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The University of New Brunswick’s (UNB) department of geodesy and geomatics engineering is known worldwide for the accomplishments of its star faculty members. Yet another award has recently been given to one of its emeritus professors. At a black-tie event earlier this fall, The Czech Republic presented Dr. Petr Vaníček with an award for his contribution to Canadian-Czech friendship. The Czech Embassy hosted the event at Ottawa's Chateau Laurier Hotel.

Vaníček came to the then Department of Surveying Engineering at UNB in 1971, a couple of years after emigrating to Canada with his family. His life-long research passion has been to model the earth's gravity field with finer and finer precision for accurate height measurements and to support a wide variety of geoscience investigations.

Many countries, including Canada and the United States, are modernizing their geomatics information technology systems and infrastructure to support improved positioning and navigation using GPS as well as mapping of the terrain, including heights. The work of Vaníček and his research colleagues is contributing significantly to this modernization effort.

Vaníček's award consists of two specially minted silver coins and a certificate of appreciation that reads, "Awarded to Petr Vaníček for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic in Canada and advancing Czech-Canadian relations presented on the occasion of the Czech European Union Presidency Gala celebrating more than a century of Czech-Canadian friendship and honouring the most distinguished Czech-Canadians throughout history for their support of Czech statehood."

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Vaníček.