Call for Nominations : 2026 François Arago Award in Polarimetric Remote Sensing
We are pleased to solicit nominations for the 2026 François Arago Award presented by the International APOLO Project. This senior Award is intended to celebrate profound contributions by a prominent scientist to the research field of polarimetric remote sensing.
The “Advancement of POLarimetric Observations: instruments, calibration, and improved aerosol and cloud retrievals” (APOLO) Project was created to promote polarimetry as a remote-sensing technique by organizing a series of advanced international conferences. It has been supported by a number of key organizations such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, CNES, CNRS, EUMETSAT, NASA, and Université de Lille. The first APOLO conference, APOLO-2017, was held 24–27 October 2017 in Hefei, China, preceding APOLO-2019 in Lille, France, APOLO-2022 in Washington, D.C., USA and APOLO-2024 in Kyoto, Japan.
Dominique François Jean Arago (1786–1853) was a great French physicist and astronomer as well as a prominent politician. Using his ingeniously designed optical instrumentation, he pioneered the discipline of polarimetric observations in geophysics and astrophysics and is a founder of polarimetry as a remote sensing tool.
On behalf of the François Arago Award Committee, we invite you to nominate a highly deserving candidate for the 2026 Award. Nominations of scientists of all nationalities will be considered. Each nomination package (to be submitted as a single PDF file) must consist of a detailed nomination letter and the nominee’s CV and publications list. The nomination letter must focus on the pioneering research contributions of the nominee and an explanation of their fundamental importance. Self-nominations will not be accepted.
The François Arago Awardees:
2017 – Maurice Herman
2019 – Michael Mishchenko
2022 – Brian Cairns
2024 – François-Marie Bréon.
Nominations should be submitted by 1st September 2026 to Dr. Didier Tanré (Award Committee Chairman) at didier.tanre@univ-lille.fr with a copy to Dr. Oleg Dubovik at oleg.dubovik@univ-lille.fr.
The award will be presented at the forthcoming APOLO-2026 conference, 4-9 October 2026, Florianópolis, Brazil (https://apolo.loa.univ-lille.fr/).
We look forward to your nominations for the 2026 François Arago Award selection.
Didier Tanré, Chairperson of the 2026 François Arago Award Committee
