Media Relations
News Releases
For Release Upon Receipt - April 23, 2008
Contact:
Ronald Rosenberg, 617-358-1240, ronrosen@bu.edu
PROFESSOR FAROUK EL-BAZ HONORED FOR HIS ARCHEOLOGY RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONAL HERITAGE DAY
Boston -- Farouk El-Baz, Research Professor and Director of the Boston University Center of Remote Sensing has received the “Golden Award” for his archeological research from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
“This honor is bestowed on Dr. El-Baz for his unstinting efforts in preserving archaeological sites in Egypt, “said Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s chief archaeologist and chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. “He has continued to do so throughout the past 20 years since he led the non-destructive investigation of a sealed boat chamber at the base of the Great Pyramid, and the study of the causes of salt deposits on the unique wall paintings of the tomb of Queen Nefertari prior to their conservation.”
The award, announced on April 18, 2008, was part of the International Heritage Day celebration at the newly renovated Coptic Museum in old Cairo. Participants included government officials, academics and archaeologists.
“This a great honor for me,” said El-Baz. “I am delighted to be able to apply advanced space-age techniques to the preservation of the most ancient of human heritage sites.”
El-Baz has pioneered the use of space images to study desert landforms on Earth and Mars. He is also credited with applying nondestructive techniques to investigate archaeological sites. He has co-edited a book on Remote Sensing in Archeology with Prof. James Wiseman of the Boston University Department of Archaeology.
The Boston University Center for Remote Sensing was established in 1986 to apply remote sensing technology to the fields of archaeology, geography and geology. In 1997 it was selected by NASA as a “Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing.”
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