Philippe De Maeyer is emeritus senior full professor in cartography and GIS at Ghent University (UGent) and since 2021 the Permanent Secretary of the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences (RAOS).
Philippe is holder of a Master degree in Geography, a Postgraduate Diploma in Geology and Marine Applications, different certificates in Applied Geophysics, a Doctorate in Sciences (PhD), and a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Economy. After a stay as assistant professor overseas (University of Constantine, Algeria) and at Ghent University (1985-1987), Philippe moved in 1987 to the private sector as manager of a department of cartography and geographical information. In 1999 he went back to Ghent University as a professor in Cartography and GIS. Since 2008 he is head of the Department of Geography at Ghent University. Philippe is also visiting professor at the the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences and he is full member of the Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences (Belgium).
He is (co-)author of over 490 papers, from which more than 190 are published in journals referenced on the Web of Science. He is also scientific coordinator of different atlases. His research focuses on cartography, but he is also active in risk calculation, land cover/land use change mapping in Central Asia (in relationship to climate change), 3D acquisition-modelling and visualization (esp. of heritage), and in indoor routing issues and accessibility studies. In cartography his interests covers the historical aspects of cartography (map making and societal links, esp. in the 18th – 20th C.), map production issues and perception analysis.