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Chairman’s message
Election Fever
You may not know this, but a member of RSPSoc Council is set to stand for parliament at the next general election. First, though, he will defend his RSPSoc position in this summer’s Council election. I wish him well, of course, but I do hope he has a fight on his hands, with competition from a long, strong list of candidates. Now, Council nomination papers were actually circulated with the last issue of the Newsletter, they are available HERE] and the deadline isn’t until 11 July so there is still plenty of time to apply. A major reshuffle may be on the cards with six Council members standing down – though they’re not all escaping as one has progressed to Ex-Officio status and three are eligible for a second term. So far [early June] we’ve received two (and a half! – email me if curious) applications – for a sneak preview of one of the candidates, see this issue’s Ordinary Member Profile – with others on the way, but we’re greedy and we want even more!
This is the last Newsletter issue before September’s Annual Conference, so I hope this is firmly fixed in your field of view – see the back cover for the latest conference details. The technical programme is stronger than ever, matched by what promises to be a very full and fun social programme – boat trips and museum receptions, supplemented by barbecues and, for the adventurous, surf lessons! The surfing session is being led by Andrew Hardy, the new student representative – see his Student Member Profile later in the Newsletter – who has now succeeded Tina Thomson. Tina’s Annual Student Meeting in the New Forest took place so close to the last Newsletter deadline that I wasn’t able to congratulate her formally on this meeting and her overall contribution as student representative. It was an excellent event – I was delighted to be invited to attend – and I am very grateful to Tina for her great effort and enthusiasm over the last two years, I look forward to Andrew’s meeting next year reaching the same heights. Quickly returning to this year’s Annual Conference, a couple of deadline reminders: full paper submissions are due by 31 July, but before that please not that discounted earlybird registration expires on 1 July, so do register soon.
Before the Annual Conference, this summer sees the quadrennial Congress of the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing in Beijing, and RSPSoc, together with its UK partners RICS and ICES, will be heavily involved. This is an enormous event, held over two weeks and attracting upwards of 3,000 participants. RSPSoc is co-hosting a UK exhibit, showcasing the best and latest developments in remote sensing and photogrammetry, and holding a reception at the British Embassy. AT the last Congress in 2004 the UK stand in the exhibition acted rather as a hub for UK activities and certainly as a meeting point for UK delegates. If you are attending the Congress, please come along to the exhibit and make yourself known. Of course, if you are interested/willing to help on the stand from time to time, that would be very welcome too, though certainly not obligatory. The exhibit is being coordinated by Dr Jim Chandler of Loughborough University and I’m aure he’d be happy to hear from any interested parties and volunteers –
One other opportunity/duty related to Congress is to help Paul Newby, editor of our Photogrammetric Record, prepare a Congress report for the journal. In recent times, Paul has pieced together contributions on individual aspects of the Congress – Technical Commissions, keynote papers, exhibition, etc. – from a series of RSPSoc volunteers. This could be viewed as a chore – though clearly a useful and necessary one – but it does also count as a journal article, so it may be of particular interest to younger members of the Society seeking to gain publishing experience and add a notch to their record of publications. I will be doing my part and contributing a report on the Technical Commission VII… or VIII; I forget which. Last time I managed to write a report on the wrong commission (honestly!) and ending up having to write two. If interested, please get in touch with Paul –
Finally in relation to ISPRS, and returning to the earlier theme of elections, I wish Professor Jon Mills well in his bed to host Technical Commission V – Close-range Sensing and Applications – to be decided at the Congress General Assembly. Fingers crossed! Good luck to Paul Zukowskyj as he prepares for his future parliamentary battle. He emphasizes it’s a ‘development seat’, meaning an opposing party is a firm favourite to win, but then who would have thought a Dunwoody would not hold Crewu and Nantwich? Anyway, I’m not sure about this election fever, but staring at this pile of remote sensing exam marking I am beginning to feel a bit faint.
Paul Aplin
RSPSoc Chairman
[Read the Chairman’s Message (March 2008 Newsletter): Chairman’s Message (PDF)]
[Read the Chairman’s Message (Jan 2008 Newsletter): Chairman’s message (PDF)]
[Read the Chairman’s message (Oct 2007 Newsletter): Chairman’s message (PDF).]
