IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2021 - 4

textbook theory. Summer school programs remain an
important GRSS activity, which continued in an entirely
online format during 2020. Our final " Education " column
reports on the three online schools offered last year under
GRSS support. Whereas online courses have limited opportunities
for individual meetings and networking, this
forum did allow for broad participation from all around
the world.
The first " Technical Committees " column aligns with
the issue's AI theme (although it was not solicited as part of
the special issue). The IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Society's (GRRS's) Earth Science Informatics Technical
Committee (TC) cosponsored the workshop Advancing
Machine Learning Tools for Earth Science on 21-23 January
2020 in Washington, D.C., with two goals: 1) define
scientific requirements for training data catalogs and 2)
develop guidelines for tools and practices for generating,
cataloging, and disseminating benchmark training datasets.
In defining the workshop goals, it was recognized that
large-scale, benchmarked, standardized, and well curated
training datasets need to be constructed before the Earth
science community can reap the full benefits of AI. In
those prepandemic days, 51 participants representing government,
academia, and industry participated in person. A
final report was generated, documenting the recommendations
from this workshop. Some recommendations from
this report are already being acted upon, including a data
science competition.
Our second " Technical Committees " column features
the Instrumentation and Future Technologies
TC (IFT-TC) of the GRSS. The IFT-TC has seven working
groups organized by sensing modality (e.g., microwave
radiometry, active optical, and so on) and platform (e.g.,
small satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles). The objectives
of this TC are to provide a forum for the coordination
and engagement of those interested in new instrumentation
technology, both within the GRSS and in
the broader community; assess the state of the art of instrumentation
technology; and identify new instrument
concepts, research trends, and enabling technologies.
Members of each working group organize and conduct
their own activities, which can include invited IGARSS
sessions, webinars, and panel discussions. The column reports
on the recent reorganization of the IFT-TC and the
election of a new chair.
Finally, the GRSS Malaysia Chapter, formed in 2012,
is featured in this issue's " Chapters " column. This
Chapter is quite active, hosting the annual IEEE Workshop
on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, along with
technical tours, workshops, and seminars. The Malaysia
Chapter will be taking the international stage next
year when it hosts the IEEE International Geoscience
and Remote Sensing Symposium in Kuala Lumpur on
17-22 July 2022. Save the date: I hope to see many of
you there!
As I have mentioned previously, we are moving toIntroducing
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ward implementing a two-stage review process as a way
to give more timely feedback to potential feature authors.
Short (five pages or fewer) white papers will be
submitted first. These will then be reviewed by associate
editors or members of the editorial board. Following a
positive review of the white paper, authors may be invited
to submit a full manuscript, which will then undergo
a complete peer review.
Contributions to our regular columns- " Chapters, "
" Technical Committees, " " Space Agencies, " " Women in
Geoscience and Remote Sensing, " " Education, " " Software
and Data Sets, " and " Conference Reports " -are always
welcome. White papers, columns, and invited manuscripts
should be submitted through ScholarOne at http://
mc.manuscriptcentral.com/grsm. Proposals for special issues
should be sent to me directly at jlg@ieee.org.
Please continue to stay safe.
GRS
4
IEEE GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING MAGAZINE JUNE 2021
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IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2021
