ISPRS 
2000 
  
  
Awards Presented at the Amsterdam Congress 
Honorary Member 
See page 62. 
The Brock Gold Medal Award 
Presented by: John C. Trinder, ISPRS Secretary General 
and by: Mr. A. Mikuni, ASPRS President 
at: Opening Plenary Ceremony 
The Brock Gold Medal Award was instituted in 1952 by the 
International Society for Photogrammetry to encourage 
the advancement of photogrammetry. The funds for the 
provision of medals were donated by Mr. Virgil Kauffmann 
in memory of Arthur and Norman Brock, two American pio- 
neers who succeeded in making photogrammetry a prac- 
tical survey technique in the United States of America 
through their many innovations at Aero Service Corpora- 
tion. It is the oldest and most prestigious of all ISPRS 
awards and it shall be made by the Council for an accom- 
plishment of an individual representing an outstanding 
landmark in the evolution of photogrammetry and remote 
sensing. The Award is sponsored by the American Society 
of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. 
In 2000 the Brock Gold Medal was awarded to Jack Dan- 
germond (USA). Jack Dangermond was chosen because 
he is the recognised leader in the international adoption 
and advancement of technologies for processing , analy- 
sis and management of geo-spatial information systems 
for applications which benefit all sectors of both public 
and private communities. The effects of these develop- 
ments are increasingly impacting on almost all aspects of 
human activity, leading to more efficient management and 
applications of information that has a spatial component. 
The achievements are in particular leading to significant 
improvements in the management of the Earth's scarce 
resources. ISPRS recognises him for his constant dedica- 
tion to advancing the geo-spatial technologies. These 
advancements are truly landmark achievements in the sci- 
ences and technologies presented by the ISPRS. 
Mr. Dangermond has over twenty-five years of experience 
in developing GISs for multi-agency data management. He 
    
A. Minkuni presents the Brock Gold Medal Award to Jack 
Dangermond (ESRI, USA) 
72 
  
is the founder and president of ESRI, a Redland, Califor- 
nia-based firm that has been at the forefront of the GIS 
field since 1969. ESRI is generally acknowledged as the 
technical and market leader in GIS software and custom 
turnkey systems. ESRI has the largest GIS software install 
base in the world with more than 200,000 systems on PCs, 
workstations, and computer networks. Mr. Dangermond is 
recognised in both academia and industry as a leader of 
and an authority on the GIS field. He personally managed 
many of ESRI's early projects and remains active in project 
overview in addition to handling client relations and man- 
aging overall company activities. 
Mr. Dangermond graduated with a B.S. in environmental 
science from California Polytechnic College, Pomona, 
California; an M.S. in urban planning from the Institute of 
Technology at the University of Minnesota; and an M.S. in 
landscape architecture from the Graduate School of 
Design, Harvard University, where he worked in the Labo- 
ratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Design. During 
the first fifteen years of his career, Mr. Dangermond 
worked on dozens of significant projects in the areas of 
developing and applying GIS technology. Early efforts 
included developing environmental and landscape 
assessment for regional planning, studies in methodology 
for transmission line power plant sitting, and new town 
planning. 
Mr. Dangermond has been the recipient of numerous fel- 
lowships, grants and awards including the Cullum Geo- 
graphical Medal of Distinction from the American Geo- 
graphical Society, the EDUCAUSE Medal of EduCause, 
the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association 
(URISA) Horwood Award "for outstanding contributions to 
the information systems field", and the Association of 
American Geographers (AAG) Honorary Membership, pre- 
sented to individuals who have made exemplary contribu- 
tions to geography. He is a member of many professional 
organisations and has served on advisory committees for 
such U.S. agencies including NASA's Science and Tech- 
nology Advisory Committee, the EPA, the National Acad- 
emy of Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and 
NCGIA. He delivers keynote addresses at various meet- 
ings and conferences around the globe. 
Mr. Dangermond has authored hundreds of papers dealing 
with GIS technology, which were published in journals and 
conference proceedings in such diverse fields as pho- 
togrammetry, computer science planning, environmental 
science and cartography. 
The Otto von Gruber Award 
Presented by: John C. Trinder, ISPRS Secretary General 
and by: Professor Karl Harmsen, Rector of ITC 
at: Opening Plenary Ceremony 
The Otto von Gruber Award was established in 1961 by the 
Board of the ITC Foundation, and on the initiative of Prof. 
Dr. ir. W. Schermerhorn, a good friend of Otto von Gruber. 
Otto von Gruber was born in 1884 in Salzburg and he died 
International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part A. Amsterdam 2000.