University of Lethbridge professor of geography, Dr. Karl Staenz, has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Gold Medal from the Canadian Remote Sensing Society (CRSS).

This award recognizes a significant long-term contribution to the field of remote sensing in Canada, and is the highest award in the country granted by the Society for Excellence in Remote Sensing.

Staenz's research is focused on spectral sensing, including the process of image data preprocessing, information extraction for various applications and building intelligent image processing and monitoring systems.

He worked at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing in Ottawa for over 20 years before joining the University of Lethbridge in 2006. Staenz is also the science director of the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Corporation (ATIC) in Lethbridge.

The gold medal was awarded to Staenz at the recently held 31st Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing – the Prairie Summit – in Regina, Sask.

He joins fellow faculty member Dr. Philippe Teillet (physics and astronomy) as a gold medal winner. Teillet received the CRSS Gold Medal in 2006.