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Prof. Lin Hui, Director of the Institute of Space and Earth Information Science (ISEIS) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), was recently awarded the Outstanding Contribution Prize at The Asian Association on Remote Sensing (AARS) annual conference held in Beijing. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the AARS presented awards to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to the development of remote sensing in Asia. Other awardees included the late academician Prof. Chen Shupeng, who was named the ‘founder of remote sensing science in China’, Academician Tong Qingxi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Prof. Chen Weijiang, Advisor of the National Remote Sensing Center of China (NRSCC). Prof. Lin Hui is the first Hong Kong scholar honored with this award.

Professor Lin is delighted with the prize, ‘The award is not only a recognition of the contributions of Hong Kong remote sensing scientists. It also helps promote better understanding of this scientific field among academia and the Hong Kong community.’

Since joining CUHK in 1993, Professor Lin has been dedicated in conducting remote sensing research in Hong Kong and South China, with a focus on the cloudy and rainy areas. With the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) and the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the HKSAR government, as well as the CAS, Professor Lin initiated a series of environmental remote sensing projects in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region. Among them are the first airborne radar remote sensing programme for geological studies in Hong Kong, the first Hong Kong airborne color infrared remote sensing programme for vegetation inventory and habitat mapping, satellite remote sensing monitoring of the deformation of the Hong Kong airport and railways, and water quality monitoring and development of information dissemination platform for Hong Kong and the PRD area. In 2004, Professor Lin initiated the establishment of Hong Kong Satellite Remote Sensing Ground Station, which laid a solid foundation for developing national remote sensing infrastructure in Hong Kong.

Professor Lin is committed to the promotion of remote sensing in Hong Kong, and has been actively participating in national and international collaboration projects on remote sensing. He has organized remote sensing training programmes in Asia and Africa for the United Nations, and raised funds to provide training programmes for the underdeveloped regions of China. He has also formed a cooperation network for remote sensing in cloudy and rainy areas, and provided timely support for disaster management. Under the leadership of Professor Lin, ISEIS has established close partnership with various leading international institutions, such as The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), US Geological Survey (USGS), University Space Research Association (USRA), and the French Naval Academy (FNA). Currently, Professor Lin is a member of the expert group of NRSCC, the Expert Committee of National Resource Satellite Application Center of China, and the China Lunar Exploration Science Committee.

AARS is an international academic organization comprising members from national remote sensing organizations of 28 Asian countries, including China, Japan and India. Owing to the rapid development of space remote sensing in Asia during the last decade, AARS has attracted associate members from national agencies and organizations from a number of Western countries, including the USA, Canada, Germany, UK, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Some of these agencies are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Space Agency.