EUPOS® founder, Dipl. Ing. Gerd Rosenthal passed away
Dipl. Ing. Gerd Rosenthal passed away on Febuary 19, 2020. This significant German expert and promoter of the GNSS permanent networks expansion to other countries, EUPOS® founder and the first EUPOS® chairman was born in 18 January 1956 in Berlin, Germany. He studied geodesy at the Technische Fachhochschule Berlin / University of Applied Science and worked till he retired in Senate Department for Urban Development in Berlin (1979 - 2014) in different positions from an officer to the Head of the Section III B Geodetic Reference Systems (1998 – 2013). In March 2002, he organised a workshop -Multifunctional GNSS reference system for Europe in Berlin where representatives from Central and East Europe countries from the GNSS geodetic controls community were invited. On the workshop were presented information and status about GNSS permanent network SAPOS®, their multifunctionality, backup and applications used SAPOS® in Germany. All participants of the workshop decided to build up the same GNSS reference system based on permanent station network in their countries on the unified way and they decided to establish EUPOS® initiative to help them to do it. Dipl. Ing. Gerd Rosenthal became the first Head of the EUPOS® International Steering Committee (ISC), the main EUPOS® body and the Head of the Office of the ISC from 2 July 2002 till his resignation (due to serious illness) on 7 May 2013. All that time, he was also the Chairman of the EUPOS® working group TCI (Technical cooperation with industry) and Berlin (Germany) representative in the EUPOS® ISC. From 2006 year till his resignation, he was also EUPOS® representative in International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) which works under the umbrella of the United Nations, Office for Outer Space Affairs, where thanks to him EUPOS® became an associated member in 2006. In the same year thanks to him EUPOS® became also a member of Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM), where EUPOS® members contributed to its Special Committee 104. He also helped launched in October 2006 the EUPOS® – Interregional Cooperation (IRC) – Europe Union INTERREG IIIC Programme project. During his EUPOS® chairmanship, he organised with ICG support four big international events, four International Symposiums on GNSS - Space-based and Ground-based augmentation Systems and Applications, all in Berlin resp. in 2010 in Brussels (in Berlin house). Dipl. Ing. Gerd Rosenthal was especially very active and enthusiastic in promotion of GNSS permanent station networks establishment in countries which did not know a lot about it. After his mission seemed to be fulfilled in the most countries of Central and Eastern Europe, he decided to focus EUPOS® activity to expand to other countries from Asia and Africa, but finally this mission was not realised. All his life, his enthusiasm and putting into work was excellent and superhuman. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Honor his memory.