Newswise — Professor Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing and Research Professor in the Departments of Archaeology, Earth Sciences, and Electrical and Computer Engineering of Boston University, is the recipient of the 2013 Ireland Visiting Scholar Award. The Award will be presented during a celebration on Monday, March 4, 2013.
Each year the Ireland Award brings internationally renowned scholars in the arts and sciences to UAB to present a public lecture and participate in campus activities. The prize ($10,000) is made possible through an endowment established by Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland. El-Baz will deliver a free, public lecture titled “Origins of Ancient Egyptian Civilization” at 6 pm in the Jemison Concert Hall.
“Professor El-Baz is a globally recognized scientist and human being,” said Dr. Sarah Parcak, UAB associate professor of anthropology. “He has more than 50 years of experience conducting research in geology, archaeology, remote sensing,” adding: “I’ve been reading his papers since I was an undergraduate and wrote to him in my senior year of college — I was shocked that he wrote me back. It made an enormous impression that a scholar with such a huge international reputation would take time to encourage a young student. It speaks to his humanity — something for which he is also famous.”
Dr. El-Baz, a veteran of NASA’s Apollo program of lunar exploration, is a pioneer in applying space imaging in the fields of geology, geography and archaeology. He is particularly noted for research on desert landforms and the location of groundwater resources in arid lands. Under his direction, the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing was selected in 1997 by NASA as a “Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing.”Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school's research and teaching mission.
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