The 42nd annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) was held for the first time in Malaysia from 17 to 22 July 2022 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC). It was simultaneously conducted through an online platform. The six-day symposium saw the attendance of over 2,000 scientists and researchers with more than 500 for physical and about 1,800 for virtual mode from 65 different countries.
IGARSS is the flagship conference of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS). It aims at providing a platform for sharing knowledge and experience on recent developments and advancements in geoscience and remote sensing technologies, particularly in the context of earth observation, disaster monitoring and risk assessment. Previously, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IGARSS 2021 and 2020 were conducted via an online platform in Brussels and Hawaii respectively.
Themed “Preserving Our Heritage, Enabling Our Future Through Remote Sensing”, this year’s IGARSS featured a wide range of activities that allowed participants to share knowledge and experience on recent developments and advancements in geoscience and remote sensing technologies. Among the activities were the IGARSS exhibition featuring leading agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Malaysia Space Agency (MYSA), technical programmes and tutorials, TIE (Technology, Industry, and Education) Programme, and fun run at KLCC park.
The opening ceremony of IGARSS 2022 was graced by YB Dato’ Sri Dr Adham bin Baba, the Minister for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) on 18 July 2022. Also present at the ceremony were IGARSS 2022 General Chair and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Council Member Ir Academician Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik; IGARSS 2022 Co-Chair and Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA) Director General Tuan Haji Azlikamil Napiah; IGARSS 2022 Co-Chair and National University of Singapore (NUS) Emeritus Professor Prof Dr Yeo Tat Soon, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (IEEE-GRSS) President Dr David B. Kunkee; IGARSS 2022 Technical Programme Chair and UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat; organizing committees, speakers as well as participants.
There was an award session held before the opening ceremony for the 2022 IEEE Fellow, 2022 IEEE GRSS Outstanding Service Award, 2022 IEEE GRSS Education Award, 2022 IEEE GRSS Fawwaz Ulaby Distinguished Achievement Award, and 2022 IEEE GRSS Industry Leader Award. There were also keynote sessions presented on the same day by Head of Science, Applications, and Climate Activities in the Earth Observation (EO) Directorate of the European Space Agency (ESA) Dr. Maurice Borgeaud, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Division of Earth Science Director in the Science Mission Directorate Dr. Karen M. St. Germain, China National Space Administration (CNSA) Center of Earth Observation System and Data Director Dr. Zhao Jian and Google’s Google Earth, Earth Engine & Outreach Director Ms Rebecca Moore.
In conjunction with IGARSS 2022, a summer school programme was also held from 14 to 16 July 2022 at UTAR Kampar Campus, dedicated to introducing drone-based remote sensing to the participants. The summer school programme included data collection campaigns, technical lessons, demos by drone service providers and hands-on exercises.
Another highlight of the event was the IGARSS 2022 Awards Banquet held at Grand Hyatt, Kuala Lumpur. During the banquet night, guests and participants were served hearty meals with cultural traditional music and dances from various regions of Malaysia. An awards ceremony was also held at the night to announce the winners of competitions (Special Awards; Publication Awards; Best Reviewer Award; Symposium Awards; Student Paper Awards; Data Fusion Competition Awards; Three Minute Thesis Competition Awards; Map Design Competition).
The symposium, hosted by IEEE GRSS and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), was supported by The Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA), Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC), and Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB). Other supporting institutions include the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET), Curtin University Malaysia, Institution of Geospatial and Remote Sensing Malaysia, Multimedia University, The Institution of Engineers Malaysia, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Advanced Science and Technology Institute, Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence (STRIDE), Taipei Tech, Telkom University, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara and Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC).
