Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2004

Advancement in Maritime GIS and High-Tech Spatial Information Research • The Joint Laboratory for Geoinformation Science (JLGIS) signed a Letter of Intent with the French Naval Academy Research Institute for close academic exchange on 12th February 2004. With the signing of the letter, the two institutions will collaborate in research on maritime GIS and maritime sustainability development. There will be academic exchanges, visits, and joint research projects. The institutions hope that their joint efforts will bring about better maritime sustainability development in Asia. The signatories were Prof. Hui Lin (right), director of JLGIS, and Prof. Christophe Claramunt (left) of the GIS Group of the French Naval Academy Research Institute. • The Yuen Yuen Research Centre for Satellite Remote Sensing was officially set up at the JLGIS thanks to a generous donation from the Yuen Yuen Institute. The centre will build and operate on campus the first high- resolution ground receiving station for remote sensing satellites in Southern China. The station will capture and process satellite- sourced remote sensing data and information on Hong Kong, throughout Southern China and the neighbouring regions. It will form a new spatial information infrastructure to foster the development of remote sensing data processing, software development, and other value-added professional services. It will also serve to accelerate the growth of remote sensing industries in the greater Pearl River Delta region. The cheque presentation ceremony and naming ceremony of the centre were held on 24th March 2004 at Cho Yiu Hall with Mr. Tong Wai-ki (right), chairman of the Yuen Yuen Institute, presenting a dummy cheque to Prof. Ambrose King (left), vice- chancellor of the University. News in Brief 5 1