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Chang-Woo Ahn was named the 1997 Stevan J. Kristof Outstanding Graduate Student in Remote Sensing. Dr. Ahn recently received his Ph.D. in Agronomy with Dr. M. F. Baumgardner as Major Professor. His thesis was "hyperspectral remote sensing data analysis for characterizing land surface conditions." He recently accepted a position as Research Associate with Goddard Space Flight Center. Congratulations to Dr. Chang-Woo Ahn as our 1997 Kristof Award winner!
If you haven't received a LARS Newsletter for the past few months, don't worry. It is difficult to send out something that didn't get written! My "re-entry" into academia after spending 6 months with Space Imaging EOSAT has been at a very fast pace. I had forgotten what it is like to complete the end of a semester, prepare proposals for funding, prepare year-end reports (at Purdue, year-end means June 30th!) and get ready for the summer workshops.
I have had a chance to reflect on the many changes taking place in our world of remote sensing during my sabbatical. The changes are staggering! Most of the changes take place around the word, "resolution". Remember the favorite prelim question, "Describe 3 types of resolution and discuss how they affect your discipline."? You will recall that spatial, spectral and temporal are the usual answers sought to that question.
Relating to spatial resolution, we are finding that 1, 2, 4, and 5 meter spatial resolution will become common within this year. There are aircraft simulations of this type of data already available and it has us asking for more. Space Imaging EOSAT has a CD titled "CARTERRA Agriculture Sampler" which is being sent to people who submitted proposals relating to agriculture. (If you know of other companies with similar opportunities, please let us know so we can get it in the next Newsletter). The opportunity to see the equivalent of digital ortho images in a multispectral mode has many of us thinking that we hit a time warp.
The spectral resolution affects us in the same manner. We have grown comfortable with 4-7 bands of multispectral data but the AVIRIS flights have started to get us familiar with seeing over 200 wavelengths. Now as we wait for the launch of the Lewis satellite, we anticipate receiving 384 wavelengths of energy at 5 nanometer bandwidth covering 400 to 2,600 nanometers. The impact of distinguishing different pigmentation in plant leaves will open many new understandings of reflective measurements and their applications.
The prospect of getting coverage over an area every day, every other day or every third day really sets my mind racing at the opportunities like noting the change of plant stress due to drought, or determining how much of the corn crop was planted on a specific day, or determining what the land cover was on the day prior to the big rain or (you fill in your application). Add to this scenario the opportunity to receive the data within 24-36 hours after it has been collected. Now we are talking about the implications of commercial remote sensing! It's great to be a part of this.
In the future, I want to explore some of the opportunities of the Commercial Remote Sensing Initiative soon to be announced by the Stennis Space Center. --CJJ
Two LARSians recently received awards. ERIC GUSTAFSON received the (Forest Service) Chief's Award for Early Career Scientists. This award provides $150K toward his research over the next 5 years. JON BENEDIKTSSON received the Icelandic 1997 Young Researcher Award. Both awards are great recognitions to them and to Purdue University where they received their Ph.Ds. Congratulations to Eric and Jon!
PHIL SWAIN has been appointed as Director of the Office of Distance Learning, Purdue University. This means that he has overall responsibility for extending educational opportunities from Purdue that go beyond the classroom. Congrats Phil on your venture!
Another LARSian has really made the news! MARWAN JAMIL MUASHER was recently appointed as the Jordanian Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Muasher completed his Ph.D with David Landgrebe, E&CE in 1981. Prior to this appointment, he held the posts of Minister of Information and Jordanian Ambassador to Israel. Congratulations to Dr. Muasher!
Professor David Landgrebe is spending a "mini-sabbatical" at Goddard Space Center from June 23 to July 3. He will present a seminar (or two) on "On Information Extraction Principles for Hyperspectral Data" He was invited by Dr. Jacqueline Le Moigne of CESDIS (Center for Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences)
Landgrebe is a regular traveler the Washington DC area. He is just completing a term on the National Research Council Committee on Advanced Space Technology. This committee assesses what technologies should be of special interest to NASA in the post-2000 era and suggests ways that NASA can work more effectively with industry & universities to develop these technologies.
Your LARS Director participates as a member of the NRC's Committee on Earth Studies. The CES provides advice to NASA and NOAA on new program initiatives as well as recommending directions to pursue relating to the use of new technologies in these program initiatives.
Jon M. Harbor and D. Elmore, E&AS "Reconstructing Spatial Patterns of Glacial Erosion", National Science Foundation, $82,044. July, 97-June 98.
(* = New listing)
Please note that we are not repeating conferences/workshops mentioned in previous newsletters except those of Professional Societies/organizations that appear to be of special interest to our faculty/students.
*+Aug 18-22. Tri-Service CADD/GIS/FM Symposium '97 & US Army Corps of Engineers/NOAA Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing Conference, St. Louis, MO. Contact: 314-331-8385, Fax: 8346, conference@smtp.lms.usace.army.mil
*+Oct 1-3. CIPA INtl. Symp. '97: Photogrammetry in Architecture, Archaeology & Urban Conservation, ISPRS, CIPA, Goteborg, Sweden. Contact: hakanw@gematices.kth.se
*+Oct 1-4, GIS/GPS '97: Global Innovative Solutions, Alberta Land Surveyors' Assoc., Calgary, Canada. Contact: 800-661-4278, Fax 403-452-2890l roseccom@supernet.ab.ca; http://www.rosec.com
*+Oct 30-Nov 2. 3rd Int'l Symp. on GIS in Higher Education, Towson State Univ. & NCGIA, Chatilly, VA, Contact: 410-830-2964, Fax 3888; morgan@towson.edu
1998
--Chris J. Johannsen, Director Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing (LARS) 1158 ENTM 220, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1158, USA (765) 494-6305, Fax: (765) 494-7753 johannsn@ecn.purdue.edu