of Photogrammetry in the University. In 1964, he
received a Doctor's degree for a thesis on the
theoretical accuracy of strip triangulation and at
the Lisbon Congress, in the same year, he was
presented with the Otto von Gruber Award. You
will have received, dear Professor Ackermann,
the only two existing |.S.P. awards. Do not wait
for a third one: |.S.P. does not believe in the
French proverb: "Jamais deux sans trois", and
so far does not attribute more than two awards.
Let me give a short review of your main fields of
interest, be they personal ones or in collaboration
with your assistants in the Stuttgart Institute.
Aerial triangulation, combined with least squares
adjustment and accuracy studies, was extended
when appropriate computers became operational
in the field of photogrammetry to numerical
photogrammetry and automation. Theoretical accu-
racy studies of strips and blocks showed the
great potential of aerial triangulation. The devel-
opment of powerful computer programs for
block adjustment permitted to treat very large
blocks including auxiliary data with minimum
control: it was a very important improvement for
small scale mapping. On the other hand, appli-
cations to large scale work proved to be very suc-
cessful and opened new ways to cadastral pho-
togrammetry. Parallel with those appilications,
refined studies and experimental tests led to
further increase of accuracy. The developments,
as carried on in Stuttgart, considerably contribu-
ted to bringing aerial triangulation up to its pre-
sent level of economic and accurate perform-
ances. May | add that a second line of develop-
ment in numerical methods concerned digital
terrain models and digital contour interpolation
and that Professor Ackermann has a tremendous
activity related to teaching, participating in sem-
inars in different countries and writing text-
books.
Now, Professor Ackermann, if you are so kind as
to come to the chair.
On behalf of the I.S.P. Council and the Congress,
dear Professor Ackermann, | have the great
pleasure to present you with the Brock Gold
edal.
Dr. Friedrich Ackermann then thanked for the
honor:
Members of the Council, Ladies and Gentlemen.
When | was told, as late as last night only, that |
would receive this Award, this came as a great
surprise to me, indeed. Having recovered some-
what from the surprise after a lot of good night’s
sleep, a deep movement prevails, mixed with
some feelings of pride. Perhaps at such an occa-
sion one should not ask which other persons
would have deserved this Award more than |, but
rather look at the intention of the awarding Coun-
cil. And, as you have just heard, it seems that my
efforts and my activities in the field of numerical
photogrammetry, with the intention to promote
practical application and to advance the practical
level of performance, that this has been the main
point for this Award. And, | must admit — and for
this perhaps | am a little proud — that has been
always my intention, and has been the motiva-
tion behind most of my work that | feel in ap-
plied science, in engineering science, there is a
duty to develop, to apply scientific development
36
as directly and as much as possible for practical
work. And, especially during my time at Stuttgart
University we tried to develop computer programs,
we tried to develop methods which were really
of some use in the practice of photogrammetry.
Well, we picked the fields of aerial triangulation
and of automatic contouring — perhaps we have
been somewhat lucky that just these fields more
or less awaited this kind of activity. In any case,
we are very happy that we succeeded in achiev-
ing something. And now, when | say we, this is
not a slip of my tongue; it was quite obvious right
from the beginning that this kind of effort and
this kind of development would not be a one-man
performance. It needed and required a team of
people, a group of people to help developing such
things. And | am very happy to include the mem-
bers of my institute — also those who have left
in the past years — in this Award and to thank
them for the enthusiastic way we have all work-
ed together. | am very grateful to them all.
And perhaps it is the right moment also to look
back and to thank all other people, friends and
colleagues, who have helped and assisted me in
my career, in my development, in my scientific
attitude, who have helped developing ideas, who
have assisted and participated in the work, and
who also have helped by criticizing me.
Let me conclude. All | can say finally is that | am,
to express my sincere feelings, deeply moved by
this Award and consider it a very great honor in-
deed. Thank you very much.
Item 4. Introduction of Keynote Speaker
The President then asked the Congress Director
to introduce the Keynote Speaker, apologizing to
him for having taken up rather longer than al-
lotted to him for the earlier part of the Plenary
Session.
Dr. h.c. K.G. Lófstróm:
Mr. U.V. Helava, Consultant Scientist, belongs to
the generation of surveyors that studied at the
Helsinki University of Technology immediately
after the Second World War. He received his
Engineering Diploma in the Department of Sur-
veying in the year 1947 and served his first years in
the field of photogrammetry with the Finnish De-
fence Forces. After this he transferred to the
National Board of Survey where he concentrated
mainly on the preparation of aerial maps to be
used in the basic mapping of the whole country.
From the times when | had the apportunity to
work with Mr. Helava and to act as his teacher,
| remember his insatiable thirst for mathematic-
al and photogrammetric knowledge. His creative
talents especially in the design and construc-
tion of new instruments were soon acknowl-
edged, as the well-known firm Carl Zeiss Ober-
kochen began, in the early fifties, to manufacture
an instrument partly based on his idea. To sim-
plify its structure, mechanical analogue comput-
ers have been used in this small stereoplotter.
On the basis of the principle of the instrument
