CE's Mikhail recipient of lifetime achievement award

Edward Mikhail, a professor emeritus of Civil Engineering, has received the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s 2018 Arthur C. Lundhal-Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing his work in geospatial intelligence.

Mikhail spent more than 50 years at Purdue, where he founded a program in geomatics engineering, supporting the national Intelligence community.

Mikhail is the first educator to receive the lifetime achievement award. Past recipients have included the former director of National Intelligence, retired Generals and industry leaders. Mikhail was cited for his “tireless efforts (that) have helped us all measure and geo-locate with improved precision and accuracy.” His research focused on photogrammetry/remote sensing, image exploitation and analysis, automated/digital mapping, sensor modeling and data adjustment.

"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,” Mikhail says. “I believe this award should be rightly given to my former graduate students who have developed into exceptional scientists and engineers, leading the GEOINTCommunity to cutting-edge technological advances. I feel fortunate and honored to have had the opportunity to have worked with such exceptional people by simply providing them with the environment to develop their innate talents and hone their skills.”

Mikhail has 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. In 2017, former students and colleagues recognized him with the establishment of two endowments in his honor that benefit incoming graduate students at Purdue.

Mikhail receiving the Lundahl Finnie lifetime achievement award
Dr. Edward M. Mikhail (left) receives the Arthur C. Lundahl-Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award on stage during USGIF’s GEOINT 2018 Symposium general session.

For more details: USGIF names Dr. Edward M. Mikhail recipient of the 2018 Lundahl-Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award