Space law professor’s trip to Asia
brings visibility to School of Law

by Linda Hailman

Gabrynowicz is pictured following her lecture at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, with Sergio Marchisio of La Sapienza University in Rome, former chair of the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Legal Subcommittee, and students from the university.

UM law professor Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz spent much of her summer speaking with law, political and scientific leaders throughout Asia as she conducted space law and remote sensing research in Thailand, India, Malaysia and Japan.

“It was a very fruitful trip,” Gabrynowicz said. “I interviewed legislators and decision makers to learn more about current and developing space and remote-sensing laws.”

Gabrynowicz directs the law school’s National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center. She is also editor in chief of the Journal of Space Law.

In Bangkok, Thailand, Gabrynowicz presented her paper “Charter on Cooperation to Achieve the Coordinated Use of Space Facilities in the Event of Natural or Technological Disasters” at the International Institute of Space Law Conference on Aug. 3. Thailand places a high value on space technology, proven by the conference being opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

During the trip, Gabrynowicz said she was pleasantly surprised to bump into fellow UM law professor Ronald Rychlak, who was traveling to Bangkok at the same time for a different conference.

Following her time in Bangkok, Gabrynowicz traveled to India, where she met with key personnel at the National Remote Sensing Agency and the Indian Space Research Organization. Among those she met were the organization’s current chair and former chair, who is now an important member of the Indian Parliament. 

The UM professor also was invited to lecture at premier Indian universities, including the National Law School of India University, the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Indian Society of International Law and the National Institute of Advanced Study. Gabrynowicz talked to Indian university presidents and faculty about potential mutual projects between their schools and the UM National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center.

In Malaysia, Gabrynowicz interviewed the deputy director general of the National Space Agency and the director of the Malaysian Center for Remote Sensing. Later in Japan, she met with the head of JAXA, Japan’s national space agency, as well as the vice director of the National Institute for Environmental Studies and law faculty at Keio University, where she was a guest lecturer.

Gabrynowicz reported her findings to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing in Washington, D.C., in September 2006.

“Joanne’s travel to Asia this summer will bear fruit in a couple of ways,” said School of Law Dean Samuel M. Davis. “One, she carries the Ole Miss flag abroad, which will give the center visibility, and, two, many of the people with whom she came in contact will attend the conferences the center is hosting.”

Established in 2000, the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center addresses legal aspects of emerging remote sensing and geographical-information systems. The first and only legal research center of its kind in the United States, it is an internationally recognized research, advisory and training center.

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