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SCMP Reporter

A Hong Kong professor who was recently awarded a top mainland prize says he is heading in the right direction when it comes to perfecting maps and satellite images.
'Who says maps are fine?' asked John Shi Wenzhong, of Polytechnic University yesterday.
'Data-capturing technology isn't perfect, and humans make mistakes when inputting data,' said the scientist, describing problems  like bad measurements taken of a Chinese mountainside  and flawed computerised city mapping.
'The quality of digital maps needs to improve. It's a common problem. In the US, some time ago, we tried to use a navigational system and it told us to go the wrong way.
'If we had a better quality map, we'd be given the  right way to go.'
Professor Shi's research, however, is on track. The scientist, who is part of PolyU's land surveying and geoinformatics department, just received a major nod from Beijing.
This month, the 45-year-old mainland-born professor won the country's top natural science award for his project Principle of Modelling Uncertainty in Spatial Data and Analysis, which uses his  special 'uncertainty theory' to find errors in maps and satellite images.
PolyU president Poon Chung-kwong and Chen Yongqi, head of the land surveying and geoinformatics department,  were honoured that Professor Shi and his 'unique' field of study had been given such prestigious recognition.
'This is a very high-level award from the Chinese government,' Professor Poon said.
The accolade also meant that 'it's easier for us to join  major national  projects',  said Professor Chen, a member of the expert committee for  the mainland's lunar exploration programme.
Professor Shi  joined PolyU in 1994 after receiving his doctoral degree from the University of Osnabrueck in Germany, and has chaired or participated in more than 50 projects in the past decade.
He  has received funding from   the Hong Kong and central governments, as well as the university.
In 2005, he was part of a research team that won a first-class award for spatial data and uncertainty theory advancements.
The central government did not hand out any first-class awards this year.



PolyU scientist  charts course to improve map-making methods