Merry a first for SA

First fellow: Prof Charles Merry is the first South African to have been elected a Fellow of the International Association of Geodesy.

The School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics' Professor Charles Merry is the first South African to have been elected a Fellow of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG).

The new fellowships were announced at the recent IAG quadrennial general assembly in Perugia, Italy.

Geodesy is the discipline used to determine the shape and size of the Earth and its gravity field, and of changes in these quantities.

With 50 member countries, the IAG is a member association of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics.

Merry said his nomination was for "esteemed services rendered".

"This is probably based on two activities: membership of the executive committee for the past four years, and leading (for the past seven years) a working group tasked with determining the shape of the Earth over Africa."