Welcome to Commission F
 

Chairman : Professor Piotr Sobieski (Belgium)

Vice-Chairman : Professor Madhu Chandra (Germany)

The International Union of Radio Science (URSI) is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation under the International Council of Science. URSI has ten scientific Commissions in order to advance research, applications and exchange of information in various fields of radio science. Each Commission organises its own activities and meetings. The main event of URSI is the General Assembly, organised every third year. The next one will be held in 2008 in Chicago, USA.

Terms of reference
 

Commission F comprises two closely related fields, wave propagation and remote sensing and, based on the Terms of Reference updated at the 2005 General Assembly, encourages research in these fields at all frequencies, in particular, the Commission encourages :

• (a) The study of all frequencies in a non-ionised environment :

  • (i) wave propagation through planetary, neutral atmospheres and surfaces;
  • (ii) wave interaction with the planetary atmospheres, surfaces (including land, ocean and ice), and subsurfaces;
  • (iii) characterisation of the environment as it affects wave phenomena;

• (b) The application of the results of these studies, particularly in the areas of remote sensing and communications;
• (c) The appropriate co-operation with other URSI Commissions and other relevant organisations.

Main conferences
 

Among other conferences co-sponsored by Commission F, the main very specific conferences of Commission F are the following:

• Commission F Triennial Open Symposium (in 2007:  PUC Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• Commission F Symposium on Microwave Remote Sensing of the Earth, Oceans, Ice, and Atmosphere (location and date TBD).

URSI-sponsored Journals

Among the journals published under URSI sponsorship Radio Science is published by the American Geophysical Union and contains original articles on all aspects of electromagnetic phenomena related to physical problems. It covers the propagation through and interaction of electromagnetic waves with geophysical media, biological media, plasmas, and man-made structures. Also included, but not limited to, are papers on the application of electromagnetic techniques to remote sensing of the Earth and its environment which are mainly in the fields of URSI Commissions F. All frequencies, including optical, are considered.

Past chairs
 

Commission F was formed in 1975 and its Past Chairs are listed below.

1975-1978:  F. Eklund, Sweden

1978-1981:  A.T. Waterman, USA

1981-1984:  D. Gjessing, Norway

1984-1987:  F. Fedi, Italy

1987-1990:  R.K. Crane, USA

1990-1993:  G. Brussaard, Netherlands

1993-1996:  R. K. Moore, USA

1996-1999:  M.P.M. Hall, UK

1999-2002:  Y. Furuhama, Japan

                    2002-2005   M. Hallikainen, Finland.

The Chair of Commission F in 2005-2008 is P. Sobieski  (piotr.sobiesk@uclouvain.be).