Weather Stream Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Professor Al Gasiewski, received the Golden Florin Award from the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society for his lifetime of contributions to the field of passive microwave remote sensing at the MicroRad 2024 Meeting hosted in Alexandria, Virginia. 

On winning the award, Gasiewski noted, “It’s a great honor to be conferred the Golden Florin award. I’ve always looked up to the past recipients of this award as pillars in the field of microwave radiometry. I am thankful to both the Italian Center for Remote Sensing (CETEM) and the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) for this recognition, but am also grateful to the many advisors, mentors, colleagues, and students with whom I’ve interacted with over the past more than four decades of my research. These are individuals who through their collaboration and interaction have encouraged me to focus on microwave remote sensing technology, especially in the area of passive microwave sensing of the environment.”

In many ways, the entire Weather Stream organization owes its existence to Professor Gasiewski’s vision for improving the way we measure, monitor and forecast our weather and climate.

“Weather Stream is pursuing the grand goal of – for the first time – Nyquist sampling of the atmosphere,” said Gasiewski. “I and a small number of colleagues, including and especially my Ph.D advisor David Staelin, had long suspected since these early days of satellite meteorology that rapid sampling of the atmosphere using microwaves would provide great benefits for weather forecasting. Now, we are on a path toward realizing the dream that those nascent ideas of frequent global sampling had prompted. The Golden Florin award confirms the value of the work in passive microwave radiometry and forecasting that I started on in the 1980s toward this goal – work on which Weather Stream is now making the greatest of progress through its Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) mission. The award puts into context the importance of perseverance in continuing on the pathway of pursuing this grand goal.”

Congratulations to Professor Al for this well-deserved and remarkable recognition. It’s an inspiration to us all to strive for a better future. Weather Stream is honored to call him our Chief Scientist, as we continue to help make major and impactful contributions to the microwave radiometry field as a commercial entity.

“We are living in an era of unprecedented ability for humans to impact their environment on scales that are local to global, and with imprecisely known – but decidedly serious – consequences. Increasingly frequent and intense storms, droughts, and wildfires, along with the slow but continuous degradation of pristine ecosystems are becoming all-too-often effects that we need to manage,” continued Gasiewski. 

“Gathering up-to-date and diverse information about the global environment, and learning about the mechanisms that govern how weather and climate are evolving in response to human impacts are critical to sustaining our food production networks, transportation systems, healthy ecosystems, and even the safety of the homes in which we live. It’s so important that technological advances permit remote sensing of the global environment to support our economy and society during our current era of rapid change.”

About the Golden Florin

The Golden Florin Award recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions and distinguished leadership in advancing the fields of geoscience and remote sensing. The award is typically given to individuals who have made significant technical contributions, provided outstanding service to the IEEE GRSS, or demonstrated exceptional leadership in promoting the society’s objectives.

The recipients are chosen by the Golden Florin Award committee, which evaluates the nominations and selects the most deserving candidates based on their achievements and contributions. Receiving the Golden Florin Award is considered a highly prestigious honor within the IEEE GRSS community and the broader geoscience and remote sensing fields, as it recognizes individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to these disciplines. The physical award consists of a replica Golden Florin along with a certificate and presentation ceremony.