Commercial applications of satellite data - 28 January 2009

STFC KITE Club Brokering Meeting
76 Portland Place, London
Wednesday 28 January 2009 - 76 Portland Place, London

It is nearly 50 years since Telstar; the first communications satellite was launched to transmit telephone and high-speed data. The continuing growth in the applications of satellite data processing, outside of military and weather forecasting purposes, created the stage for this STFC Kite Club event on the "Commercial Applications of Satellite Data".

The U.K. has excelled in the field of satellite data processing for many years, the Met Office being a prime example. This event brought together leaders in the field of satellite data processing from both industry and academia. Professor Robert Gurney, University of Reading gave a presentation on recent advances in earth observation for environmental science. Professor Ian Cluckie, Swansea University discussed the role of complex coupled system modeling and future trends in this field - particularly for flood risk management. Dr. Nick Rosser, Durham University highlighted the work that has been done at Durham on modeling landslides particularly after earthquake events.

From an industry perspective, Wayne Elliott reviewed the scope of the satellite data based modeling work carried out by the Met Office. Fiona Shaw, Executive Director, Willis gave an insurance industry perspective on the use of satellite data based modeling for risk management. A broad overview of the current status of the U.K. satellite data processing industry was presented by David Hodgson, Vice-Chairman of the British Association of Remote Sensing Companies (BARSC). During a panel discussion session, chaired by Professor Gurney, all the presenters agreed that there is still plenty of scope and opportunity for satellite data services and collaboration with leading research institutions in this field.

This popular event which was over-subscribed, had an attendance of 66 people on the day.

For more information please contact Dr. Amir R. Mirza, STFC Knowledge Exchange Advisor, Tel: +44 (0) 203 1674260 or email amir.mirza@qi3.co.uk.