This award for a graduate student consists of a $2000 check, a certificate and a one-year student or associate membership in ASPRS.

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) announced the establishment of The Robert N. Colwell Memorial Fellowship Award. Friends and colleagues of Dr. Colwell (1918-2005) created this Award as a memorial to him from donated funds to be administered by the ASPRS Foundation. The award consists of a $2000 check, a certificate, and a one-year student or associate membership (new or renewed) in ASPRS. The award will be made to a graduate student (Masters or Ph.D. level) currently enrolled or intending to enroll in a college or university in the U.S. or Canada, or a recently graduated (within three years of graduation) post-doctoral researcher, who is pursuing a program of study aimed at a career in remote sensing or other related geospatial information technologies. It is expected that the award will be given for the first time at the ASPRS 2006 Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada next May.

Over the course of more than a half century, Dr. Colwell developed a reputation as one of the world's most respected leaders in remote sensing, a field that he stewarded from the interpretation of aerial photographs during World War II, to the advanced acquisition and analyses of many types of geospatial data from satellite platforms. His career included nearly 40 years of teaching and research at the University of California, Berkeley, a distinguished record of military service reaching the rank of Rear Admiral, and prominent roles in private industry and as a consultant for many U.S. and international agencies. Among the many awards bestowed upon Dr. Colwell, he had the distinction of being one of the 25 Honorary Members of ASPRS, chosen from the Society's 6000 members.