The Annual Academic Conference of RADI in 2014 convened in Beijing on December 9. Under the theme of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth: Ushering in an Age of “Taking the Lead,” the conference built up a platform of academic exchanges through academic presentations, showcasing the state-of-the-art developments of RADI in terms of basic theory of remote sensing, Earth observation and Digital Earth. Featuring the five sessions of Invited Speeches, Keynote Reports, Thematic Talks, Youth Forum and Viewpoints, it was attended by more than 500 researchers.

The conference was opened by a plenary report of RADI Director-General GUO Huadong. He reviewed the history of RADI and its contribution to China’ s remote sensing undertaking over the past 35 years. He elaborated the strategic positioning of RADI and its key competitiveness, and analyzed opportunities and challenges facing the development of geo-spatial information science and technology. He called on RADI people to make leapfrog advancement from a new starting point, race to take the strategic commanding height in remote sensing and Digital Earth, and contribute to the Four Initiatives of CAS and China’s campaign of building China into an innovative country.

Three experts were invited to give speeches. CAS Academician GU Yidong talked about Earth observation in manned space flight. Focusing on application tasks of manned spaceflight and the future development of Earth observation technology, he analyzed the role of manned spaceflight on China’s Earth observation, and the planning of Earth observation in the stage of space station. CAS Academician HUAI Jinpeng talked about the Internet and big data. He elaborated the characteristics of the age of big data, scientific questions of big data and artificial intelligence. Prof. CHEN Kunshan explored synthetic aperture radar through system simulation.

At the session of Thematic Talks, which was chaired by Prof. GUO Huadong, Profs LI Zhengqiang, LIU Liangyun, WANG Lizhe and CHENG Tianhai gave talks about satellite monitoring of PM2.5, optimum space observation scales, big data-based cloud platform of remote sensing, and mechanisms behind polarization remote sensing of aerosol in China, respectively.

At the session of Youth Forum, six young researchers (CHEN Fulong, GONG Huaze, YUE Zongyu, LUO Lei, HUANG Changping and ZHONG Bo) were invited to speak about a variety of topics, ranging from new discoveries of remote sensing and radar remote sensing archeology technology, scattering mechanism behind chlorophyll fluorescence to production of multisource remote sensing-based global generic and qualitative remote sensing products.

At the session of Viewpoints, 10 young researchers were invited to give a 3-minute presentation each on different topics, ranging from the spatio-temporal variation patterns of local ecosystem, to quantum remote sensing prototype development and quantitative remote sensing retrieval of ocean primary productivity.

The establishment of an RADI funding scheme for monograph publication was announced at the conference, which is to support creative and/or high-level works of scientific research, public outreach and translation of RADI researchers.

The conference received 14 contributions to Thematic Talks, 26 to Youth Forum, and 39 to Viewpoints. Collections of their abstracts and those of SCI papers of RADI researchers from 2012 to 2014 were printed.

A scene of the conference.

GUO Huadong making a plenary report.

ZHAO Zhongming chairs the conference.

GU Yidong gives an invited report.

HUAI Jinpeng gives an invited report.

CHEN Kunshan delivers a keynote report.