Jón Atli recognised for his outstanding contribution to remote sensing

Jón Atli Benediktsson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and the former Rector of the University of Iceland, was honoured earlier this week by the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Society (GRSS) for his outstanding contributions to remote sensing. Jón Atli received the prize at a conference held by the GRSS, IGARSS 2026, in Washington DC in the US. It is worth noting that IGARSS 2027 will take place in Reykjavík from 11–16 July next year.

The GRRS award presented to Jón Atli is named the Fawwaz Ulaby Distinguished Achievement Award and is presented annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to remote sensing. Jón Atli receives the award for his extraordinary contribution to the progress of the field of analysis, recognition and fusion of remote sensing. Remote sensing involves taking digital images using satellites, aeroplanes, or drones, and remote sensing research involves developing methods to extract information from those images, as well as collecting and analysing remote sensing data. Remote sensing may be used, for example, to monitor environmental changes in vegetation, glaciers and the ocean, as well as the progression of volcanic activity.

Saibun Tjuatja, president of the GRSS, presented the award to Jón Atli on Monday. The award is named after the acclaimed scientist Fawwaz T. Ulaby, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan in the US, who is known for his pioneering contributions to microwave and radar technologies for remote sensing. For the GRSS’s 65th anniversary, Ulaby himself announced this year’s award winner, as shown in the video below.

Jón Atli has received numerous international acknowledgements for his scientific work. Last year, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering/NAE. Membership in the Academy is only granted to engineers who have made significant contributions to humanity in their work. Jón Atli received the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) award for his contribution to education in remote sensing in 2020 and has received the society’s prize for outstanding scientific articles three times. Furthermore, he has received the Asa Gudmundsdottir Wright honorary award for his scientific work. Jón Atli is among the world's leading research scientists in his field, and for 8 consecutive years, he has been on Clarivate Analytics' prestigious list of the world's most influential researchers.

Jón Atli is the author of over 500 scientific articles. Moreover, he has edited numerous international journals in the field of remote sensing and is now the editor-in-chief of IEEE Press, the book publishing arm of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s largest technical professional organisation, with over 500.000 members. Jón Atli has also been productive in innovation and is co-founder with Einar Stefánsson, professor of ophthalmology, and others, of the start-up company Oxymap, which diagnoses eye disease via digital image analysis.