>>> Chris Rizos <[log in to unmask]> 06/18/03 11:42am >>>

You are receiving this email because I have collected your address 
over the last few years!  Please distribute this email to your 
colleagues within your organisation, and beyond.  I would like to 
have this information disseminated as widely as possible.

I am honoured to have been elected president of the new Commission 4 
"Positioning and Applications" of the IAG.  I wish to communicate to 
you something of what Commission 4 is concerned with, as it is 
derived from the old Section 1 "Positioning", but first let me brief 
you on the restructure of the IAG.

IAG Restructure
------------------------
The IAG is undergoing a significant reorganisation to improve its 
effectiveness and its visibility (see 
http://www.gfy.ku.dk/~iag/newstructure/newstructure.htm).  The new 
'commission structure' replaces the previous 'section structure'.

The new commissions are:
* Commission 1 "Reference Frames", president Herman Drewes
* Commission 2 "Gravity Field", president Chris Jekeli
* Commission 3 "Earth Rotation and Geodynamics", president Veronique Dehant
* Commission 4 "Positioning and Applications", president Chris Rizos

The new structure strives to make clearer to the wider scientific 
community how the various elements (and sub-elements such as 
sub-commissions - SCs -  special study groups - SSGs - and commission 
projects - CP) support the mission of the IAG.  According to the new 
By Laws (http://www.gfy.ku.dk/~iag/ByLaws_sep_8.html ) SCs are 
concerned "with long-term issues/topics in the field of the 
Commission"; SSGs, as before, "address clearly defined well-focused 
scientific topics of limited scope within the field of the Commission 
over a limited time period of maximum four years"; and CPs may be 
created "when a new scientific method or a new technique is being 
developed, or when it seems appropriate to apply an existing 
technique to a specific geographic area where international 
collaboration is required." Let me just summarise the goals of the 
reorganisation of the IAG (and by implication the establishment of 
sub-commissions).  The IAG aims to:

* Acknowledge the greater role that services (such as the IGS) play in the IAG.
* Increase the 'reach' of the IAG to national organisations 
(especially in developing countries) and to individual geodesists, 
principally through a new Outreach Branch.
* Increase the 'visibility' of the IAG to the geoscience community, 
principally through IAG Projects and Commission Projects.
* Increase inter-disciplinary activity within the IAG through Inter 
Commission Committees (e.g. on Theory) and Joint Sub-Commissions, 
Joint SSGs, etc.
* Increase inter-disciplinary activity between the IAG and sister 
organisations (such as FIG, ISPRS, US.ION, etc.), primarily through 
cross-membership of entities (SCs, SSGs, WGs, etc.) and jointly 
organised symposia.

The IAG encourages the presidents of the Commissions to drive the 
research agenda via sub-elements (SCs, SSGs, CPs).  There is also 
greater oversight of activities through a formal Commission Steering 
Committee (comprising sub-commission chairs, representatives of 
services, and others) that will meet on an annual basis.

Commission 4 Sub-Elements
-------------------------------------------
The following Sub-Commissions (SC) have been proposed by the current 
president of Section 1 "Positioning", Alan Dodson, and subsequently 
enlarged by one SC proposed by me:

* SC4.1 "Multi-sensor Systems", chair Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska
* SC4.2 "Applications of Geodesy in Engineering", chair TBA
* SC4.3 "GNSS Measurement of the Atmosphere", chair Susan Skone + TBA
* SC4.4 "Applications of Satellite & Airborne Imaging Systems", chair 
Xiaoli Ding
* SC4.5 "Next Generation RTK", chair Yang Gao

  There will also be one or more Commission Project, and perhaps some 
Joint Sub-Commissions, and Special Study Groups.  (I will need your 
input defining these sub-elements - see below.)

As to the administration of the Commission the following still needs 
to be done:
1) a Vice-President still has to be appointed by the Executive 
Committee of the IAG (EC).
2) a full Commission Steering Committee will be established at the 
IAG General Assembly in Sapporo, consisting of the Commission 
President and Vice-President, the Chairs of the SCs (& CPs), 3 
representatives from the Services (appointed by the Services), and 2 
Members-at-Large (appointed by the Commission President).
3) Chairs of SCs, SSGs and CPs will be recommended to the EC.
4) representatives need to be appointed to represent the Commission 
in the Inter-Commission Committee on Theory (ICCT) and the IAG 
Project IGGOS.

Some of these tasks will be done prior to Sapporo, others will be 
completed at Sapporo.  To date only the chairs of the SCs have been 
nominated (and some have accepted).

What you can do
------------------------
Firstly circulate this email as widely as possible.

Secondly, please provide me with feedback and suggestions on research 
activities of the Commission, and in particular suggestions for 
Special Study Groups or Commission Projects.

Thirdly, reply to this email if you: (a) want to be involved in a 
leadership position (e.g. as a chair of a SSG), and/or (b) want to be 
kept informed of outcomes of the planning process for the next 4 
years of the Commission. All who will respond will have their email 
addresses compiled into a master Commission 4 email list, that will 
be used to disseminate future information.  So please take this 
opportunity to contact me.

-- 


Chris Rizos

----------------------------------------------------
Professor
Satellite Navigation & Positioning Group
School of Surveying & Spatial Information Systems
The University of New South Wales
Sydney  NSW  2052, AUSTRALIA
Tel:  +61-2-93854205 (Int.)
Mob: 0405-848889 (Australia)
Fax:   +61-2-93137493 (Int.)
Email:   [log in to unmask] 
WWW: http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/snap 
----------------------------------------------------
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