ASM
See You in Beijing
7 July
Awards
Four awards were presented at the conference plenary session on Friday.
The Brock Gold Medal Award was presented to Prof. Armin Gruen; the Otto von Gruber Award was presented to Dr Matthias Butenuth; Martin Raubal, Stephan Winter, Sven Tessmann and Christian Gaisbauer were awarded the U.V. Heleva Award; and Prof. Christopher Gold won the inaugural Wang Zhizhuo Award.
During the ceremony, Prof. John Trinder and Prof. Armin Gruen were also voted honorary members of the ISPRS.
4 July
ISPRS Opening
Lu Xinshe, the vice minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the director general of the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping in Beijing, opened the 21st Congress of the ISPRS here this morning.
“On behalf of the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping of China (SBSM), I’d like to extend my warm congratulations to the opening of the congress and my sincere welcome to all the participants”, he said.
“On the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games, scientists from more than 80 countries and regions of the world are gathering in Beijing to attend the 21st ISPRS Congress where they will exchange the latest achievements in geospatial science and discuss new developments in photogrammetry and remote sensing.
This is a significant contribution to the peaceful use of geospatial science and geographic information for the benefit of modern civilisation.
“Just before the opening of the congress, Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang met some of the participants of the Congress on behalf of the Chinese government. He introduced the important role played by the geospatial sciences in China, especially during the earthquake relief effort in Wenchuan, and spoke about our ongoing efforts to promote the development of this science. He expressed the desire and resolution of the Chinese government to continue on the road of peaceful development. He also advocated the use of geospatial science to promote sustainable development and better serve the interests of humankind.
“In today’s society, science and technology has been a major driving force in supporting economic developments and the growth of human civilisation. The development of photogrammetry and remote sensing allows the global community to better understand our environment, assist in disaster management and more generally, improve our quality of life.”
“Since the 1970s, when Chinese scientist Wang Zhizhou proposed the concept of full digital mapping, SBSM has been engaged in promoting the revolution of Chinese surveying and mapping technology. At present, digital surveying and mapping technology systems are being established in China. Basic national geographic information databases – at 1:1,000,000, 1:250,000, and 1:50,000, and a number of provincial databases at 1:10,000, and city and county databases at larger scales – have been established. SBSM is making efforts in the development of IT-based surveying and mapping systems, which are characterised by real-time acquisition, automatic processing, network services and socialised applications.
“In the rescue and response effort after the Wenchuan earthquake, SBSM swiftly built up monitoring and data capture systems using aerial photography, satellites and low altitude platforms. Scientists captured and processed high resolution remote sensing imagery of the disaster-hit areas and integrated these with existing resources to produce orthographic maps and 3D GIS service systems.
“Altogether, around 53,000 maps and eleven terabytes of geographic information data were provided. This information is not only crucial for ongoing disaster assessment, relief and monitoring, but also site selection, sub-disaster monitoring, disaster prevention and infrastructure reconstruction. The international community showed their sympathy and provided generous support to the Chinese government and people during the relief effort. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to ISPRS council members and colleagues in the field of photogrammetry and remote sensing for their condolences and assistance.
“SBSM has always attached importance to international co-operation and collaboration in science and technology, and takes an active part in the activities of the ISPRS. We encourage fellow colleagues and professionals in the field of photogrammetry, remote sensing and geospatial science – both from home and abroad – to strongly support international co-operation. By promoting data sharing, expanding academic exchange and improving understanding and communication, together we can build a new silk road of information from imagery which will contribute to the peaceful interests of humankind and sustainable development.”
“In one month, the 29th summer Olympic Games will be held in Beijing. ‘One World, One Dream’ is the slogan we put forward for the games. It is meant to carry forward the Olympic spirit of unity, friendship and peace, and promote the understanding and friendship of the people of all nations. Welcome to Beijing.
(Source: ISPRS News)
3 July
If it’s a numbers game, the XXI ISPRS Congress is already off to a strong start. The 2008 Congress received the largest number of submissions of any congress held in its 98-year history. In seven days, it will host 150 oral sessions featuring more than 600 speakers, 1700 poster sessions and nine technical streams covering more than 2800 abstracts and more than 1800 papers from around 90 countries around the world.
There are two major exhibitions. From 7-10 July, the Congress is hosting the International Technical Exhibition for Surveying and Mapping and the National Achievement Exhibition.
Among this year’s congress highlights are the Beijing Declaration, which aims to guide the peaceful use of geo-spatial technology. This world-first document will be presented by Xu Guanhua as part of international discussions to be held at the Congress.
There’s also the Wang Zhizhuo Award, which makes its debut this year. Sponsored by the Chinese Society of Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography (CSGPC), it is granted at each Congress to a person who has made a significant achievement or innovation in the spatial information sciences.
What’s so great about Melbourne, anyway?
Why choose Melbourne, Australia, for the next ISPRS Congress? If you ask the team putting together Melbourne’s bid, they’d simply fire back another question: “How many reasons do you need?”
To start, Melbourne is an exciting, vibrant and cosmopolitan city, with a long history of hosting successful international conferences, says the team. What’s more - the conference will be held in a brand new building boasting the most up-to-date and environmentally-friendly facilities of any convention centre in the world.
Melbourne is a great place for tourists, with fabulous food, exciting entertainment venues and Australia has a world renowned natural environment just waiting for you to explore.
And on the scientific front (notice how this comes after food and entertainment), the Australian photogrammetry and remote sensing community is at the forefront in many fields of research and practice. Australia has a long and proud history in the field and a particularly strong presence in close range photogrammetry.
Australia has also been an active contributor to the ISPRS for many years and is the home of former ISPRS President, John Trinder.
The Melbourne bid, led by Cliff Ogleby of The University of Melbourne, has strong support from the Spatial Sciences Institute in Australia and all levels of government.
To find out more about the bid and what Australia has to offer, visit the bid team at booth 311 on the 2nd floor of the Congress.
2 July
A detailed scientific program is now available on the ISPRS Congress website.
You can find details of the organising committee here.
Email the Conference organiser.
