Chinese Academy honour for Rüther

Heritage: Emer Prof Heinz Rüther photographed at the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali, the world’s biggest mud building.

Emeritus Professor Heinz Rüther, head of UCT's Department of Geomatics, has joined the governing board of the International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage, a newly formed body falling under the auspices of UNESCO.

Appointed by the Chinese Academy of Science, Rüther was in Beijing for the centre's launch and its fi rst board meeting on 22 July.

The centre's mission is to assist developing countries to use Earth observation from space for the conservation and documentation of cultural and natural heritage sites.

Rüther and his team at Zamani have done some pioneering work on African sites, including the Lalibela churches in Ethiopia and the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali.