IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - March 2015 - 6

President's message
by Kamal Sarabandi

lease accept my greetings and sincere best wishes
for the New Year as the 33rd president of the IEEE
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS). It has
been a long journey for the IEEE GRSS and its predecessor organization, the IEEE Geoscience Electronics
Group, that was established in 1962. Throughout the
years, our society has thrived considerably and attained
significant worldwide prominence among other professional organizations within and outside the IEEE.
Our society is truly an international society with more
than 3300 members and 44 GRSS and joint chapters
throughout the world. The IEEE
GRSS has been engaged in the
advancement of the science and
It Is our mandate to
technology pertaining to the readvance the frontIers
mote sensing of the earth and
of remote sensIng
its processes as well as promotscIence and technology
ing the professional standing of
its members. Through creation
and contInue the
of technical forums, to facilitate
tradItIon of provIdIng
meetings among academicians,
servIce to our socIetIes
scientists and practitioners in
at large and ImprovIng
governmental and space agenthe lIfe on thIs planet.
cies, as well as industries, and
multiple venues for dissemination of knowledge through publications, GRSS has been at the forefront of the remote
sensing discipline. I am convinced that the human, financial, and societal impact of remote sensing science
and technology is unparalleled. With ever growing
population and ever increasing demand for resources,
public services, security, etc., the interdisciplinary field
of remote sensing will definitely be among the top 10
most promising technology trends in the future. It is
our mandate to advance the frontiers of remote sensing
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MGRS.2015.2398375
Date of publication: 25 March 2015

science and technology and continue the tradition of
providing service to our societies at large and improving the life on this planet.
In the past two years, as Executive Vice President of
GRSS, I was responsible for strategic planning and for
forming the vision for our society's future. Our vision
for IEEE GRSS is to become the professional society of
choice for scientists and industries engaged in remote
sensing of the Earth. Through the leadership of our past
president, Professor Melba Crawford, and strong support and guidance of the GRSS Adcom, the IEEE GRSS
has already started three major initiatives, namely, 1)
Globalization, 2) Education, and 3) Industry Engagement. Our initiatives are aimed at enhancing service to
our members and expanding our footprint in developing countries. Under each of the aforementioned initiatives there are many activities led by our able Adcom
members and other volunteers. I would like to take this
opportunity to invite you to learn more about such activities and help us in achieving our goals. These initiatives are well orchestrated and well-funded through the
tireless efforts of the GRSS CFO, Dr. James Smith.
In globalization, our efforts are focused on Latin
America (Region 9), China, India, and Southeast Asia
(Region 10), and Africa and the Middle East (Region 8).
GRSS is promoting Chapter creation, the Distinguished
Speakers program, Specialty Symposia and meetings,
remote sensing caravans for educational purposes, and
other collaborative activities in these regions. Opportunities are great for students, scientists and academicians to join GRSS activities in these regions. I highly
encourage our colleagues in these regions to join us in
our efforts to better understand our planet and its life
supporting environment through the science and technology of remote sensing. Our educational initiative is
also broad and comprehensive. We have realized that
the future belongs to the new generation and the most
challenging long-standing problems can be solved by
ieee Geoscience and remote sensing magazine

march 2015

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