Invited talk at the GeoAI workshop in Maryland, 14–15 June

I joined the Workshop on GeoAI for Autonomous Spatial Analysis at the University of Maryland, College Park, on 14–15 June 2026, held in conjunction with the 2026 UCGIS Annual Symposium.

My invited talk, “Teaching GeoAI to Know Its SPLACE: Spatially explicit multimodal learning + PLACES evaluation”, explored spatially explicit multimodal learning and evaluation for autonomous spatial analysis. It was a pleasure to exchange ideas with colleagues across GIScience and AI.

Thank you to the workshop organising committee and session chairs for the invitation, thoughtful discussions and warm welcome, and to our hosts at the University of Maryland for bringing everyone together.

UCGIS Symposium at Maryland

Meiliu presenting Teaching GeoAI to Know Its SPLACE — My invited talk on spatially explicit multimodal learning and PLACES evaluation.

Conversations and reunions

Beyond the workshop sessions, I enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and colleagues from UCGIS. We shared many meals, caught up with one another and continued our conversations around the table. These reunions made the trip especially memorable—thank you to everyone who made time to meet.

Colleagues gathered around a restaurant table during the Maryland trip — An evening meal and a chance to catch up with friends and colleagues.

A group sharing a meal during the Maryland workshop and UCGIS visit — More conversation around the table with the UCGIS community.

Colleagues together at the Maryland venue — Reconnecting with colleagues in Maryland.

Participants taking part in a workshop discussion — Exchanging ideas during the workshop.