Eligibility

The Awards Committee may give preference to an individual who:

• is an IEEE GRSS member

• has made significant contributions to remote sensing system engineering, science, and/or technology

• has made significant contributions to dissemination and commercialization of remote sensing products

• has demonstrated leadership to promote remote sensing science and technology.

Individuals who have received a GRSS Major Award are not eligible within 5 years.

Eligibility and the selection process shall comply with procedures and regulation established in IEEE and GRSS governing documents, particularly with IEEE Policy 4.4 on Awards Limitations.

Award Items

Plaque and certificate.

Frequency

The award shall be presented annually to one recipient, provided a qualified candidate is nominated.

Nominee Solicitation

The nomination package including the following materials must be submitted by an IEEE GRSS member via the Award Nomination Tool by December 15:

• a nomination letter, no more than 3-pages in length, from a GRSS member
• nomination template can be obtained here or through the Award Nomination Tool
• a complete curriculum vitae of the candidate
• at least 2 recommendation letters, max. 3, from individuals familiar with the candidate’s industrial contributions and achievements

Selection/Basis for Judging

• significance

• quality and impact of activities

• quality of contributions

• achievements

The nominations are evaluated and ranked by the IEEE GRSS Major Awards Committee.

The major awards evaluation committee consists typically of 8 to 10 GRSS members who have already received at least one major award of the society and are not member of the GRSS AdCom. Each member of the evaluation committee provides for each candidate a rating as follows:

• 3 – truly outstanding and long overdue

• 2 – strong contender

• 1 – consider later

• 0 – not to be considered

The rating is typically a non-integer number. The final ranking is the sum of the ranks given by each evaluator. If the average of the rankings for all candidates is less than 2, the award is not presented in that year. In the event of a tie, a virtual meeting is organized with the members of the evaluation committee. A decision is made based on a discussion of how well both candidates meet the selection criteria. Next, the major awards chair forwards the selected candidate, along with the list of all candidates and the respective ratings, to the GRSS president, who approves the recommendation of the evaluation committee. Finally, the GRSS AdCom endorses the selection of the major award recipient in an executive session at the March AdCom meeting.

Award Timeline

Presentation

The award shall be presented at an awards ceremony during the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS, together with other IEEE GRSS awards.

Major Awards Committee

• Alberto Moreira: Chair (Region 8)

• Leung Tsang: Co-Chair (Region 1-6)

• Melba Crawford (Region 1-6)

• Karen St. Germain (Region 1-6)

• Mahta Moghaddam (Region 1-6)

• Jon Benediktsson (Region 8)

• Sebastiano Serpico (Region 8)

• Masanobu Shimada (Region 10)

Contact: grss-award-maj@ieee.org