The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) has named Prof. Guo Huadong—elected to TWAS in 2012 and the director general of the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS)—as the recipient of the 2026 IAF Hall of Fame Award.

A professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Guo is internationally recognized for his pioneering contributions to space-borne Earth observation, digital earth science, and the application of space technology to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He is the chief scientist of SDGSAT-1, the world's first scientific satellite dedicated to monitoring progress towards the SDGs, and pioneered the idea of characterizing human activity from space through the integration of data such as light, thermal infrared, and hyperspectral observations derived from satellite.

For his scientific achievements, the UN Secretary-General appointed him to the Technology Facilitation Mechanism for the SDGs. In addition, he received the International Science Council's Sustainability Science Award.

Prof. Guo is president of the International Society for Digital Earth and has over 30 years of experience in earth observation, radar remote sensing, and digital earth science. He has led more than 30 major national projects and seven international projects, authored more than 600 scientific papers and 16 books, and received 16 national and international awards.

Cristina Serra