OSGeo - User contributions [en]

Jeff McKenna

2026-10-28T13:48:08Z

Jmckenna:

[[Image:LogoFoss4g.png|thumb|right|333px|creator of the FOSS4G ribbon logo, used in all FOSS4G events of all sizes around the world since 2004, a symbol of the flow of ideas and innovation, and sharing within the Open Source geospatial community]]

[[Image:Foss4g-founders.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Reunion of the 3 original founders of the global FOSS4G event (from left to right: Markus Neteler, Jeff McKenna, Venka Raghavan); photo taken at FOSS4G Europe, July 2017, in Paris]]

[[Image:Foss4g-europe-2017-family.jpg|thumb|right|333px|With the OSGeo family at FOSS4G Europe, July 2017, in Paris]]

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Receiving the 2016 Sol Katz Award, at FOSS4G Bonn, on 2016-08-26.]]

[[Image:Venka-jeff-closing-plenary-foss4g-seoul.jpg|thumb|right|333px|With Venka at FOSS4G Seoul, Sept 2015. Two of the founders of FOSS4G.]]

[[Image:Zoo-family.jpg|thumb|right|333px|With the ZOO family at FOSS4G Europe, July 2014]]

[[Image:Jeff_McKenna.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Having a sushi lunch at FOSS4G Tokyo 2008]]

[[Image:OpenLayers-sprint-march-2007.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Memories of meeting the "boy genius" at FOSS4G 2006 (pic is from OpenLayers sprint 2007)]]

Jeff McKenna is one of the 3 original founders of the global FOSS4G event, which has spread all across the globe, and he has traveled to over 500+ FOSS4G events of all sizes (which means he has almost 1,000 FOSS4G t-shirts). He is the President Emeritus of OSGeo, and has his own consulting company based around FOSS4G, [https://gatewaygeomatics.com/ GatewayGeo]. He has been actively contributing to OSGeo since its formation.

* one of the 3 original founders of the global [https://www.foss4g.org FOSS4G] event
** creator of the FOSS4G branding logo, a symbol of the flow of ideas and innovation, and sharing within the Open Source geospatial community
* Winner of the 2016 [[Sol_Katz_Award | Sol Katz Award]], for longtime leadership in the OSGeo and FOSS4G communities
* named as the President of OSGeo, Dec '12, retired in Dec '15
* named to the OSGeo [[Board_of_Directors | Board of Directors]], Sept '09 (served until Feb '12), re-elected Aug '12, re-elected Aug '14, re-elected Oct '17
* Founder of the [[Sol_Katz_Award | Sol Katz Award]], and managed that from 2005-2015, 2017+
* Founding and Charter member of [https://www.osgeo.org OSGeo]
* Founding chair of the [[UnitedNations_Committee | UN]] committee for OSGeo
* Founder of the [[UN-GGIM-Working-Group | UN GGIM]] working group for OSGeo
* Member of the [https://www.geoforall.org/ Geo for All] Advisory Board
* Member of OSGeo's Google Summer of Code [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_2017_Administrative 2017] & [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_2017_Administrative 2018] Administrative teams
* Founding member of OSGeo's Google Code-in [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Code_In_2017 2017] Administrative team, and also part of [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Code_In_2018 2018] admin team
* involved in the creation of the [[CodeOfConduct_Committee | Code of Conduct]] committee for OSGeo
* Founding member of the [[Open_Geoscience_Committee | Open GeoScience]] committee for OSGeo
* [[FOSS4G]] conference committee chair (2006-2012)
* [[FOSS4G]] Workshop committee member (2004-2011)
* Developer of [https://ms4w.com MS4W]
* One of the founding developers of [https://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo4w/ OSGeo4W]
* [https://mapserver.org/ MapServer] Project Steering Committee (PSC) member
* [https://mapserver.org/ MapServer] documentation lead
* founding co-chair of the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Ottawa_Chapter Ottawa Chapter of OSGeo]
* [https://www.zoo-project.org/trac/wiki/PSC ZOO-Project] Project Steering Committee (PSC) member
* [https://www.zoo-project.org/ ZOO-Project] documentation contributor
* mentor for the [https://pycsw.org/ pycsw] Project for the OSGeo Incubation process
* mentor for the [https://istsos.org/ istSOS] Project for the OSGeo Incubation process
* founding member of the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Atlantic_Canada_Chapter Atlantic Canada Chapter of OSGeo]
* 2011-2012 vice president of the [https://www.gans.ca/ Nova Scotia Geomatics Association]
* member of the [https://www.opengeospatial.org/ Open Geospatial Consortium] from 2010-present
* member of the [https://www.qgis.org QGIS] Community
* co-founder of the [https://qgis.ca/ QGIS Canada User Group] (in formation)
* [https://geomoose.org/ GeoMoose] Project Steering Committee (PSC) member

contact:
: email: info(at)gatewaygeomatics(dot)com
: X: [https://x.com/mapserving @mapserving]
: IRC username - jmckenna on [https://libera.chat/ Libera.Chat]
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmckenna

{{OSGeo Member
|Name=Jeff McKenna
|Address=Lunenburg, Canada
|Coordinate=44.35961, -64.2577
}}

{{OSGeo Experience
|User=Yes
|Committee=Yes
|Board=No
|Coder=Yes
|Translate=No
|PSC=Yes
|ExBoard=Yes
|Charter=Yes
|Chair=Yes
|Committer=Yes
|SolKatz=Yes
}}

== Map of OSGeo Members ==

{{
#ask:
[[Category:OSGeo Member]] [[Coordinate::+]]
| ?Coordinate
| ?Name
| ?Address
| ?City
| ?State
| ?Country
| ?LocalChapter
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[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:OSGeo Member]][[Category:Officer]][[Category:Former_OSGeo_Director]][[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]][[Category:Atlantic Canada Chapter]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:41:53Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2025 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|150px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|150px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:41:24Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2005 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|150px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|150px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:41:05Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2006 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|150px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:40:49Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2007 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|150px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:40:29Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2008 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|150px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:40:06Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2009 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|150px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:39:50Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2010 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:39:20Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2013 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:39:05Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2011 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|150px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:38:41Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2011 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|200px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:38:24Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2013 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:37:58Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2013 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:37:24Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2013 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:37:13Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2014 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|200px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:36:56Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2015 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:36:40Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2016 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:36:28Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2017 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:34:53Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2018 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|200px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:34:20Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2019 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:34:07Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2020 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:33:42Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2021 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|200px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:33:23Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2022 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-09-28T13:32:41Z

Jmckenna:

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the 2012 Sol Katz Award award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is one of the founders & former Presidents of OSGeo, and he also plays an active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [https://zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [https://www.osgeo.org/foundation-news/prof-venkatesh-raghavan-receives-sol-katz-award/ 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-raghavan-5977b214/

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:31:33Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2023 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:31:02Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2024 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:30:38Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2025 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:30:12Z

Jmckenna: /* 2026 Call for Nominations */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-28T13:29:23Z

Jmckenna: /* Selection Committee 2012 */

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-09-28T13:28:15Z

Jmckenna: fix broken award news link

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is one of the founders & former Presidents of OSGeo, and he also plays an active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [https://zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [https://www.osgeo.org/foundation-news/prof-venkatesh-raghavan-receives-sol-katz-award/ 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-raghavan-5977b214/

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-09-28T13:26:13Z

Jmckenna: add Sol Katz image

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is one of the founders & former Presidents of OSGeo, and he also plays an active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [https://zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [https://www.osgeo.org/news/solkatz2012 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-raghavan-5977b214/

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-03T13:29:40Z

Jmckenna: add pic of Ian accepting award

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Ian receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]]
2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

File:Sol-katz-2026-Ian-Turton.jpeg

2026-09-03T13:24:44Z

Jmckenna: Ian Turton receiving the Sol Katz Award, on stage at FOSS4G 2026 in Hiroshima, Japan, on 2026-09-03. Photo courtesy Toru Mori.

== Summary ==
Ian Turton receiving the Sol Katz Award, on stage at FOSS4G 2026 in Hiroshima, Japan, on 2026-09-03. Photo courtesy Toru Mori.

Sol Katz Award

2026-09-03T13:15:00Z

Jmckenna: Add 2026 award

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2026: [[User:Ianturton|Ian Turton]] - GeoTools co-founder and Java ecosystem community leader
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Ian's 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

File:Sol-Katz-Award-2026-plaque.jpg

2026-09-03T13:12:46Z

Jmckenna: The 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque, awarded to Ian Turton at FOSS4G 2026 in Hiroshima, Japan.

== Summary ==
The 2026 Sol Katz Award plaque, awarded to Ian Turton at FOSS4G 2026 in Hiroshima, Japan.

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-09-03T12:43:49Z

Jmckenna: update wording

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is one of the founders & former Presidents of OSGeo, and he also plays an active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [https://zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [https://www.osgeo.org/news/solkatz2012 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-raghavan-5977b214/

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-09-03T12:43:09Z

Jmckenna: update wording

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is also one of the founders & former Presidents of OSGeo, and he also plays an active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [https://zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [https://www.osgeo.org/news/solkatz2012 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-raghavan-5977b214/

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-09-03T12:39:40Z

Jmckenna: correct ZOO Project link

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is also one of the founders of OSGeo and currently serves as President and also plays active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [https://zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [https://www.osgeo.org/news/solkatz2012 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-raghavan-5977b214/

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-09-03T12:37:21Z

Jmckenna: change HTTP links to HTTPS

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is also one of the founders of OSGeo and currently serves as President and also plays active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [https://www.zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [https://www.osgeo.org/news/solkatz2012 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatesh-raghavan-5977b214/

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

User:Ianturton

2026-09-03T12:33:51Z

Jmckenna: add Sol Katz Award

{{OSGeo Member
|Name=Ian Turton
|JobTitle=Software Engineer and Open Source GIS Trainer
|Country=United Kingdom
|State=W. Sussex
|City=Worthing
|Coordinate=51, -0.416667
|Email=ian@ianturton.com
|Photo=OSGeo_compass300.png
|Info=Employed by Astun Technology who provide support and train all types of OSGeo software. Ian will also undertake contract Java development using GeoTools and GeoServer (primarily).

Ian was a software developer for [http://www.envitia.com Envitia Ltd]. He spent the previous 20 years doing geospatial research at the University of Leeds and Pennsylvania State University, during this period he founded the [http://geotools.org GeoTools] project with James Macgill.

Find out more about Ian at [http://gis.stackexchange.com/users/79/iant GIS.stackexchange] and [http://www.linkedin.com/in/ianturton LinkedIn].
}}
{{OSGeo Experience
|User=No
|Committee=No
|Board=No
|Coder=Yes
|Translate=No
|PSC=No
|ExBoard=No
|Charter=Yes
|Chair=No
|SolKatz=Yes
|Committer=Yes
}}

:* Co-founder and developer of Geotools project
:* Developed and taught a webmapping course based upon open source software at Penn State University

;Contact:
:email: ian@ianturton.com
:twitter: [http://twitter.com/#!/ijturton @ijturton]
:www: [http://ianturton.com ianturton.com]

[[Category:OSGeo Advocate]][[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]

Jeff McKenna

2026-08-10T13:29:12Z

Jmckenna: add QGIS Canada User Group, and GeoMoose

[[Image:LogoFoss4g.png|thumb|right|333px|creator of the FOSS4G ribbon logo, used in all FOSS4G events of all sizes around the world since 2004, a symbol of the flow of ideas and innovation, and sharing within the Open Source geospatial community]]

[[Image:Foss4g-founders.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Reunion of the 3 original founders of the global FOSS4G event (from left to right: Markus Neteler, Jeff McKenna, Venka Raghavan); photo taken at FOSS4G Europe, July 2017, in Paris]]

[[Image:Foss4g-europe-2017-family.jpg|thumb|right|333px|With the OSGeo family at FOSS4G Europe, July 2017, in Paris]]

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Receiving the 2016 Sol Katz Award, at FOSS4G Bonn, on 2016-08-26.]]

[[Image:Venka-jeff-closing-plenary-foss4g-seoul.jpg|thumb|right|333px|With Venka at FOSS4G Seoul, Sept 2015. Two of the founders of FOSS4G.]]

[[Image:Zoo-family.jpg|thumb|right|333px|With the ZOO family at FOSS4G Europe, July 2014]]

[[Image:Jeff_McKenna.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Having a sushi lunch at FOSS4G Tokyo 2008]]

[[Image:OpenLayers-sprint-march-2007.jpg|thumb|right|333px|Memories of meeting the "boy genius" at FOSS4G 2006 (pic is from OpenLayers sprint 2007)]]

Jeff McKenna is one of the 3 original founders of the global FOSS4G event, which has spread all across the globe, and he has traveled to over 500+ FOSS4G events of all sizes (which means he has almost 1,000 FOSS4G t-shirts). He is the President Emeritus of OSGeo, and has his own consulting company based around FOSS4G, [https://gatewaygeomatics.com/ GatewayGeo]. He has been actively contributing to OSGeo since its formation.

* one of the 3 original founders of the global [https://www.foss4g.org FOSS4G] event
** creator of the FOSS4G branding logo, a symbol of the flow of ideas and innovation, and sharing within the Open Source geospatial community
* Winner of the 2016 [[Sol_Katz_Award | Sol Katz Award]], for longtime leadership in the OSGeo and FOSS4G communities
* named as the President of OSGeo, Dec '12, retired in Dec '15
* named to the OSGeo [[Board_of_Directors | Board of Directors]], Sept '09 (served until Feb '12), re-elected Aug '12, re-elected Aug '14, re-elected Oct '17
* Founder of the [[Sol_Katz_Award | Sol Katz Award]], and managed that from 2005-2015, 2017+
* Founding and Charter member of [https://www.osgeo.org OSGeo]
* Founding chair of the [[UnitedNations_Committee | UN]] committee for OSGeo
* Founder of the [[UN-GGIM-Working-Group | UN GGIM]] working group for OSGeo
* Member of the [https://www.geoforall.org/ Geo for All] Advisory Board
* Member of OSGeo's Google Summer of Code [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_2017_Administrative 2017] & [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_2017_Administrative 2018] Administrative teams
* Founding member of OSGeo's Google Code-in [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Code_In_2017 2017] Administrative team, and also part of [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Code_In_2018 2018] admin team
* involved in the creation of the [[CodeOfConduct_Committee | Code of Conduct]] committee for OSGeo
* Founding member of the [[Open_Geoscience_Committee | Open GeoScience]] committee for OSGeo
* [[FOSS4G]] conference committee chair (2006-2012)
* [[FOSS4G]] Workshop committee member (2004-2011)
* Developer of [https://ms4w.com MS4W]
* One of the founding developers of [https://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo4w/ OSGeo4W]
* [https://mapserver.org/ MapServer] Project Steering Committee (PSC) member
* [https://mapserver.org/ MapServer] documentation lead
* founding co-chair of the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Ottawa_Chapter Ottawa Chapter of OSGeo]
* [https://www.zoo-project.org/trac/wiki/PSC ZOO-Project] Project Steering Committee (PSC) member
* [https://www.zoo-project.org/ ZOO-Project] documentation contributor
* mentor for the [https://pycsw.org/ pycsw] Project for the OSGeo Incubation process
* mentor for the [https://istsos.org/ istSOS] Project for the OSGeo Incubation process
* founding member of the [https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Atlantic_Canada_Chapter Atlantic Canada Chapter of OSGeo]
* 2011-2012 vice president of the [https://www.gans.ca/ Nova Scotia Geomatics Association]
* member of the [https://www.opengeospatial.org/ Open Geospatial Consortium] from 2010-present
* member of the [https://www.qgis.org QGIS] Community
* co-founder of the [https://qgis.ca/ QGIS Canada User Group] (in formation)
* [https://geomoose.org/ GeoMoose] Project Steering Committee (PSC) member

contact:
: email: jmckenna(at)osgeo(dot)org
: X: [https://x.com/mapserving @mapserving]
: IRC username - jmckenna on [https://libera.chat/ Libera.Chat]
: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmckenna

{{OSGeo Member
|Name=Jeff McKenna
|Address=Lunenburg, Canada
|Coordinate=44.35961, -64.2577
}}

{{OSGeo Experience
|User=Yes
|Committee=Yes
|Board=No
|Coder=Yes
|Translate=No
|PSC=Yes
|ExBoard=Yes
|Charter=Yes
|Chair=Yes
|Committer=Yes
|SolKatz=Yes
}}

== Map of OSGeo Members ==

{{
#ask:
[[Category:OSGeo Member]] [[Coordinate::+]]
| ?Coordinate
| ?Name
| ?Address
| ?City
| ?State
| ?Country
| ?LocalChapter
| ?Website
| ?Email
| limit=10000
| height=480
| format=leaflet
}}

[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:OSGeo Member]][[Category:Officer]][[Category:Former_OSGeo_Director]][[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]][[Category:Atlantic Canada Chapter]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-07-20T20:00:14Z

Jmckenna: /* 2026 Call for Nominations */ clarify multiple nominations

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project - if you wish to nominate several people, please submit a nomination separately for each individual.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-07-20T19:58:13Z

Jmckenna: /* 2026 Call for Nominations */ add note about individual nominations only

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee. ''Note that nominations should be submitted for a single individual, not for a group of people or project.''

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

Sol Katz Award

2026-06-04T14:01:20Z

Jmckenna: /* 2026 Call for Nominations */ add confirmation note regarding nomination

== Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software ==
The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The award acknowledges both the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

See the OSGeo page to find out more about the recipients and about Sol Katz
* https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

=== Recipients ===
* 2025: [[Nyall Dawson]] - For his tireless work in helping to make QGIS a world-class software
* 2024: [[User:Tomkralidis|Tom Kralidis]] - Longtime leader of the GeoPython community, including developer of pygeoapi, pycsw
* 2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler] - Developer of PDAL, GDAL, PROJ, GEOS, and longtime supporter of the C/C++ stack
* 2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]] - Developer of PostGIS, GEOS, librtoppo, and longtime vision for being Open
* 2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]] - Bringing so many communities and groups together, and empowering them, leaving a worldwide legacy
* 2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]] - QGIS advocate, developer, and leader, providing so much useful material to users
* 2019 [[Even Rouault]] - dedication to so many projects including GDAL, PROJ, and many others
* 2018: [[Astrid Emde]] - leadership and longtime efforts for OSGeo and FOSSGIS communities
* 2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]] - GeoServer and GeoTools core developer
* 2016: [[Jeff McKenna]] - longtime passion and leadership spreading [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] around the world ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1723 Announcement])
* 2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] and [http://geoforall.org GeoForAll] advocate
* 2014: [[Gary Sherman]] - [http://qgis.org QGIS] founder
* 2013: [[Arnulf Christl]] - [http://osgeo.org OSGeo] co-founder, [http://www.osgeo.org/incubator/index.html Incubation] mentor, advocate
* 2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]] - [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] founder, community leader world-wide
* 2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]] - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/ JTS Topology Suite] founder
* 2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]] - for two decades of contributions to [http://grass.osgeo.org GRASS GIS] and the FOSS4G community ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/1069 Announcement])
* 2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] and [http://gdal.org/ OGR] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/970 Announcement])
* 2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]] - leadership in [http://postgis.refractions.net/ PostGIS], [http://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ GEOS] and [http://udig.refractions.net/ uDig] projects ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/778 Announcement])
* 2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]] - [http://www.osgeo.org/mapserver/ MapServer] founder and lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/446 Announcement])
* 2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]] - [http://grass.itc.it/ GRASS GIS] project lead ([http://www.osgeo.org/node/187 Announcement])
* 2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]] - [http://gdal.org GDAL/OGR] project lead

= Background =

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Katz

OSGeo Public Site: https://www.osgeo.org/community/awards/

= Process =

* Put out a '''call for nominations''' fairly widely on appropriate social networks and forums
* Nominations are sent '''privately''' to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' (public nominations will be discarded).
* Committee selects awardee
* Prepare plaque and tokens of appreciation
* Present in [http://foss4g.org FOSS4G] closing plenary
* Update this page with results
* Create announcement (mailing lists, websites, etc)

= 2026 Call for Nominations =

SUBJECT: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software - Call for Nominations

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation would like to open nominations for the 2026 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software.

The Sol Katz Award for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) will be given to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the FOSS4G community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm.

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was an early pioneer of FOSS4G and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities while at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This early FOSS4G archive provided both source code and applications freely available to the community. Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much guidance to the geospatial community at large.

Sol unfortunately passed away in 1999 from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but his legacy lives on in the open source world. Those interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society, as per Sol's family's request, can do so at https://donate.cancer.org .

Nominations for the Sol Katz Award should be sent to ''solkatzaward at lists dot osgeo dot org'' with a description of the reasons for this nomination (after sending, please wait for the moderator to accept your message, as this list is spammed heavily, and if you don't receive a confirmation of your nomination, please re-send it after one week). Nominations will be accepted until end-of-day 10th July [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aoe Anywhere on Earth]. A recipient will be decided from the nomination list by the OSGeo selection committee.

The winner of the Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software will be announced virtually during the FOSS4G 2026 event in Hiroshima, Japan. The hope is that the award will both acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders, for years to come.

It should be noted that past awardees and selection committee members are not eligible.

Past Awardees:

2025: [[Nyall Dawson]]
2024: [[Tom Kralidis]]
2023: [https://www.osgeo.org/member/butler-howard/ Howard Butler]
2022: [[User:strk|Sandro Santilli]]
2021: [[User:Mlibman |Malena Libman]]
2020: [[User:AnitaGraser |Anita Graser]]
2019: [[Even Rouault]]
2018: [[Astrid Emde]]
2017: [[User:Aaime |Andrea Aime]]
2016: [[Jeff McKenna]]
2015: [[User:Maria |Maria Brovelli]]
2014: [[Gary Sherman]]
2013: [[Arnulf Christl]]
2012: [[Venkatesh Raghavan]]
2011: [[User:Mdavis |Martin Davis]]
2010: [[User:Helena |Helena Mitasova]]
2009: [[User:Dmorissette |Daniel Morissette]]
2008: [[User:Pwramsey3 |Paul Ramsey]]
2007: [[User:Sdlime |Steve Lime]]
2006: [[User:Neteler |Markus Neteler]]
2005: [[User:Warmerda |Frank Warmerdam]]

Selection Committee 2026:

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis
* Nyall Dawson

= Extended Program Text =

The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software (GFOSS) is awarded
annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community.
Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance
open source ideals in the geospatial realm. The hope is that the award will both
acknowledge the work of community members, and pay tribute to one of its founders,
for years to come.

== Solomon Stuart Katz aka Sol 1947-1999 ==

=== Background ===

Solomon 'Sol' Katz was born in Sweden (on August 3rd, 1947) and moved to NY at the age of 1. Yiddish was
his first language, but he was amazingly bright, and learned both Hebrew
and English quickly. After high school, he spent three years in the US
Air Force, stationed in Germany, where he picked up yet another language.
Following his brief military career, he decided to go to Brooklyn College
in NY where he got his Bachelors in Geology in 2.5 years. He then married
his wife Hedy in 1969, and went back to Brooklyn College while teaching in
NY Public Schools and got his MA, also in Geology. After several years
working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in several states, he settled down
in Lakewood, CO and decided to go back to school at the University of Denver in
Computer Science and earned a second masters. At this time, he also had two
children - Shanna and Risa. He was well loved in his office, at his
children's school, and at home. Always full of laughter and good humor,
Sol could easily be recognized by his flamboyant Hawaiian shirts and toucan
or propeller hats. Sadly, after fighting Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for
almost a decade, Sol died April 23, 1999 in bed.

=== Open Source ===

Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in
the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's,
Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called [[Open Source GIS History|MOSS]]
(Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open
source GIS software in the world. Sol would later go on to release and maintain PC MOSS (GitHub archive: https://github.com/OSGeo/MOSS/). He was also one of the first involved in public data translator
utilities. Utilities that he developed for converting DEMs and reading SDTS files
were contributed back to the geospatial community, and are still available today (GitHub archive: https://github.com/jmckenna/sdts2dem). Sol was also a frequent contributor to many geospatial list servers, providing much
guidance to the geospatial community at large. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities
at the BLM continues to be implemented by many software projects. His legacy still lives on
in the GFOSS world.

Pics submitted by Sol's daughters:
[[Image:Solomon-Katz.jpg]]
[[Image:Solomon-Katz2.jpg]]

Daughters Risa and Shanna introducing the award in 2011:
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]
[[Image:Shanna-and-Risa-Katz-introducing-award-2011.png|200px|Shanna & Risa Katz]]

= Utilities =

Sol's code continues to be implemented in many software drivers, including the updated [https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/projects/topovista/sdts2dem/ sdts2dem] utility. Sol Katz's collection of GIS utilities at the BLM was formerly available at <nowiki>ftp://ftp.blm.gov/pub/gis/</nowiki>.

= Selection Committee 2025 =

[[Image:Nyall-dawson-sol-katz-award-2025.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Nyall receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler
* Tom Kralidis

= Selection Committee 2024 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-2024-foss4g-belem-tom-kralidis.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|Tom receiving the award on stage at FOSS4G 2024, in Belém, Brazil ([https://vimeo.com/1107807580 video])]]
[[Image:Sol-Katz-Award-2024-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Tom's 2024 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli
* Howard Butler

= Selection Committee 2023 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu accepting the award by [https://vimeo.com/841335689 video] at FOSS4G Kosovo]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2023-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|hobu's 2023 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni
* Sandro Santilli

= Selection Committee 2022 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-presentation.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk receiving the award at FOSS4G Italy]]
[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2022-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|strk's 2022 Sol Katz Award plaque]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser
* Ariel Anthieni

= Selection Committee 2021 =

[[Image:Sol-katz-award-2021-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Malena's 2021 Sol Katz Award plaque]]
[[Image:Malena-award-announcement-foss4g-2021.png|thumb|right|100px|Malena's tribute during the FOSS4G 2021 event in Buenos Aires]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault
* Anita Graser

= Selection Committee 2020 =

[[Image:Anita-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Anita accepting the award at the OSGeo AGM in 2020]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde
* Even Rouault

= Selection Committee 2019 =

[[Image:Even-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Even accepting the award at FOSS4G Bucharest]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime
* Astrid Emde

= Selection Committee 2018 =

[[Image:Astrid-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Astrid accepting the award at FOSS4G Dar es Salaam]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli
* Andrea Aime

= Selection Committee 2017 =

[[Image:Foss4g-2017-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Andrea accepting the award at FOSS4G Boston]]

* Jeff McKenna (chair)
* Frank Warmerdam
* Markus Neteler
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2016 =

[[Image:Jeff-mckenna-sol-katz-award-2016.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Jeff accepting the award, through a [https://vimeo.com/180237097 video], at FOSS4G Bonn]]

* Venkatesh Raghavan (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman
* Maria Brovelli

= Selection Committee 2015 =

[[Image:Maria-sol-katz.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Maria just after receiving the award, at FOSS4G Seoul]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl
* Gary Sherman

= Selection Committee 2014 =

[[Image:Gary_sherman_acceptance.png|thumb|right|100px|Gary accepting the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310099 video], at FOSS4G Portland]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Arnulf Christl

= Selection Committee 2013 =

[[Image:Arnulf-sol-katz-award.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Arnulf (left) receiving the award at FOSS4G Nottingham]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2012 =

[[Image:Venka-sol-katz-award-2012.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Venka (second from right) receiving the award at FOSS4G India in Hyderabad]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova
* Martin Davis

= Selection Committee 2011 =

[[Image:Martin-sol-katz-award-2011.png|thumb|right|100px|Martin receiving the award at FOSS4G Denver]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette
* Helena Mitasova

= Selection Committee 2010 =

[[Image:Helena_SolKatzAward_2010.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Helena posing with the award, that she received at FOSS4G Barcelona]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Daniel Morissette

= Selection Committee 2009 =

[[Image:Daniel-sol-katz-award.png|thumb|right|100px|Daniel receiving the award at FOSS4G Sydney]]

* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]] (chair)
* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]]
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina

= Selection Committee 2008 =

[[Image:Paul-sol-katz-award-2008.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Paul received the award, through a [http://vimeo.com/106310097 video], at FOSS4G Cape Town]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:Neteler | Markus Neteler]]
* Steve Lime
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]

= Selection Committee 2007 =

[[Image:Steve-sol-katz-award-2007.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Steve receiving the award at FOSS4G Victoria]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Venkatesh Raghavan
* Markus Neteler

= Selection Committee 2006 =

[[Image:Markus-sol-katz-award-2006.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Markus posing with the award, that he received at FOSS4G Lausanne]]

* [[User:Warmerda | Frank Warmerdam]] (chair)
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* Paul Ramsey
* Sophia Parafina
* Venkatesh Raghavan

= Selection Committee 2005 =

[[Image:Frank-warmerdam.png|thumb|right|100px|Frank, the 2005 recipient of the award.]]

* Sophia Parafina
* [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
* MUM3 Conference Committee

= 2005 Award Documents =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005Nomination | Call for Nominations]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_2005MUM3Program | Text in MUM3 Program]] (includes BIO submitted from his daughter)

= Translations of this page =

* [[Sol_Katz_Award_fr | French version - version française]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_jp | Japanese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_vn | Vietnamese version]]
* [[Sol_Katz_Award_cn | Chinese version]]

[[Category:FOSS4G]]
[[Category: Awards]]

User:Warmerda

2026-05-12T20:56:24Z

Jmckenna: remove duplicate experience section

{{OSGeo Member
|Name=Frank Warmerdam
|Company=Planet
|Country=Canada
|State=Ontario
|City=Eganville
|Coordinate=45.4630735,-77.27171
|LocalChapter=California Chapter
|Email=warmerdam@pobox.com
|Phone=+1 (650) 701-7823
|Website=
|Photo=warmerda.jpg
|Info=Frank Warmerdam is a C++, Java and Python geospatial software developer, primarily known for founding the [http://www.gdal.org GDAL/OGR] multi format geospatial data access and translation project. He is also active on the PROJ.4, libtiff, and libgeotiff projects, was a founding director of OSGeo, and is a [[SAC:Primary_Administrators|Primary Administrator]] on the OSGeo [[SAC|System Administration Committee]].
}}
{{OSGeo Experience
|User=Yes
|Committee=Yes
|Board=No
|Coder=Yes
|Translate=No
|PSC=Yes
|ExBoard=Yes
|Charter=Yes
|Chair=No
|SolKatz=Yes
|Committer=Yes
}}
=== Frank Warmerdam ===

[[File:warmerda.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Frank Warmerdam]]

Employment: Google

Location: Mountain View, California, USA

Frank Warmerdam is a C++, Java and Python geospatial software developer, primarily known for founding the [http://www.gdal.org GDAL/OGR] multi format geospatial data access and translation project. He is also active on the PROJ.4, libtiff, and libgeotiff projects, was a founding director of OSGeo, and is a [[SAC:Primary_Administrators|Primary Administrator]] on the OSGeo [[SAC|System Administration Committee]].

;Contact
: Email: warmerdam@pobox.com
: Web: http://pobox.com/~warmerdam/
: Phone: +1 (650) 701-7823

;Spoken Language(s): English

;Profile last updated: 17 August 2012

[[Category:Former_OSGeo_Director]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:OSGeo Advocate]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-05-12T20:53:24Z

Jmckenna: minor

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is also one of the founders of OSGeo and currently serves as President and also plays active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [http://www.zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [http://www.osgeo.org/news/solkatz2012 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/venkatesh-raghavan/14/7b2/597

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Venkatesh Raghavan

2026-05-12T20:52:46Z

Jmckenna: update university name

[[Image:venka_photo.jpg|thumb|right|153px]]
==About==
Venkatesh Raghavan (aka Venka) is Professor Emeritus of Geoinformatics at the [https://www.omu.ac.jp/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan]. He coined the [http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G FOSS4G] acronym in 2004 to denote Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics and has been promoting FOSS4G ever since. He is also one of the founders of OSGeo and currently serves as President and also plays active role in OSGeo Local Chapters in Asia.

Research interest includes Geospatial Services, Sensor Web and Remote Sensing for change detection. Recently, involved in [http://www.zoo-project.org ZOO WPS Platform] Project. Team leader and member in several Geoinformatics projects and vast experience in conducting national and international training programs and development of learning materials for RS/GIS using FOSS4G.

On 2012-10-25, Venka was named as the recipient of the [http://www.osgeo.org/news/solkatz2012 2012 Sol Katz Award], at the inaugural FOSS4G-India event, in Hyderabad.

contact:
: [mailto:venkat@osgeo.org email] venkat(at)osgeo.org
: Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/venkatesh-raghavan/14/7b2/597

; OSGeo Experience
[[File:OSGeo_charter.png|left|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Charter_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_exboard.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Board_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_user.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_Community_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_psc.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo_PSC_Members]]
[[File:OSGeo_committee.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Developers_and_Committee_Members]]
[[File:SolKatz.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#Sol_Katz_Award]]
[[File:OSGeo_board.png|link=OSGeo_Advocate#OSGeo Board Members]]

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]

Arnulf Bichler

2026-05-12T20:40:35Z

Jmckenna: add experience badges

[[Image:Arnulf_Christl.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Arnulf on a bright black and white day]]

Arnulf Christl is a Geospatial Systems Architect, founding and [http://www.osgeo.org/charter_members Charter Member] of OSGeo, served on the [[Board of Directors]] from 2006 to 2012 and was the OSGeo president from 2008 to 2012. He is honored to have been elected to the list of [[OSGeo Spanish Charter Members]]. He contributes to the [[Incubation Committee]], [[SAC]] and the [[Conference Committee]].

== Tasks in OSGeo ==
* Incubation Mentor for:
** [[GRASS Incubation Progress | GRASS]] (successfully graduated)
** [[PostGIS]] (successfully graduated)
** [[Marble]] (successfully graduated)
** helped with the [[GeoTools Incubation Progress]] (successfully graduated)
* Point of Contact for [[GLTN]]
* Help maintain a bridge between [[OGC]] and [[OSGeo]]
* Initiator of the [[MOU_ICA | Memorandum of Understanding with the ICA]] now home of the [[GeoForAll]] initiative.
* [[Chief Returning Officer]] for OSGeo elections in 2012 and 2013
* SysOp of this Wiki ([http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php?title=Special:ListUsers&group=sysop see all])
* [[SAC:Primary Administrators | Low key admin]] for parts of the OSGeo infrastructure
* The [[User:Seven | Assimilator]]

== Contact ==
Arnulf lives in Innsbruck, Austria. His work address is:
: Metaspatial
: Arnulf Christl
: Schartenweg 11
: 94169 Tharpaling
: Germany

: Foundation contact mailto:arnulf@osgeo.org
: For business inquiries please see [https://www.metaspatial.com Metaspatial]
: [https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?whereami=1&query=48.80580%2C13.29864#map=16/48.8058/13.2988 Show on OpenStreetMap]

; UTC (GMT) offset
: Standard time zone: UTC +2 (Germany)

{{#umSetParam: 48.80580|13.29864|Tharpaling, Germany|Arnulf Christl|Arnulf Christl}}

{{#umUserMap: Arnulf Christl}}

{{OSGeo Experience
|User=Yes
|Committee=Yes
|Board=No
|Coder=Yes
|Translate=No
|PSC=Yes
|ExBoard=Yes
|Charter=Yes
|Chair=Yes
|Committer=Yes
|SolKatz=Yes
}}

[[Category:OSGeo Member]]
[[Category:Incubation Committee]]
[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo-es-MDV Member]]
[[Category:OSGeo-es Member]]
[[Category:Former OSGeo Director]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]

Gary Sherman

2026-05-12T20:39:37Z

Jmckenna: add experience badges

[[Image:Gary sherman.png|thumb|right|333px]]
Gary is the founder of [http://www.qgis.org QGIS], and has his own consulting company, [https://geoapt.net GeoApt]. He received the 2014 [[Sol Katz Award]] at the FOSS4G Portland event, for his work with QGIS. ([http://vimeo.com/106310099 acceptance video])

contact:
: [mailto:gsherman@geoapt.com email] gsherman(at)geoapt(dot)com
: [https://twitter.com/shermange twitter] @shermange

{{OSGeo Experience
|User=Yes
|Committee=Yes
|Board=No
|Coder=Yes
|Translate=No
|PSC=Yes
|ExBoard=No
|Charter=Yes
|Chair=Yes
|Committer=Yes
|SolKatz=Yes
}}

[[Category:OSGeo Member]][[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]][[Category:Officer]][[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]

User:Maria

2026-05-12T20:38:25Z

Jmckenna: add experience badges

== Maria Antonia Brovelli ==

[[Image:Maria_brovelli.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Maria, the "Queen of FOSS4G"]]

High school Diploma with classical studies orientation (final grade: 60/60), Degree in Physics (with honours) in 1986, PhD in Geodesy and Cartography in 1991.

From 1992 to 1994 she worked as researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology; in this position, she helped in establishing the International Geoid Service (IGeS) of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and became a member of the Editorial board of the IGES Bulletin and then its Editor in Chief.
She has been working at the [http://www.polimi.it/en/english-version/ Politecnico di Milano] since 1994, first as researcher, then as Associate Professor and finally as [https://www4.ceda.polimi.it/manifesti/manifesti/controller/ricerche/RicercaPerDocentiPublic.do?EVN_ELENCO_DIDATTICA=evento&k_doc=1262&lang=EN&__pj0=0&__pj1=42ff9b7601cab5d1167d2bd5001ae1e7 Full Professor]. She is currently teaching Digital Mapping, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing and Geospatial Web, Geo Big Data and Citizen-Generated Geographic Information. Since 2000, she has been also organizing and teaching courses in Continuing Education. From 2006 to 2011, she taught GIS III for the Master of Geomatics Engineering of Technical University of Zurich (ETH).

In 1997 she started the [http://geomatica.como.polimi.it/index.php?lang=en Laboratory of Geomatics], placed at the [http://www.polimi.it/en/university/campuses/como/ Como Campus of the Politecnico di Milano] and up to 2011 she has coordinated its activities as Head of the Lab.
She has been involved in Politecnico governance by covering several service activities. From 2011 to 2016 she was Vice Rector of Politecnico di Milano for the Como Campus.
She is member of the Board of the Italian Society of Photogrammetry and Surveying ( [http://sifet.org/sifet/ SIFET]) and member of the Bulletin Editorial Board.

She is one of the Directors of OSGeo, member of GeoForall Advisory Board [http://www.geoforall.org/ Geo For All], chair of the European GeoForAll Lab Network and Chair of the OSGeo UN Committee.

She is Editor of the international journal [http://www.springer.com/earth+sciences+and+geography/geographical+information+systems/journal/12518 Applied Geomatics] published by Springer and chair of [http://www2.isprs.org/commissions/comm4/wg4.html WG IV/4 “Collaborative crowdsourced cloud mapping (C3M)”] of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS).

She is the mentor of [https://polimappers.github.io/ PoliMappers], the Politecnico di Milano chapter of [http://www.youthmappers.org/ YouthMappers].

She is chair of the Capacity Building WG of [http://unopengis.org/ UN Open GIS Initiative] and Vice Chair of the [http://unggim.academicnetwork.org/ UN-GGIM Academic Network].

In 2010 she hosted the [http://webmgs2010.como.polimi.it/ WebMGS] event in Como, an international workshop on 'Pervasive Web Mapping, Geoprocessing and Services'.

In July 2015, she hosted over 400 attendees to her home campus in Como, for [http://europe.foss4g.org/2015/ FOSS4G-Europe 2015]. As the chair of the event, she kept registration costs very low, and in fact the event would "sell out", due to such a demand, no more registrations were possible several weeks before the event. She also organized a pre-event, [http://geomobile.como.polimi.it/FOSS4VGI/ FOSS4VGI], where she helped fund 30 researchers and trainers from all over Europe to learn about Open Data and Open Source software.
Since January 2018 she is a member of ESA ACEO (Advisory Committee for Earth Observation) [https://earth.esa.int/web/guest/missions/mission-news/content/-/asset_publisher/Pv9qrU2Z42UK/content/members-of-the-new-aceo].

She has been developing her scientific activity within geodesy and geomatics since 1988, by participating in national and international research projects. Initially devoted to research in physical geodesy, radar-altimetry and statistical analysis, after becoming an associate professor, she focused her interests on digital mapping and geographic information systems, free and open source GIS theory and applications representing one of her main research issues.
She was and is responsible for research contracts and consultancy related to the design and implementation of Geographic Information Systems; web Mapping and Web Geoservices, systems for integrating and controlling the quality of digital terrain models, VGI and Geo-crowdsourcing and Big Geodata.
She is co-author of three textbooks on the statistical data treatment, of a volume on orthophotos and digital terrain models, as well as more than 150 scientific publications.

'''In September 2015 she was honored with the 2015 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software [http://www.osgeo.org/solkatz] during the FOSS4G 2015 conference in Seoul, South Korea. '''

She is proudly mother of two wonderful daughters: Giulia Leila and Federica Luna.

;Contact: maria.brovelli@polimi.it

;Spoken Languages
:Italian, English, French (basic)

{{OSGeo Experience
|User=Yes
|Committee=Yes
|Board=No
|Coder=Yes
|Translate=No
|PSC=No
|ExBoard=Yes
|Charter=Yes
|Chair=Yes
|Committer=No
|SolKatz=Yes
}}

;Profile last updated: 12 May 2026

[[Category:OSGeo Charter Member]]
[[Category:Former_OSGeo_Director]]
[[Category:Sol Katz Awardee]]