June 2025 Newsletter for Geospatial Data Science
Geospatial Data Science Group Quarterly Newsletter School of Geographical & Earth Sciences | University of Glasgow Q2 2025
👋 Welcome Note Dear colleagues, collaborators, and friends,
As we wrapped up another exciting quarter, we looked back at an incredibly productive and impactful few months for the Geospatial Data Science Group (GDSG). From major conference appearances and award-winning papers to impactful public talks and new research outputs, our interdisciplinary team continues to advance the boundaries of geospatial data science.
Thank you for being part of our growing community!
— The GDSG Communications Team
🛰️ Research Highlights
• Best Paper Award at LBS 2025 🏆 Anahid Basiri and Joe Shingleton were awarded Best Paper at LBS 2025 for: “Geospatial Data Quality in the Era of Generative AI: Can We Trust the Geographic Information Produced by Large Language Models?” Their work addressed the pressing challenge of assessing trust in AI-generated geospatial information.
• Finalists at AGILE 2025 Anahid Basiri and Joe Shingleton were finalists for Best Paper at AGILE 2025 with: “How close is ‘close’? An analysis of the spatial characteristics of perceived proximity using Large Language Models” The paper was presented during the Best Paper Session on Friday, 13 June.
New Publication in Mathematics: “Exploring a Diagnostic Test for Missingness at Random” Dominick Sutton, Anahid Basiri & Ziqi Li This open-access study investigated the potential for a new diagnostic test to identify when data is missing at random. Although the test fell short of practical use, the paper introduced a thought-provoking extension to standard missing data classifications. 👉 Read the paper
🌍 Impact & Engagement
Ongoing UX Research on Missing Data Visualisation Merve Polat Kayali launched a survey building on Anthony Robinson’s work, investigating how users interpret and interact with missing data on maps. 🗺️ Take the survey: https://lnkd.in/grcemKec
• Ana Basiri Spoke at the Scottish Parliament Prof. Ana Basiri contributed expert testimony during a parliamentary session on AI and the UK-EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement, held at Holyrood. 📺 Watch the full session
• Public Lecture: “Big Data, Bigger Holes” On Thursday, 5 June, Prof. Basiri delivered a well-attended talk at the ARC, University of Glasgow, discussing the power and implications of missing data. 🎟️ Event link
• Ongoing UX Research on Missing Data Visualisation Merve Polat Kayali launched a survey exploring how users interact with and interpret missing data on maps, building on Anthony Robinson’s work. The study aimed to better understand user perception of absence and uncertainty in geospatial contexts. 🗺️ Take the survey
🧭 Team News Quarterly Away Day The GDSG team gathered for our quarterly Lab Away Day, featuring presentations from each team member on their latest research.
Team Spotlight: Prof. Ana Basiri As Professor of Geospatial Data Science, Director of the Centre for Data Science & AI, and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Ana Basiri led our group with a commitment to tackling bias, data unavailability, and complexity in location-based services. #InclusiveTech #FutureLeaders #SmartDecisions
🗓️ Past Events & Milestones
Keynotes at LBS 2025 (Finland) Prof. Ana Basiri delivered a keynote, and Joe Shingleton presented on geospatial data quality in generative AI contexts.
🔗 Stay Connected 🌐 Website: https://gdsglasgow.github.io/ LinkedIn: 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/GSDSglasgow 📧 Subscribe: [Insert signup link] 📢 Forward this newsletter to colleagues or collaborators who may be interested!