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Director of CSO got an award

Award for lifetime contribution for Jan Kolář

Yesterday, the director of Czech Space Office doc. Ing. Jan Kolář, PhD. received an award for lifetime contribution to Czech space from the Subcommittee of the Economic Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic. He was the only winner in astronautics, the other winners were from the field of aviation.

Thursday 24th March 2011, the Subcommittee on Science, Research, Aerospace of Economic Committee of the Chamber of Deputies bestowed the award for lifetime contribution to Czech (Czechoslovak) aviation and aerospace. The director of Czech Space Office Jan Kolář won the award for lifetime achievement in the field of space research and applications and preparation and organization of the 61th International Astronautical Congress in Prague.

Among the other winners were Ing. Boleslav Stavovčík, MUDr. Vanko Josef, Ing. Vít Vavřina, Jan Brskovský, Miloš Kvapil, Ing. Ivan Hubert and the team of the Institute of Aerospace Engeneering, Brno University of Technology under the guidance of prof. Ing. Antonín Píštěk, CSc. Congratulations to all the winners.

Doc. Ing. Jan Kolář, CSc.

Jan Kolář graduated nuclear physics at the Czech Technical University in Prague in 1967. He also gained a title of candidate of technical sciences in 1978 in the field of space physics. Since 1975 he has dealt with remote sensing. In 1981 he founded a remote sensing laboratory at the Faculty of Civil Engineering CTU, which he led till 2003. At this school he has also established the teaching of remote sensing and subsquently the geographic information systems. In 1995 he qualified to an associate professor. Since 2003 he has led the Department of Applied Geoinformatics and Cartography at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague.

In 1990 he founded a private company GISAT which is active in the satellite data processing and digital data creation for analysis in geographic information systems. Since 1990 he has been responsible investigator of several international projects in the field of geoinformation systems and remote sensing including Phare projects. He has directed the international consortium Phare Topic Link on Land Cover, which was in 1997-2000 the partner of the European Environment Agency (EEA) on the issue of the creation, development and deployment of database CORINE Land cover in the Phare countries. He led lectures on issue of remote sensing in several short-term courses abroad which were organized by the FAO, the UN and the EEA. He is an author of a monograph on remote sensing, several university textbooks and dozens of scientific articles and research papers published in journals and at national and international conferences. From 1984 to 1992 he was a Vice Chairman of the Czechoslovak Commission for Space Research and the Chairman of its Working Group of Remote Sensing.

In 2003 he founded a non-profit organization Czech Space Office that promotes the development of space research and space industry in the Czech Republic and the involvement in international projects, especially in frame of the European Space Agency. Currently, he performs the function of the director. In the years 2004 - 2011 he represented the Czech Republic in High Level Space Policy Group. He was a chairman of the Council for Space Activities of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic and he participated in building the relationships between Czech Republic and the European Space Agency countries. Since joining the ESA till 2011, he was a delegate in several programme committees of ESA and in its governing body. He is also a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and the officer of its Board. He is a member of Earth Observation Committee and Committee of space projects management of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). From 2012 he holds a position of IAF Vice President for Financial Affairs.