October 22nd, the opening ceremony of the High-end Forum on World-class Discipline Construction and the retrospective on the 60-year development of Geomatics in Wuhan University was held in the student activity center. Hundreds of domestic and foreign experts, including 15 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Science, attended the ceremony.
During the forum, Li Xiaohong, the former president of WHU, gave a welcome address, warmly introducing the favorable qualities in education and research of WHU and its spirit of truth-seeking and persistence to the audience. President Li also highlighted the prominent position that the subject Geomatics holds in WHU.
Guo Liansheng, the vice governor of Hubei province, highly recognized the important role that WHU played in the field of Geomatics. Because of WHU’s assiduous efforts, Wuhan is now becoming the new technology and innovation center of national geographic information. “The government will continuously support WHU’s development, especially taking measures to lay the groundwork for better implementation of geomatics in the field of industrial structure adjustment as well as economic and scientific development.”
As Christian Heipke, the chairman of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) remarked, scientists from WHU had held high positions within ISPRS over the past years. “I learned from Wikipedia that Wuhan University has been called “the Capital of Surveying and Mapping Education’,” said Prof. Harald Schuh, the chairperson of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). He firmly believed that WHU Geomatics would keep on progressing and innovating, offering more guidance and support for the industrialization of geomatics.
Prof. Harald Schuh delivering the speech
The spirit of inheritance and innovation has been fostered for over six decades in WHU Geomatics. The persistence on preciseness and responsibility passed on from its very first founders, such as Xia Jianbai, Chen Yongling, Wang Zhizhuo, Jin Tongyin and Ye Xue’an, to the second generation of academic leaders represented by Li Deren, Ning Jinsheng and Liu Jingnan. Keeping their predecessors’ spirit in mind, scholars are now opening up new territories. Nowadays, the third generation has grown up as the avant-garde. Immersed in pure academic research, young talents keep springing up. In fact, the fourth and even fifth generation of WHU Geomatics, have already budded.
Alumni of all ages gathered together
Professor Li Deren clarified his vision for new trends in Geomatics development. Based on seven aspects, Prof. Li employed vivid examples to impress the audience, introducing the figure outputted by the Dual-Camera Oblique System. He called for contributions to the magazine Geo-spatial Information Science, a periodical sponsored by Wuhan University. Aiming at offering a platform for interaction among scholars, the magazine fulfilled its service-oriented function.
Then, Professor Liu Jingnan stepped on the stage. His report was about the Bei Dou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and its connection with the Chinese Dream. Prof. Liu introduced the present situation, characteristics and contributions of the BDS. Due to years of painstaking revision and improvement, the BDS has been enhanced with better accuracy and improved usability, thus, leading to broader application. During its development, the BDS has brought about considerable benefits for national development. The technology applied to the BDS had already surpassed that of many developed countries, which Prof. Liu metaphorically compared to “lane-changing and overtaking”.
Apart from contemporary experts, thousands of alumni and students also showed up during the forum. They clustered in groups in front of the signature wall, taking photos and signing their names. For many of them, the forum was a chance to get back to Alma Mater and to reunite with classmates after graduation. Most of them are still devoting their lives to the field of Geomatics. During the forum, they all gave their sincere appreciation and best wishes. WHU Geomatics has not only made great contribution to the discipline, but also to national education.
Precious moment in front of the signature wall
Wuhan University has witnessed the glorious past of WHU Geomatics and the new burgeon of its bright future. With wisdom and determination, the new generation is bound to bestow even more surprises and success stories on this campus.
(Photo by Shi Weimin, Edited by Li Minjia, Wusiying, Edmund Wai Man Lai & Hu Sijia)
