Zhaoxu Sui

I am a cartographer and a cartography researcher at Penn State.

CV | Linkedin | Google Scholar
Email: zhaoxusui@psu.edu CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE MY MAPS

Comprehensive Map of the World
Travel Map of the World
Physical Map of the World
Earth Transit - Major Trains, Buses, and Ferries around the World
Illustrative Map of the World
Southeast Asia Travel Guide
Shanghai Metro
Sahara - The Greatest Desert
Penn State University Park Campus
A Map of the Pennsylvania
Penn State Online Geospatial Education Alumni Map
Norway - A Travel Plan
Central Jinan Tourism & Architecture Map
Map of Jinan Urban Area
Hanavirus Outbreak 2026
Handrawn Map of Hangzhou
Dynastic Masonry - Visualizing the Great Wall of China
A reliefed-terrain Globe
Flood Risk Analysis of Jinan - My Undergrad Capstone Project
A Chinese translated version of Equal Earth Physical World Map
College of Earth & Mineral Sciences in Penn State
Cusco y alrededores
What if China adopts US National Park System?
Maps of cities around the world
Handrawn Maps of different areas in the World
Handrawn Maps of Boston
Alps - An annotated Travel Map
Eurasia and Africa at the Year of 650 CE

My name is Zhaoxu Sui (he/him), and I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography at Penn State. At the same time, I am a cartographer associated in the GeoGraphics Lab in the department.

My primary research focus is on integrating cartographic designs into various cultural, technical, and procedural contexts. I examine how mapmaking practices have evolved and transformed over time. My dissertation research focuses on techniques and workflows to produce vivid cartographic designs and validate those vivid designs in their roles shaping persuasion, attention, emotion, and readability. Besides my dissertation, I also have strong interests in digital humanities, toponymy, artificial intelligence, indigenous cartographies, and political geography. I am passionate about exploring mapmakings around the world, investigating maps as representational and ontological devices to reflect and influence political and cultural connotations.

As a cartographer, I like to make general reference maps using various tools, including ArcGIS, Mapbox, Adobe Suites, Blender, Procreate, and hand-drawing.

I earned my B.S. degree in Geography from the University of Minnesota, with minors in population studies, interdisciplinary designs, and GIS. Subsequently, I received my M.S. degree in Geography from the University of Oregon, where I conducted my thesis research on the maps of politically contested territories in Sakhalin Island.



FEATURED RESEARCH

Sui, Z., & Robinson, A. C. (2026). Digitally-mediated territorial imaginations: A deep learning approach to characterize online images of contested territories and place names. Digital Geography and Society, 100160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diggeo.2026.100160

Sui, Z., & Lessani, M. N. (2025). Design Principles of Kashida Justification: A Unique Technique in Arabic and Persian Mapping. Cartographic Perspectives, (107). https://doi.org/10.14714/CP107.2055

Fish, C., Roth, R., Guidero, E., Raposo, P., Sui, Z. (2025). Why Conduct Cartographic Research: A Comparison of Cartographic Research Contributions in Four International Cartographic Association (ICA) Affiliated Journals. International Journal of Cartography: 10th Anniversary Issue. https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2025.2475411

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