A big thank you to Roger Bivand!

With great pleasure and respect, the GRASS GIS community recognises the long-term contributions of Roger Bivand to the field of spatial analysis, in particular his work with the R programming environment and the development of the rgrass package (https://rsbivand.github.io/rgrass/). Roger has long been an essential figure in the integration of geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical computing. His pioneering efforts have significantly advanced the accessibility and efficiency of spatial data analysis to a broad community.

Among his many contributions, Roger’s work on the rgrass package – initially published in 1999 – stands out as a cornerstone in bridging the gap between the GRASS GIS software and the R programming language.
GRASS GIS, one of the most powerful and flexible geospatial tools available, owes much of its R integration success to Roger’s efforts. The rgrass package provides a seamless interface that allows users to take advantage of the spatial processing capabilities of GRASS GIS directly from within R, fostering an environment in which spatial data can be efficiently analysed and manipulated in conjunction with R’s vast suite of statistical tools.

With rgrass, Roger has opened the doors for a broader community of data scientists, researchers, and geospatial analysts to use R for spatial analysis while maintaining access to the powerful functionality of GRASS GIS. The package has proved invaluable in applications ranging from environmentaR programming environmentl science and urban planning to epidemiology and resource management. For his remarkable achievements and lasting impact, Roger deserves our deepest admiration and gratitude.
Thanks for everything, Roger!!

We are very grateful that Steven Pawley is willing to take over maintenance of the rgrass package, so that Roger’s amazing package keeps on shining!

On behalf of the GRASS GIS community,

Markus Neteler
Vero Andreo
Helmut Kudrnovsky
Floris Vanderhaeghe