IN FOCUS: The History of IEEE GRSS at 65: 1965-69

By Joanne Van Voorhis

The IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) marks its 65th anniversary in 2026. We continue our 12-part series by examining the events and contributors from 1965-1969 which helped continue to shape our organization.

Part II – Early Growth and Expansion (1965-1969)

By the mid-1960s, the Group on Geoscience Electronics (G-GE) had begun to define its scientific identity. The early emphasis on instrumentation for petroleum exploration and subsurface sensing had given way to a broader vision, one that included the atmosphere, oceans, and space itself as subjects of study. Advances in radar, microwave radiometry, and orbital technology were rapidly transforming the vision of what was possible in Earth observation.

This was an era of firsts. The TIROS and Nimbus weather satellites were producing the earliest global images of clouds and storm systems. Airborne radar systems were mapping coastlines and sea ice. Oceanographers were experimenting with electronic current meters and acoustic profilers. In each of these developments, G-GE members played essential roles, supplying designs, calibrations, and analytical techniques that contributed to the growing field.

As these applications expanded, so too did the group’s scope. The term “geoscience electronics,” once closely tied to exploration geophysics, began to encompass a much wider set of remote-sensing technologies. This was a significant shift that foreshadowed the Society’s eventual name change a decade later.

Leadership and Community Growth

By 1967, membership in the Group on Geoscience Electronics had surpassed 1,500, a significant milestone that reflected both technical expansion and active leadership during the mid-1960s. The period was marked by a transition away from the group’s original concentration in petroleum geophysics toward a broader, interdisciplinary focus that included atmospheric sensing, oceanographic instrumentation, and emerging space-based observations. This expansion spanned the chairmanships of Isadore “Is” Katz (1965), William A. Drews (1966-1967) and the subsequent leadership of Edward A. Wolff (1968-1969), during which the group deliberately encouraged participation from new scientific communities and applications areas. Membership gains were driven not only by the widening technical scope but also by the advantages of the recently formed IEEE structure, which provided expanded administrative support, conference infrastructure, and communication channels. These changes gave the young community access to a much larger global membership base and professional visibility beyond the oil and instrumentation industries of its origins.

A substantive editorial by Edward A. Wolff in the May 1968 Transactions on Geoscience Electronics expresses an early philosophical mission statement that reflects how G-GE leaders saw the group’s purpose and foreshadows the later development of IEEE GRSS:

“Although land, sea, air, and space are convenient categories for compartmentalizing the interests of G-GE, its members are well aware of the fuzziness of the boundaries and the interrelationships between the regions… G-GE provides a forum for the exchange of information that is more stimulating because of the diversity of the application.”

It captures the belief that the Group should not treat geoscientific disciplines in isolation, but appreciate the connections between phenomena in the atmosphere, oceans, and land and the role electronics plays in measuring them. This interdisciplinary vision attracted new members (annual membership in 1969 was $5) from universities, government laboratories, and aerospace and environmental research programs and positioned G-GE as a central forum for the rapidly evolving international remote sensing and geoscience electronics community of the era.

Transactions Editorial Guidance and Special Issues

Under the editorial leadership of Alex Hoffman (1966-1972), Transactions on Geoscience Electronics entered a period of technical and editorial expansion that reflected the rapidly broadening scope of the field. As interest grew in atmospheric, oceanographic, and space-based sensing, the journal increased both its topical range and publication cadence. Beginning in February 1968, Transactions transitioned to a quarterly schedule, offering greater flexibility to highlight emerging areas of research through focused issues.

One of the most visible outcomes of this expansion was the introduction of special issues, which allowed the journal to concentrate on rapidly developing disciplines. The November 1968 issue marked the first such effort, focusing on oceanographic instrumentation at a time when marine investigation was gaining significant attention. The issue was guest edited by Gilbert Jaffe, Director of the Marine Services Department at the Navy Hydrographic Office, and featured a lead article by Harvey D. Kushner, Director of the Systems Development Division at Operations Research Inc. and a recognized authority in oceanographic mapping. This shift toward themed issues and increased publication frequency signaled the Group’s commitment to interdisciplinary geoscience electronics and helped position the journal as a central venue for emerging remote sensing and oceanographic research.

Inaugural International Geoscience Electronics Symposium

Recognizing the value of bringing like-minded people together, in April 1969, G-GE organized its first International Geoscience Electronics Symposium. The event was held a month after the Earth orbit of Apollo 9 and just five weeks before the lunar orbit of Apollo 10. In this scientifically charged environment, Charles F. Getman – a marine scientist working in the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office in Washington, DC – served as the Steering Committee Chair and helped develop a program that reflected the interests of members and the public alike. IEEE members paid a registration fee of $17.00 to attend. More than 375 attendees explored 63 papers presented in 13 technical sessions that covered topics ranging from earth resources surveys to oceanographic and meteorological remote sensing, instrumentation for seismologic measurements and the increasingly hot topic of environmental regulation.

The symposium abstract explained that the symposium was concerned “with the acquisition of data for research, exploration, exploitation, and operation. Data acquisition systems include the following building blocks: sensors, storage devices, data processors, encoders and decoders, communication and telemetering equipment, data display and recording devices, power supplies, and platforms on which the equipment is located.”

Presentations covered airborne radar mapping, satellite telemetry, ocean sensing, and atmospheric sounders. To commemorate the event, the October 1969 issue of the Transactions on Geoscience Electronics included selected papers from the symposium, which are all available at IEEEXplore .

Examples include:

• “Measurements of wind speeds with an optical crossbeam system” (ventilated techniques for wind remote sensing)
• “Geodetic and geophysical applications of laser satellite ranging” (technical paper on satellite ranging)
• “A miniature two-axis fluxgate magnetometer” (instrumentation for space/remote sensing)

The event demonstrated both the diversity and the vitality of the field, setting a precedent for the future IGARSS series that would begin in 1981.

Awards and Recognition

The first series of G-GE awards was adopted by the AdCom in 1968. A Best Transactions Paper Award was created to recognize the author(s) of the best Transactions paper in the preceding year, and an Outstanding Symposium Presentation Award was also developed. The first G-GE Awards Chair was Kiyo Tomiyasu, who would himself later be honored as an IEEE Life Fellow for dedicated service to IEEE that eventually spanned 70 years.

The first Best Transactions Paper Award was presented to Bob LaCoss, for his paper, “Adaptive Combining of Wideband Array Data for Optimal Reception,” which appeared in the May 1968 issue of Transactions. His paper focused on adaptive signal-processing techniques for array data to enhance signal-to-noise ratio and improve reception performance, The Awards Committee also coordinated nominations of G-GE members for IEEE Fellow, and instituted special certificates of appreciation for past G-GE officers, past Transactions and Newsletter Editors, and past Symposium Chairs.

1965-1969 Technological Context

Between 1965 and 1969, global remote sensing shifted from experimental research to early operational capability, driven by advances in satellites, sensors, and data processing. Meteorological satellites such as the TIROS, ESSA, and Nimbus series began providing routine global observations, with Nimbus introducing infrared radiometers and early microwave experiments that pointed toward day-night and all-weather measurement capability. When Nimbus-3 data began flowing from the satellite to Earth in 1969, contemporary accounts describe scientists working through the night to process and hand-plot the state of the atmosphere for the entire globe.

At the same time, the idea of Earth resources remote sensing took shape, as multispectral imaging and airborne scanners were explored for agriculture, geology, and environmental monitoring – anticipating Landsat in the early 1970s. Radar remote sensing, including side-looking airborne radar and early SAR concepts, advanced rapidly, offering cloud-independent imaging, while progress in satellite geodesy and laser ranging improved measurements of Earth’s shape and dynamics. Improvements in digital signal processing, telemetry, and data handling made large-scale geophysical data collection practical, helping transform remote sensing into a coherent global observing enterprise.

Also between 1965 and 1969, oceanographic remote sensing moved from experimental demonstrations toward practical global observation. The Nimbus program played a central role: by 1966, instruments aboard Nimbus-II were already measuring sea surface temperature (SST), providing the first synoptic thermal views of large ocean regions from space. These infrared radiometer data revealed major temperature gradients, upwelling zones, and ocean current structures, demonstrating the feasibility of satellite-based ocean monitoring. Although cloud cover and calibration challenges limited accuracy, airborne and ship-based radiometers were used to validate the measurements, establishing some of the first systematic “ground truth” programs in ocean remote sensing. These efforts laid the technical foundation for dedicated oceanographic satellite missions in the 1970s.

Looking Toward the 1970s

As the 1960s closed, the global scientific community was entering a new era of observation. NASA’s Apollo missions were yielding images of Earth from space, dramatically illustrating the planet’s fragility and complexity. Approximately four hours after their launch on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew captured a stunning photograph of Earth while traveling to the Moon. The awe-inspiring color image not only showcased the beauty of our planet from space but also marked a significant moment in human space exploration. G-GE members recognized that the tools they had been developing – radars, radiometers, and sensors – were proving essential for studying that complexity in quantitative terms.

The momentum built during 1965–1969 prepared the Society for both continued growth and some challenges in the decade ahead. Economic shifts and evolving research priorities would test its resilience, but the foundations for interdisciplinary collaboration and international engagement were firmly established.

Next month we will explore “The History of IEEE GRSS at 65: Challenges and Redefinition (1970-1974).”

Take a Closer Look:

• Transactions on Geoscience Electronics (October 1969) with selected papers from the first International Geoscience Electronics Symposium
• NASA Technical Note, November 1969: “Ocean Current and Sea Surface Temperature Observations from Meteorological Satellites.”
• Read about the life-long contributions of Kiyo Tomiyasu to IEEE in the December 2010 issue of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Newsletter (page 10)
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