It is my distinct privilege to warmly welcome you to the International and Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS 2016 in the historic and vibrant city of Beijing, China. IGARSS is the premier remote sensing conference organized by the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) which provides the ideal forum for scientists, practitioners, and industries, as well as decision makers, for meeting and exchanging ideas, obtaining the most up-to-date information about science and technology of remote sensing, as well as forming the future science and technology trends in the important area of remote sensing of the Earth. It is my belief that with the ever growing population and ever increasing demand for resources, public services, security, etc., that the interdisciplinary field of remote sensing will definitely be among the top 10 most promising technology trends in the future. Over the past 54 years IEEE GRSS has been at the forefront of the remote sensing discipline and has made significant strides towards this goal.