IEEE GRSS elects new president for 2023
The IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) welcomed Dr. Mariko Burgin as its new President for the year 2023. The selection was done through an election process by the organization’s voting members of the Administrative Committee (AdCom) held at the AdCom meeting in Redondo Beach, California on November 4, 2022.
Burgin was previously the Executive Vice President for 2021-2022. She is currently a member of the AdCom and also an IEEE Senior Member.
With the new position, Burgin wishes “to foster an inclusive, accessible, and open GRSS where everyone feels welcome and belongs.”
As the organization evolves from a small to a mid-sized organization, the challenge is to increase membership in the geographical regions that IEEE GRSS lacks, while also adapting to changing publication trends. Also, Burgin looks forward to strengthening diversity and inclusivity within the organization. Moreover, the new President is overlooking the preparations for the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) which will this year be held in-person in Pasadena, United States, after three years of hybrid attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside Burgin’s election, Dr. Saibun Tjuatja was voted as Executive Vice President by the AdCom members.
New appointments were also made within the Executive Committee (ExCom). These include Dr. Keely Roth as the Vice President for Information Resources (IR), Dr. Sidharth Misra as Vice President for Meetings and Symposia, Dr. Alejandro Frery as Vice President for Publications, and Dr. David Kunkee as Past President.
For the Adcom, several new designations were made. Under the Professional Activities, Dr. Ronny Hänsch is the new Membership Chair, and Dr. David Long is the Special Awards Committee Chair. Dr. James Smith is the new co-chair of the Fellow/Senior Member Search Committee, and Victoria Vanthof for the Inspire, Develop, Empower, Advance (IDEA) Committee.
For IR, Stephanie Tumampos is assigned as the new Publicity and Press Relations Chair. In the Publications section, Dr. Xiuping Jia is appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing publication, while Dr. William J. Emery is the chair for the Future Publications Committee.
To assist the Director of Industry Relations and maintain connections, Dr. Ryan Lewis is appointed as the Industry Liaison. For Education, Dr. Ryo Natsuaki is now the GRSS Schools (GR3S) Chair. Meanwhile, Dr. Heather McNairn is appointed as the chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging (DEIAB).
The complete organizational list of AdCom members can be viewed here.
