USGIF Presents 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award

USGIF announced Dr. Edward M. Mikhail, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Purdue University, as the 2018 recipient of the Foundation’s Arthur C. Lundahl-Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award. Mikhail is the 14th individual to receive this prestigious award and was recognized on stage Tuesday at GEOINT 2018.

“Dr. Mikhail has been devoted to supporting the Intelligence Community, fostering the development of new tradecraft, and teaching and inspiring the next generation of GEOINT professionals,” said The Honorable Jeffrey K. Harris, chairman of USGIF’s Board of Directors. “[The Board] is happy to recognize the lifetime achievements of this distinguished and accomplished academic whose tireless efforts have helped us all measure and geo-locate with improved precision and accuracy.”

Mikhail dedicated 50 years of his professional life to supporting the Intelligence Community. He joined Purdue University in 1965 and established what became a nationally and internationally leading graduate program in geomatics engineering. Although he is retired from the university, Mikhail continues to support the graduate program as a mentor to younger faculty and Ph.D. students. Mikhail’s impact can be seen not only through the knowledge imparted to his students, but also in the many books and publications he has authored.

“I am profoundly honored to receive this award,” Mikhail said. “As the only educator to be selected, I consider myself very privileged to join such a respected group of outstanding past awardees who have been stalwarts in safeguarding the security and well-being of our nation. In fact, I believe this award should be rightly given to my former graduate students who have developed into exceptional scientists and engineers, leading the GEOINT Community to cutting-edge technological advances.”

Mikhail has also received technical recognition awards from the U.S. Government Office of Research and Development and the National Reconnaissance Office, and was selected as an honorary member of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

The Lundahl-Finnie recipient is nominated and voted upon annually by the USGIF Board of Directors. This distinguished award is named for Arthur C. Lundahl and Thomas C. Finnie, celebrating their accomplishments—in imagery analysis and mapping, respectively—and their legacies within the GEOINT Community.