Lifetime Achievement Award - Surveying
Lt.Gen.G.C.Agarwal,
Retired Surveyor General of India

Lt.Gen.G.C.Agarwal is well known for his outstanding contribution to the fields of surveying, cartography and remote sensing, photogrammetry and educational technology. His services as the Surveyor General of India from 1981-1988 are extremely commendable. As Surveyor General, he has done yeomen service to the nation in upgrading Survey of India technologically and in unveiling the digital mapping era in the country.

He has held several distinguished positions in his life time which include vice-chancellor of MD University, Rohtak, Vice-president of International Cartographic Association and as president of Institute of Surveyors.


Lifetime Achievement Award - Geospatial Technologies
Dr. George Joseph
Director, Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in
Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), Dehradun

Dr. George Joseph started his research career in 1962 at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bombay. A novel detector system designed by him was flown on the first Indian Satellite ARYABHATA to detect solar neutrons. Since 1973, at Space Applications Centre (SAC), he was instrumental in de¬veloping a variety of electro-optical sensors for earth observations, first of its kind in India. He is rightfully considered the pioneer of satellite based imaging sensors in the country.

Dr Joseph has served in a number of national and international committees/organisations including President of Technical Commission–1 of the ISPRS during 1996-2000. He has published a number of scientific papers in national and international journals. He has authored a book titled Fundamentals of Remote Sensing, a complete textbook on remote sensing written by an Indian author for beginners. He is fellow of a number of national academies like the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, and the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He has been honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1999. He is the recipient of the distinguished Bhaskara Award and several awards for his contribution to the field of remote sensing technology and application.