The AAG Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group (GISSG) established its Distinguished Career Award in 2004 and named it in honor of Robert T. Aangeenbrug. Dr. Robert Aangeenbrug had a distinguished career including service as the chair of the Department of Geography at the University of South Florida, Executive Director of the Association of American Geographers, and Professor of Geography. One of the pioneers in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), he lectured at the Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics in the 1960s and directed the Wichita Falls Urban Information systems Project from 1970-1973. In 1980 he served as project director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Mapping Project.

He also served as president of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) and as president of the National Computer Graphics Association (NCGA). In the mid 1980s he was one of the principal motivating forces in the formation of the AAG Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group (GISSG).