[IGSMAIL-6323] Welcome address from the new IGS Chair

[Urs Hugentobler]

Dear Colleagues,

At the last IGS Governing Board meeting in San Francisco I was elected 
as the new GB Chair for the next four years, taking over this position 
from John Dow. This is a great honor, but also a challenge viewing the 
honorable row of past chairs, Gerhard Beutler, Chris Reigber, and John Dow.

The IGS is among the most important and most visible of the IERS 
technique services and it faces an exciting future and with it a variety 
of challenges (to mention only a few):
- After about 15 years of a relatively stable GNSS environment this 
landscape is rapidly changing today. New satellite systems are proposed, 
old systems are modernized, new frequencies and a large variety of new 
signals are (or will be soon) broadcast. IGS has to embrace these 
developments and to maintain and advance its leadership position. It has 
to be active and visible in adopting these new opportunities and in 
guiding the user community. A vehicle for focusing these activities will 
be the intended IGS Multi-GNSS Pilot Project.  
- Today's infrastructure allows data streaming also from remote 
locations. IGS is moving towards real-time, posing challenges to the 
network, archiving capacity and data analysis capability. Eventually 
truly real-time IGS products will be available harvesting the effort 
contributed by the participants of the IGS Real-Time Pilot Project.
- The roots of the IGS are very evidently its tracking network operated 
with the joint effort of dozens of contributing organizations. The IGS 
has to foster and cultivate its network to assure its high data quality. 
And the IGS has to carefully plan the conversion of the GPS tracking 
network into a GNSS tracking network without disrupting the coordinate 
time series that are indispensable for the IGS' contribution to a 
long-term stable global reference frame. The newly formed Infrastructure 
Committee together with a reinvigorated Network Coordinator will be of 
greatest importance for promoting the necessary activities.

The IGS must continue to be the reference for high-end users of Global 
Navigation Satellite Systems, to define respective standards and provide 
education. It must maintain and extend the high quality of its products 
and develop new products according to the needs of its users. This is 
only possible with your help and contributions. I am looking forward to 
working together with you, all the individuals and institutions that 
form the IGS, with the Governing Board and with the Central Bureau. I 
like to thank our Immediate Past Chair, John Dow, who did a great job as 
Chair in the past eight years, but also for his continuing support in 
the Board and Executive Committee, sharing his extensive experience.

With best wishes for the New Year,
Urs Hugentobler



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Prof. Dr. Urs Hugentobler
Forschungseinrichtung Satellitengeodaesie
Institut fuer Astronomische und Physikalische Geodaesie
Technische Universitaet Muenchen
Arcisstrasse 21
D-80333 Muenchen, Germany
Phone : ++49-89-289-23195(91)
Fax   : ++49-89-289-23178
urs.hugentobler at bv.tu-muenchen.de
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