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Prof. Lin Hui, Professor of the Department of Geography and Resource Management and Director of the Institute of Space and Earth Information Science (ISEIS) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was invited by the Ministry of Technology and Research of Sri Lanka to deliver the Sixth Annual Memorial Lecture to commemorate Sri Lankabhimanya Sir Arthur C. Clarke in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.  Professor Lin shared his insights in environmental monitoring with satellite remote sensing and virtual geographic environments. 

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the late famous British writer and inventor, was considered the father of the concept of extra terrestrial communication through geo-stationary satellites.  He was one of the six winners of Sri Lankabhimanya (The Pride of Sri Lanka), the highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the President of Sri Lanka on behalf of the Government.  He was renowned for screenwriting the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Many of his dreams in his more than 100 science fictions have been realized later.  For many years he, along with Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, were known as the top three science fiction writers in the 20th century.  To commemorate the great writer and inventor, Sri Lanka invites one remarkable scholar every year to host the commemorative lecture series. 

In his lecture, Professor Lin introduced Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s contribution in space science and technology, before he elaborated on the progress of modern satellite remote sensing science and technology, in particular, the role and prospects of satellite remote sensing in monitoring the earth environment.  Professor Lin also introduced the research programmes of satellite remote sensing and virtual geographic environments (VGE) in ISEIS of CUHK.  Mr. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Hon. Minister of Technology and Research in Sri Lanka, as well as senior officers and scholars from Sri Lanka government units, military and research institutions had a very fruitful discussion with Professor Lin after the lecture.  Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka was looking forward to launching academic exchange partnership with CUHK.