ISPRS Awards Booklet 2022

ISPRS Awards offered in 2026

Awards Policy

The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing recognizes individual accomplishments through the sponsorship of awards and honours which are granted at each quadrennial ISPRS Congress. Nominations of deserving candidates for awards are welcome and may be made by individuals or organizations at any time, but before the deadlines given. Each nomination must be in written form (e-mail is acceptable) and submitted to an ISPRS Council member. A web-based system is also provided to facilitate on-line submission. The following is a brief summary of all awards and honours granted by ISPRS. The year of initial presentation of each award or honour is denoted in parentheses. The terms of reference for each award is also provided. Note that self-nomination is only possible for the Otto von Gruber Award, the Schwidefsky Medal, the Karl Kraus Medal, the Best Young Author Award, the CATCON Award and the Doležal Award.

• An ISPRS Honorary Member (since 1926) is elected by the Society in recognition of distinguished services to ISPRS and its aims. There may not be more than ten living Honorary Members of the Society at any given time. Honorary Members have the right to attend meetings of the Society and shall not be called upon to pay registration fees at functions sponsored in the name of ISPRS.
   
• An ISPRS Fellow (since 2010) is elected by the Society in recognition of sustained, excellent service to the ISPRS and its aims. There may not be more than five fellows elected at any General Assembly. Nominations for fellowship may be made to the Fellows Committee which will recommend persons for election to the General Assembly.
   
• The Brock Gold Medal Award (since 1956), sponsored by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, is presented for an outstanding landmark in evolution of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences. The award consists of a gold medallion. Ordinary Members of ISPRS are encouraged to nominate candidates for the Award. Nominations must be signed by two individuals of different nationalities and also a different nationality from that of the candidate.
   
• The Otto von Gruber Award (since 1964), sponsored by the Netherlands Center of Geodesy and Geo-informatics, is presented to a young (less than 40 years) author of one or more papers of outstanding merit in the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences written in the four year period preceding the Congress. The Award consists of a medal and a monetary grant."
   
• The Samuel Gamble Award (since 1988), sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Geomatics, is presented to up to three individuals who have contributed significantly to the development, organization or professional activities of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, at the national or international level. The award consists of a certificate.
   
• The Schermerhorn Award (since 1988), sponsored by Geo- Information Netherlands is granted to a person who has most significantly contributed to the activities of a Working Group of the ISPRS during the four year Congress period. The award consists of a certificate.
   
• The Schwidefsky Medal (since 1988), sponsored by the German Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, is presented to persons who have made significant contributions to photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, either through the medium of publication as author or editor, or in another form. The award consists of a medal manufactured in porcelain and a certificate.
   
• The President's Honorary Citation (since 1988), is a certificate of recognition, presented by the President of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), to one or more officers (chairperson, co-chairperson or secretary) of one working group, from each ISPRS Technical Commission. The citation is to recognize special, personal and meritorious contributions to the operation of the relevant Technical Commission's activities and advancement of its interests, during the quadrennial term of the Society.
   
• ISPRS Best Young Author Award (since 1988), sponsored by donor organizations and ISPRS, recognizes authors who are less than 35 years old on the opening day of the Congress and are the sole or 1st author of a high quality paper accepted for oral presentation at the Congress. Typically, two awards are presented for each ISPRS Commission. Each award consists of a certificate and a SFr. 2,500 grant to enable the awardee to participate in the Congress
   
• ISPRS Best Poster Award. At the Congress a total of two awards per Technical Commission are sponsored by ISPRS. Each award consists of a certificate and a gift from the Congress Director. A nomination for this award is not possible and not necessary, as all presented posters will be considered for the award.
  A jury for each of the ISPRS Commissions, appointed by the respective Technical Commission President, evaluates the poster presentations and selects the two best posters from the Commission based on content and presentation of the posters. The decision of the jury is final. The awards are presented at the Closing Ceremony of the Congress.
   
• The ISPRS CATCON Award (since 1996). At each Congress the software contest CATCON is organised, sponsored by The ISPRS Foundation. The main objective is to promote the development and dissemination of effective and user-friendly, open-source and preferably non-commercial software designed and used for computer assisted teaching in one of the areas of interest of ISPRS. The award consists of a monetary grant (Gold Award SFr. 3,000, Silver Award SFr. 2,500, Bronze Award SFr. 1,500) and a certificate.
   
• The Eduard Doležal Award (since 1996), sponsored by the Austrian Society of Surveying and Geoinformation (OVG), consists of a complimentary registration and a grant for limited travel and expenses of at least one individual from developing countries to participate in the ISPRS Congress. Candidates are those who have permanently implemented a practical application of photogrammetry, remote sensing or GIS in an efficient manner, or have had outstanding success in these fields.
   
• The U.V. Helava Award (since 2000), sponsored by Elsevier Science and Leica Geosystems AG, consists of a grand prize of SFr. 10,000 and a silver plaque presented to the author(s) of the most outstanding paper published exclusively in the ISPRS International Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing during the four years preceding the Congress, and three runner- up prizes of a Journal subscription and certificate, presented to the author(s) of the best papers published in each of the other three years preceding the Congress.
   
• The Wang Zhizhuo Award (since 2008), sponsored by The Chinese Society of Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography (CSGPC) consist of a medal and a monetary grant (SFr. 2,500). It will be granted at each quadrennial ISPRS Congress to a person who has made significant achievement or innovation in the spatial information sciences.
   
• The Karl Kraus Medal (since 2010), sponsored by the German Society of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and Spatial Information Sciences (DGPF), the Austrian Society of Surveying and Geoinformation (OVG), and the Swiss Society of Photogrammetry, Image Analysis, and Remote Sensing (SGPBF), is awarded to authors of excellent textbooks in the fields of photogrammetry, remote sensing, and spatial information sciences, written in one of the official languages of the ISPRS, and published no more than eight years prior to the commencement of the quadrennial ISPRS Congress at which the medal is to be presented.
   
• The Frederick J. Doyle Award (since 2012) will be awarded to an individual who has made significant accomplishments in advancing the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences and technologies. A recipient of the award should typically be less than 50 years of age and have outstanding stature within the ISPRS community. The award consists of a silver medal and a monetary grant.
   
• The Giuseppe Inghilleri Award (since 2012), sponsored by the Italian Society for Surveying and Photogrammetry (SIFET) is presented to a person who has significantly enhanced the applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing or spatial information sciences in the four years preceding the Congress. The award consists of SFr. 2,500 and a certificate.
   
• The Jack Dangermond Award (since 2020), sponsored by MDPI and ESRI, consists of a grand prize of USD 10,000 and an ISPRS certificate presented to the author(s) of the most outstanding paper published exclusively in the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information during the four years preceding the Congress, and three runner- up prizes of a Journal subscription and certificate, presented to the author(s) of the best papers published in each of the other three years preceding the Congress year.
   
• The ISPRS Student Consortium Service Award (since 2020), sponsored by ISPRS, recognizes an individual who has rendered exceptional contributions to the Consortium during an ISPRS Congress term.
   
• The ISPRS WEC Kennert Torlegård Travel Grant (since 2021), the Fund from which the Award is financed is known as the White Elephant Restricted Kennert Torlegård Travel Grant Fund (TIF), the purpose of the Award is to support attendance at an ISPRS congress by a young scientist.
   
• The ISPRS Fritz Ackermann Award (since 2022), sponsored by Elsevier B.V., and Trimble, Inc., consists of a grand prize of EUR 10,000 and a certificate presented to the author(s) of the most outstanding paper published exclusively in the Open Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing during the four years preceding the Congress. Certificates will be presented to the author(s) of the best papers published in each of the other three years preceding the Congress.
   
• The Gino Cassinis Award (2000 - 2008), sponsored by the Italian Society for Surveying and Photogrammetry (SIFET) is presented to a person who has significantly enhanced the mathematical and statistical foundations of the photogrammetry, remote sensing or spatial information sciences in the four years preceding the Congress. The award consists of SFr 2,500 and a certificate.