Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis

[citation needed] Fisher applied for a Ford Foundation grant to explore thematic mapping based on early SYMAP outputs, which was awarded in 1965.

The Laboratory's original and continuing goals were: SYMAP's ability to print cheap, albeit low quality, maps using readily available technology led to rapid adoption in the late 1960s.

The Laboratory conducted correspondence courses, hosted numerous conferences, and worked on environmental planning and architectural projects with the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

[14] This rotating strip of 3,000 holograms depicted an animated sequence of 3d maps showing US population growth from 1790 to 1970, generated by the Laboratory's ASPEX program.

[19][20] Donald also wrote the CALYPSO module for the commercial Odyssey project[18] and worked on the GLIB/LINGUIST[21] table-driven language system in collaboration with Nick Chrisman and Jim Dougenik, which was based on automata theory and dynamic scoping.

From 1979 the Laboratory was encouraged to develop external software sales and entered into licensing agreements for this purpose, most notably with Synercom and ISSCO Corporation (sold to Computer Associates in 1987) for Odyssey.

[25] Odyssey became the template for subsequent GIS software, cited as an inspiration by numerous commercial efforts in mapping and architecture, such as M&S Computing (later Intergraph), Computervision, and Geodat.

When revenues from Odyssey did not meet expectations, his team's resources started to dwindle, and Morehouse left to join Jack at Esri to build a next-generation GIS platform that was to be ArcInfo.

[28] Scott's intimate knowledge of the Odyssey geoprocessing model and code base, combined with Jack's insights into how to put the 'IS' in 'GIS' evolved the Laboratory's GIS prototype processors into a system that could effectively and interactively manage, process, edit, and display vector geodata and its scalar attributes that addressed evolving market needs for more robust GIS capabilities.