Call for Participation

The 2026 I-GUIDE Forum will focus on AI & Science: From Geospatial to Convergence. The three-day Forum, consisting of workshops and tutorials, presentations, posters, and panels will take place immediately prior to the Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) Ecosystem Conference (August 5-7, 2026).  This coordination will allow participants in the I-GUIDE Forum to take advantage of the momentum, energy, and synergy of several hundred attendees of both events gathering to explore solutions to the most significant scientific challenges!  The sessions during the I-GUIDE Forum 2026 will focus on the following key themes.

Key Themes

• Frontiers in Convergence Science – Addressing challenges and opportunities of convergence science using geospatial knowledge and integrative approaches
• Spatial AI & Data Science – Advancing frontiers of spatial AI and data science for  real-world solutions
• CyberGIS & Cyberinfrastructure Innovation – Enabling high-performance, scalable spatial analysis
• Education & Workforce Development – Preparing the next generation of spatial AI and data science professionals

1. Frontiers in Convergence Science: Papers in this track focus on advances in convergence science that address complex challenges across various spatial and temporal scales. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
   • Aging infrastructure
   • Disaster prediction and resilience
   • Food, energy, and water nexus
   • Global to local analysis of sustainability
   • Telecoupling in social and environmental systems
2. Spatial AI and Data Science: Papers in this track focus on new algorithms, methods, models, and theories for harnessing heterogeneous spatial data to solve real-world problems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
   • Data-intensive spatial analytics
   • Explainable spatial AI for convergence science
   • Spatial data ethics
   • Spatial data fusion for AI models
   • Spatial foundation models
   • Intelligent spatial decision support
   • Uncertainty quantification in spatial AI
   • Agentic AI for spatial workflows
   • Reasoning models for spatial tasks
3. CyberGIS and Cyberinfrastructure Innovation: Papers in this track focus on innovative cyberGIS and cyberinfrastructure software, systems, and tools for enabling scalable solutions to convergence science problems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
   • Geospatial cloud and edge computing
   • Geospatial decision support systems
   • Geospatial middleware
   • Geospatial problem solving environments
   • High-performance geospatial computing
   • New frontiers in cyberGIS
   • Reproducibility and replicability of data-intensive geospatial analytics
4. Education and Workforce Development: Papers in this track explore how recent advances in convergence science, cyberinfrastructure, spatial AI, and geospatial data science can be integrated into new learning modalities and resources. Innovative ideas for supporting the development of a proficient and future-ready workforce are sought. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
   • Convergence curricula focused on spatial AI and data science
   • Education advances in spatial data-intensive sciences
   • Spatial AI and data science curriculum
   • Open educational resources

All submissions of short papers or abstracts for presentations, posters, workshops, or tutorials should be made through the easychair https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iguideforumhdr2026. 

Submission Instructions for I-GUIDE Forum 2026

1. Short Papers

I-GUIDE Forum 2026 invites short papers addressing one or more of the aforementioned themes. Papers should follow the guidelines as described below.

• Papers should not exceed six pages.
• Papers should follow the following Word template. If you prefer to use LaTex you may use the IEEE LaTex template.
• The 2026 Forum proceedings will be published by e-Pubs at Purdue University at https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iguide.
• Each full paper will be assigned a DOI when published.
• Publications will be open access at no cost to the authors.
• Publications will be indexed in Google Scholar.
• e-Pubs provides automatic monthly readership reports for authors who provide their email addresses.
• Content published on Purdue e-Pubs will remain in perpetuity and is subject to the Purdue e-Pubs policy for withdrawing content.

Short papers must be submitted through the following link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iguideforumhdr2026 April 16, 2026. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by May 15, 2026.

2. Workshops/Tutorials

I-GUIDE Forum 2026 also invites practical training (tutorials) or active discussions (workshops). We are especially interested in tutorials and workshops prioritizing active engagement, inviting participants to immerse themselves in interactive learning experiences. Workshop/tutorial proposals should not exceed four pages in single-column publication format, including references. Proposals should include (a) a title; (b) abstract; (c) intended audience; (d) prerequisite knowledge expected; (e) length of the workshop (quarter day (2 hrs) or half day (4 hrs); (f) list of topics/activities that would be covered; and (g) the technology support needed.

Proposals must be submitted through the following link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iguideforumhdr2026 (select Workshop and Tutorials Track) by April 16, 2026. Instructors for accepted workshop proposals will be notified by May 15, 2026.

3. Posters

I-GUIDE Forum 2026 also invites posters that address one or more of the Forum themes. Accepted posters will have their titles published in the proceedings of the Forum.

Poster abstracts (250-500 words) must be submitted through the following link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iguideforumhdr2026 (select Poster Track) by April 30, 2026. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by May 15, 2026.