Cheng and J.Wood, 2007.  Higher order vagueness in geographical information: Empirical geographical population of Type n fuzzy sets.  GeoInformatica 11 (3), 311-330.

P.F.Fisher, J.Wood and T.Cheng, 2007.  Higher order vagueness in a dynamic landscape: Multi-resolution morphometric analysis of a coastal dunefield.  Journal of Environmental Informatics 9 (1), 56-70.

P.F.Fisher and N.J.Tate, 2007.  Causes and Consequences of Error in Digital Elevation Models. Progress in Physical Geography 30 (4), 467-489.

P.F.Fisher and C.N.W.Arnot, 2007.  Type 2 change in fuzzy land cover.  In Vagueness and Uncertainty in Geographical Information Edited by A.Morris and S.Kokhan.  NATO ARW Series, Springer, New York, pp 167-186.

P.F.Fisher, C.Arnot, R.Wadsworth and J.Wellens, 2006.  Detecting Change in Vague Interpretations of Landscapes.  Ecological Informatics 1 (2), 163-178.

Full listing of publications