December 10, 2010 —In early December the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) and the ASPRS Foundation received an individual donation with a value of $90,000 to endow a new Outstanding Technical Achievement Award. The Award will be administered through ASPRS and funded by the ASPRS Foundation. In accordance with the wishes of the donor, who is a longtime ASPRS member, this donation was made anonymously. ASPRS has agreed to match $35,000 of the donation in accordance with its current matching policy, for a total of approximately $125,000. The result of the match ensures that the Award will be fully endowed at the $5000 per annual award level.

ASPRS Foundation President Roger Crystal praised the donor for their extremely generous donation saying, “This is a significant milestone for the ASPRS Foundation, and I hope it inspires others to consider similar contributions to the profession and to the community from which we all derive so much satisfaction.”

The Award will be known as the ASPRS Outstanding Technical Achievement Award during the lifetime of the donor. The purpose of the Award is to recognize and encourage developers of specific breakthrough technologies that stimulate major advances in the practice of photogrammetry, remote sensing, or geographic information systems in the United States. The achievement must be recent, but need not occur within the year prior to the award, as it is recognized that the significance of critical contributions may not immediately become evident.

ASPRS President Dr. Carolyn Merry expressed her gratitude for the donor’s generosity and added “This Award will be one of the largest given by ASPRS and rightfully so, since our community depends so heavily on the developmental work this Award is intended to recognize. One of the greatest strengths of the ASPRS community has been its ability, over more than 75 years, to constantly bring forward technological advances that maintain our profession as truly state-of-the-art. By recognizing these advances as they occur, this Award will hopefully ensure we remain on a strong technological trajectory.”

The Selection Committee for this award, consisting of the ASPRS President and the ASPRS Technical Division Directors, will evaluate each achievement for its economic and scientific impact to the profession. Practicability is the essence of the Award. With this as a criterion the merits of candidates will be considered by the Committee with respect to the following points, giving greatest weight to the first:

• An outstanding invention or design involving any type of equipment that applies to photogrammetry, remote sensing, or geographic information management.
• Any outstanding method developed for the use of photogrammetry, remote sensing, or geographic information.

The Award consists of a silver presentation plaque mounted on a walnut wood panel, plus a cash award of $5,000, and will be given annually if a worthy candidate is identified. The Award will be made solely to an individual or a plurality of individuals jointly, and will not be made to companies, agencies, bureaus, or associations. However, their personnel are eligible as individuals to receive this very prestigious Award.

Founded in 1934, ASPRS is an international professional organization of 6,000 geospatial data professionals. ASPRS is devoted to advancing knowledge and improving understanding of the mapping sciences to promote responsible application of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems and supporting technologies.

Founded in 1979, The ASPRS Foundation, Inc. is an independent 501 (c) 3 organization established to provide grants, scholarships, loans and other forms of aid to individuals or organizations pursuing knowledge of imaging and geospatial information science and technology, and their applications across the scientific, governmental, and commercial sectors. The Foundation is the primary funding source for all non-sponsored awards and scholarships recognized by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.



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