Abstract
The academician Xiaowen Li devoted much of his life to pursuing fundamental research in remote sensing. A pioneer in the geometric-optical modeling of vegetation canopies, his work is held in high regard by the international remote sensing community. He codeveloped the Li–Strahler geometric-optic model, and this paper was selected by a member of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) milestone series. As a chief scientist, Xiaowen Li led a scientific team that made outstanding advances in bidirectional reflectance distribution modeling, directional thermal emission modeling, comprehensive experiments, and the understanding of spatial and temporal scale effects in remote sensing information, and of quantitative inversions utilizing remote sensing data. In addition to his broad research activities, he was noted for his humility and his dedication in making science more accessible for the general public. Here, the life and academic contributions of Xiaowen Li to the field of quantitative remote sensing science are briefly reviewed.
Highlights
Remote sensing is an essential tool in ensuring the successful implementation of strategies for the sustainable development of nature and society
Among the most important and lasting contributions Xiaowen Li made to the field are: (1) The construction of a series of geometric-optical models and hybrid models of geometric optical and radiative transfer, which led to kernel-driven bidirectional reflectance models and the foundations of global bidirectional reflectance distribution functions and albedo products
(3) Noting the importance of prior knowledge and its role in inversion; developing the theory and method of quantitative remote sensing inversion based on prior knowledge, proposing a multi-stage inversion strategy featuring the division of datasets and parameter sets, and presiding over the development of the spectrum knowledge database of China for typical ground objects
Summary
Remote sensing is an essential tool in ensuring the successful implementation of strategies for the sustainable development of nature and society. He led several research efforts that focused on quantitative remote sensing modeling, inversion, and the applications of retrieved data. His outstanding achievements include contributions to bidirectional reflectance distribution modeling, directional thermal emission modeling, an understanding of the effects of different spatial and temporal scales in remote sensing data, the development of the theory underlying quantitative inversion theory using prior knowledge, and the completion of comprehensive field experiments in remote sensing. Xiaowen Li was an outstanding scientist inthe field of remote sensing and geography, but was an eminent writer of popular science. He was known as a teacher, researcher, scholar, and mentor who was always ready to help others. Is a brief summary of his life and his major contributions to remote sensing science
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