IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - March 2021 - 13

and International Journal of Remote Sensing and an editorial
board member of International Journal of Digital Earth and
Big Earth Data. He is the vice president of the GRSS Washington, D.C., and Shanghai Chapters and an active IGARSS
Technical Program Committee member, and he taught a
training course at IGARSS 2016.
GRSS MAJOR AWARDS
The Society posts its call for nominations for the GRSS
Education Award, GRSS Outstanding Service Award,
GRSS Industrial Leader Award, and GRSS Distinguished
Achievement Award on its website and announces the
call in its newsletter. Nomination forms are available
at http://www.grss-ieee.org/about/awards/. Any member,
with the exception of those on the GRSS AdCom, can
submit nominations. Typically, three to five people are
nominated every year. An independent Major Awards
Committee makes the selection, which is approved by the
GRSS president and AdCom. The following Major Awards
were presented:
◗◗ GRSS Education Award
◗◗ GRSS Outstanding Service Award
◗◗ GRSS Industry Leader Award
◗◗ GRSS Distinguished Achievement Award.
IEEE GRSS EDUCATION AWARD
The Education Award was established to recognize an individual who has made significant educational contributions
to the field of geoscience and remote sensing. In selecting
an individual, factors considered are the significance and
innovativeness of the educational contribution and the
extent of its overall impact. The contribution can be made
at any level, including K-12, undergraduate and graduate
teaching, professional development, and public outreach.
It can also be in any form (e.g., textbooks, curriculum development, or education program initiatives). GRSS membership or affiliation is required. The awardee receives a
certificate and plaque.
The 2020 GRSS Education Award was presented to
Prof. Jón Atli Benediktsson (Figure 8), University of Iceland, Reykjavik, with the citation " in recognition of
significant educational contributions to geoscience and
remote sensing. "
Benediktsson has been the president and rector of
the University of Iceland since 1 July 2015. From 2009
to 2015, he was the pro rector of science and academic
affairs, and since 1991 he has been a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the same university.
Benediktsson received his Cand.Sci. degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Iceland in 1984 and
his M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering
from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, in
1987 and 1990, respectively. His research interests are in
remote sensing, biomedical analysis of signals, pattern
recognition, image processing, and signal processing, and
he has published extensively in those fields. BenediktsMARCH 2021

IEEE GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING MAGAZINE

FIGURE 8. Jón Atli Benediktsson, recipient of the 2020 GRSS

Education Award.

son is a Highly Cited Researcher (since 2018). He was
2011-2012 GRSS president. He served as editor-in-chief
of TGRS from 2003 to 2008 and is currently on many
editorial boards. Benediktsson is a cofounder of the biomedical start-up company Oxymap (www.oxymap.com).
He is a Fellow of IEEE and of the Society of Photo-Optical
Instrumentation Engineers. Benediktsson has received
many awards for his research. He is on the board of the
Aurora University Network.
IEEE GRSS OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD
The GRSS Outstanding Service Award was established to recognize an individual who has given service for the benefit
and advancement of the Society. The award is considered
annually but is not presented unless a suitable candidate
is identified. The following factors are suggested for
consideration: leadership innovation, activity, service
duration, breadth of participation, and cooperation. GRSS
membership is required. The
awardee receives a certificate
and plaque.
THE GRSS OUTSTANDING
The 2020 GRSS OutstandSERVICE AWARD WAS
ing Service Award was preESTABLISHED TO RECOGsented to Dr. Melba M. CrawNIZE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO
ford (Figure 9) from Purdue
University, West Lafayette,
HAS GIVEN SERVICE FOR
Indiana, USA, with the ciTHE BENEFIT AND
t ation " in recognition of
ADVANCEMENT OF
outstanding service for the
THE SOCIETY.
benefit and advancement of
the Geoscience and Remote
Sensing Society. " Crawford
is the Nancy Uridil and Francis Bossu Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue, where she is a professor in the Schools
of Civil Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Agronomy. Previously, she was
an Engineering Foundation Endowed Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, USA, where she founded an
interdisciplinary research and applications development
13

http://www.grss-ieee.org/about/awards/ http://www.oxymap.com

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - March 2021

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