NMGIC Honors Three at 2010 Spring Meeting
Submitted by NMGICWeb on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 5:40pm
Stan Morain receives NMGIC Wheeler Peak Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010 (L-R: Amy Budge, Stan Morain, Mike Inglis)
Dr. Stan Morain, a biogeographer, received his PhD in Geography from the University of Kansas in 1970. From 1974 to the present he has been a Professor of Geography at the University of New Mexico and Director of the Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) 1976 until his retirement in 2008, also at the University of New Mexico.
For over 46 years, Dr. Morain has enjoyed a distinguished career in remote sensing that has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally. His contributions to this field focus on educating not only his students at the University of New Mexico, but also educating professionals in many developing countries on the applications of remote sensing in societal benefits areas such as agriculture, transportation, and public health. During his career, Stan has pursued a vision of employing remote sensing technology and products for advancing the growth of sustainable resources in developing nations worldwide. His passion for realizing this vision has been the driver for his contributions to remote sensing and to communities of practice in agriculture, transportation, and human health. Accomplishments to his credit are described in the following paragraphs.
His initial work centered on applications of radar technology for vegetation analysis and agriculture. In the early 1970s with the advent of Landsat, Stan was among the first to apply remote sensing techniques using satellite imagery to crop and vegetation analyses. Very quickly his interests in employing remote sensing technologies were directed toward the international community, primarily developing countries, through several global programs. Since 1973 he has consulted and contracted on over thirty training programs and applications projects with the U.S. Geological Survey/Office of International Geology (USGS/OIG), the United Nations/Food and Agriculture Organization (UN/FAO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the United States Agency for International Development (US/AID). These all have been aimed at inserting modern spectral and spatial analysis techniques into decision-making apparatus of developing countries. He has assisted in program design, implementation, and evaluation in many countries of Asia, Africa, and Central America, usually in the role of project team leader, chief-of-party, or chief technical advisor. Between 1983 and 1986, he served UN/FAO and UNDP as the Chief Technical Advisor on remote sensing projects to introduce crop monitoring and crop production estimation in four Chinese agricultural universities in Beijing, Harbin, Nanjing, and Chengdu.
More recently, Stan’s expertise and knowledge in remote sensing has been directed toward sustainable transportation, public health, and archeological studies of early agricultural systems. He led a consortium of three universities, a federal lab, and several industry partners to insert remote sensing and geospatial technologies in assessing safety, hazards, disasters, and security in transportation. Information derived from remote sensing of the environment plays a crucial role in these assessments. These efforts are not focused only on transportation in the United States, but also in China and India. He has organized and participated in several workshops dedicated to these topics in both the U.S. and abroad. Stan was instrumental in developing a bi-national agreement focusing on remote sensing and geospatial technologies for transportation cooperation between the United States Department of Transportation and the China Academy for Transportation Sciences, signed by both parties in January 2005.
Understanding the Earth’s systems in context of public health is an emerging science in which Stan has a keen interest. Global dust and atmospheric fine particulates, specifically, contribute to respiratory health problems in populations around the world. To better understand these elements and to forecast severe dust events, he is leading a team of research and application scientists at the University of New Mexico and the University of Arizona who are applying remote sensing data to improve a dust forecast model. The output data from the model are inserted into decision support tools that provide a forecasting tool for use by public health authorities. This work is contributing to plans by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for establishing an International Sand and Dust Storm Warning System, and to the goals of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) for the human health societal benefit area.
A large part of Stan’s career in remote sensing has been as a professor in the Department of Geography, University of New Mexico. During his tenure he has served twice as Chair of the Department (1983 – 1992) and (2003 – 2006). His courses focus on theory and applications of remote sensing, and biogeography. As an educator, Stan has influenced the careers of over 50 students who have been gainfully employed in geospatial technologies. He has authored, edited, and/or contributed to numerous publications on applications of remote sensing in agriculture, natural resources, and mapping vegetation.
In addition to his significant contributions to applications of remote sensing technology, Stan has served this community through his involvement in the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) and the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). He is a certified photogrammetrist, an elected Fellow, past PE&RS Editor-in-Chief, and past president of ASPRS. In ISPRS he is the past president of Commission I (Platforms, Sensors, and Imagery), current council member and treasurer, and a member of Commission VIII, Working Group 2 (remote sensing applications in hazards, disasters, and public health). Stan also is active in the International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS), the International Council on Science (ICSU), and the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations, User Interface Committee (GEO/UIC). Stan also is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in the Geology/Geography Section. During his career in remote sensing, he has been recognized by the community through numerous awards and citations for his service. He also has participated in or led many committees and working groups in organizations both at home and abroad.
Stan was a member of the NMGIC Board for two years (1995-1996) and served as NMGIC's Public Relations Coordinator. He has been a long-time member of NMGIC and has helped organize a remote sensing workshop in 1998 and has been a presenter at NMGIC meetings several times. One of the most remarkable things is when, at a NMGIC Meeting, members of the New Mexico geospatial community stop to reflect upon how many of us are connected by our ties to Stan … as students, educators, professionals, and colleagues. Stan Morain has indeed given us a lifetime of service.
Bobby Creel receives 2010 NMGIC Red Chile Award for Outstanding Service: Betsy Goodman accepting on behalf of her late father; (David Jordan on left, Betsy Goodman, John Hawley on right)
The 2010 Red Chile Award for Outstanding Service was awarded to Dr. Bobby J. Creel posthumously for his dedicated and tireless contributions to NMGIC and the geospatial community at large. Bobby was an active member of NMGIC for many years. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1997 and continued to serve on the Board through 2001. As Workshop Coordinator during this time, he was responsible for organizing workshops in conjunction with NMGIC’s semi-annual meetings. After his resignation from the Board, Bobby volunteered to develop and maintain the online voting system for NMGIC’s annual Board of Directors election, a service he continued until his passing on February 15, 2010.
Bobby’s career at WRRI also is testament to his outstanding service to the geospatial community. He began working for WRRI in 1986 and served as Associate Director and Interim Director. Prior to working fulltime at the institute, he worked on many institute projects starting in 1972. Throughout his career at WRRI, he received nearly 60 grants and oversaw several projects, including the development of one of his favorite projects, the Geographical Information Systems Lab, which employed many students over the past decade. Having authored dozens of reports and complex maps, Bobby was involved in numerous water-related projects in the state and region.
He was a gentle person and friend who had invaluable knowledge and insight into water resources management and planning in New Mexico. Friend and colleagues agree that he was someone who could be counted on professionally; he was very bright, hard working, and willing to contribute substantially to the success of others. All of that plus his soft spoken personality helped to resolve many difficult project related issues that would inevitably surface from time to time. In this sense, he was regarded as an indispensable mediator as well.
John W. Hawley, Ph.D. (geologist, water resources expert, and longtime colleague of Bobby Creel) was kind enough to help present Bobby's Red Chile Award to Creel's daughter, Betsy Goodman.
Rich Friedman receives 2010 NMGIC Green Chile Award for Outstanding Service (Rich Friedman on left, Leland Pierce on right)
The 2010 Green Chile Award for Outstanding Service was awarded to Rich Friedman, GIS Manager at the City of Farmington, NM. Rich’s contributions to NMGIC and the geospatial community are exceptional. Elected to the NMGIC Board of Directors in 1991, he served on the Board continuously through 2003, holding almost all of the positions on the Board during that time. He was NMGIC’s president for two years (1993-1995) and again from 1997-1999. After a short hiatus in 2004, he was re-elected to the Board and continues to serve as of this writing. Rich is a dedicated member of the Board and thinks nothing of jumping into his vehicle to make the 4-hour drive to Albuquerque for a Board meeting…..and turning right around to make the trek home on the same evening.
Rich’s knowledge of geospatial technology and its application to a wide variety of uses is endless. His creativity in applying these tools and sharing this knowledge with colleagues is exhibited by the many presentations he has given at NMGIC’s semi-annual meetings and workshops. Rich has enthralled NMGIC-goers with his studies of Anasazi roadways, ancient structures, use of LiDAR and 3D imagery, and his expertise in wringing the most utility out of public domain and open source geospatial software - getting his bang for the buck. Rich also has helped teach numerous metadata classes across New Mexico.
The Wheeler Peak Award for Lifetime Achievement - NMGIC thought it would be appropriate to name the state's award for "highest" achievement after Wheeler Peak, as it is the highest peak in New Mexico, with an elevation of 13167 feet / 4013 meters. Wheeler Peak itself was named in honor of Captain George Montague Wheeler, a pioneering explorer and cartographer, and leader of one of the "Four Great Surveys of the American West", the Wheeler Survey. The coordinates for Wheeler Peak are 36°33'24.68"N 105°25'01.01"W (hey, we are GIS folks after all).
The Red Chile and Green Chile Awards for Outstanding Service are given to individuals who have greatly contributed to the New Mexico geospatial community. While New Mexico is fortunate to have a wealth of "GIS talent", the awards for outstanding service are meant to convey our gratitude for going above and beyond in helping others and in community spirit.
The awards were the brainchild of Leland J. S. Pierce, current NMGIC President, who felt there was a need to honor the people who made a difference, day in / day out. Leland worked with a committee to create the awards and solicit nominations, keeping in mind that the people chosen to receive the initial awards must exemplify the highest standards of "devotion to the cause". Each year, the previous awardees will join together to determine if anyone merits recognition for an award; for some years, it is possible that no awards will be bestowed.
The NMGIC 2009 Awards can be found here.
Stan Morain, Bobby J. Creel, and Rich Friedman were honored for their service and achievement during the NMGIC Spring 2010 Meeting on May 7th, 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Dr. Stanley A. Morain - 2010 Wheeler Peak Award for Lifetime Achievement
Stan Morain receives NMGIC Wheeler Peak Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010 (L-R: Amy Budge, Stan Morain, Mike Inglis)
Dr. Stan Morain, a biogeographer, received his PhD in Geography from the University of Kansas in 1970. From 1974 to the present he has been a Professor of Geography at the University of New Mexico and Director of the Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) 1976 until his retirement in 2008, also at the University of New Mexico.
For over 46 years, Dr. Morain has enjoyed a distinguished career in remote sensing that has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally. His contributions to this field focus on educating not only his students at the University of New Mexico, but also educating professionals in many developing countries on the applications of remote sensing in societal benefits areas such as agriculture, transportation, and public health. During his career, Stan has pursued a vision of employing remote sensing technology and products for advancing the growth of sustainable resources in developing nations worldwide. His passion for realizing this vision has been the driver for his contributions to remote sensing and to communities of practice in agriculture, transportation, and human health. Accomplishments to his credit are described in the following paragraphs.
His initial work centered on applications of radar technology for vegetation analysis and agriculture. In the early 1970s with the advent of Landsat, Stan was among the first to apply remote sensing techniques using satellite imagery to crop and vegetation analyses. Very quickly his interests in employing remote sensing technologies were directed toward the international community, primarily developing countries, through several global programs. Since 1973 he has consulted and contracted on over thirty training programs and applications projects with the U.S. Geological Survey/Office of International Geology (USGS/OIG), the United Nations/Food and Agriculture Organization (UN/FAO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the United States Agency for International Development (US/AID). These all have been aimed at inserting modern spectral and spatial analysis techniques into decision-making apparatus of developing countries. He has assisted in program design, implementation, and evaluation in many countries of Asia, Africa, and Central America, usually in the role of project team leader, chief-of-party, or chief technical advisor. Between 1983 and 1986, he served UN/FAO and UNDP as the Chief Technical Advisor on remote sensing projects to introduce crop monitoring and crop production estimation in four Chinese agricultural universities in Beijing, Harbin, Nanjing, and Chengdu.
More recently, Stan’s expertise and knowledge in remote sensing has been directed toward sustainable transportation, public health, and archeological studies of early agricultural systems. He led a consortium of three universities, a federal lab, and several industry partners to insert remote sensing and geospatial technologies in assessing safety, hazards, disasters, and security in transportation. Information derived from remote sensing of the environment plays a crucial role in these assessments. These efforts are not focused only on transportation in the United States, but also in China and India. He has organized and participated in several workshops dedicated to these topics in both the U.S. and abroad. Stan was instrumental in developing a bi-national agreement focusing on remote sensing and geospatial technologies for transportation cooperation between the United States Department of Transportation and the China Academy for Transportation Sciences, signed by both parties in January 2005.
Understanding the Earth’s systems in context of public health is an emerging science in which Stan has a keen interest. Global dust and atmospheric fine particulates, specifically, contribute to respiratory health problems in populations around the world. To better understand these elements and to forecast severe dust events, he is leading a team of research and application scientists at the University of New Mexico and the University of Arizona who are applying remote sensing data to improve a dust forecast model. The output data from the model are inserted into decision support tools that provide a forecasting tool for use by public health authorities. This work is contributing to plans by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for establishing an International Sand and Dust Storm Warning System, and to the goals of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) for the human health societal benefit area.
A large part of Stan’s career in remote sensing has been as a professor in the Department of Geography, University of New Mexico. During his tenure he has served twice as Chair of the Department (1983 – 1992) and (2003 – 2006). His courses focus on theory and applications of remote sensing, and biogeography. As an educator, Stan has influenced the careers of over 50 students who have been gainfully employed in geospatial technologies. He has authored, edited, and/or contributed to numerous publications on applications of remote sensing in agriculture, natural resources, and mapping vegetation.
In addition to his significant contributions to applications of remote sensing technology, Stan has served this community through his involvement in the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) and the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). He is a certified photogrammetrist, an elected Fellow, past PE&RS Editor-in-Chief, and past president of ASPRS. In ISPRS he is the past president of Commission I (Platforms, Sensors, and Imagery), current council member and treasurer, and a member of Commission VIII, Working Group 2 (remote sensing applications in hazards, disasters, and public health). Stan also is active in the International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS), the International Council on Science (ICSU), and the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations, User Interface Committee (GEO/UIC). Stan also is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in the Geology/Geography Section. During his career in remote sensing, he has been recognized by the community through numerous awards and citations for his service. He also has participated in or led many committees and working groups in organizations both at home and abroad.
Stan was a member of the NMGIC Board for two years (1995-1996) and served as NMGIC's Public Relations Coordinator. He has been a long-time member of NMGIC and has helped organize a remote sensing workshop in 1998 and has been a presenter at NMGIC meetings several times. One of the most remarkable things is when, at a NMGIC Meeting, members of the New Mexico geospatial community stop to reflect upon how many of us are connected by our ties to Stan … as students, educators, professionals, and colleagues. Stan Morain has indeed given us a lifetime of service.
Dr. Bobby J. Creel - 2010 Red Chile Award for Outstanding Service
Bobby Creel receives 2010 NMGIC Red Chile Award for Outstanding Service: Betsy Goodman accepting on behalf of her late father; (David Jordan on left, Betsy Goodman, John Hawley on right)
The 2010 Red Chile Award for Outstanding Service was awarded to Dr. Bobby J. Creel posthumously for his dedicated and tireless contributions to NMGIC and the geospatial community at large. Bobby was an active member of NMGIC for many years. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1997 and continued to serve on the Board through 2001. As Workshop Coordinator during this time, he was responsible for organizing workshops in conjunction with NMGIC’s semi-annual meetings. After his resignation from the Board, Bobby volunteered to develop and maintain the online voting system for NMGIC’s annual Board of Directors election, a service he continued until his passing on February 15, 2010.
Bobby’s career at WRRI also is testament to his outstanding service to the geospatial community. He began working for WRRI in 1986 and served as Associate Director and Interim Director. Prior to working fulltime at the institute, he worked on many institute projects starting in 1972. Throughout his career at WRRI, he received nearly 60 grants and oversaw several projects, including the development of one of his favorite projects, the Geographical Information Systems Lab, which employed many students over the past decade. Having authored dozens of reports and complex maps, Bobby was involved in numerous water-related projects in the state and region.
He was a gentle person and friend who had invaluable knowledge and insight into water resources management and planning in New Mexico. Friend and colleagues agree that he was someone who could be counted on professionally; he was very bright, hard working, and willing to contribute substantially to the success of others. All of that plus his soft spoken personality helped to resolve many difficult project related issues that would inevitably surface from time to time. In this sense, he was regarded as an indispensable mediator as well.
John W. Hawley, Ph.D. (geologist, water resources expert, and longtime colleague of Bobby Creel) was kind enough to help present Bobby's Red Chile Award to Creel's daughter, Betsy Goodman.
Rich Friedman - 2010 Green Chile Award for Outstanding Service
Rich Friedman receives 2010 NMGIC Green Chile Award for Outstanding Service (Rich Friedman on left, Leland Pierce on right)
The 2010 Green Chile Award for Outstanding Service was awarded to Rich Friedman, GIS Manager at the City of Farmington, NM. Rich’s contributions to NMGIC and the geospatial community are exceptional. Elected to the NMGIC Board of Directors in 1991, he served on the Board continuously through 2003, holding almost all of the positions on the Board during that time. He was NMGIC’s president for two years (1993-1995) and again from 1997-1999. After a short hiatus in 2004, he was re-elected to the Board and continues to serve as of this writing. Rich is a dedicated member of the Board and thinks nothing of jumping into his vehicle to make the 4-hour drive to Albuquerque for a Board meeting…..and turning right around to make the trek home on the same evening.
Rich’s knowledge of geospatial technology and its application to a wide variety of uses is endless. His creativity in applying these tools and sharing this knowledge with colleagues is exhibited by the many presentations he has given at NMGIC’s semi-annual meetings and workshops. Rich has enthralled NMGIC-goers with his studies of Anasazi roadways, ancient structures, use of LiDAR and 3D imagery, and his expertise in wringing the most utility out of public domain and open source geospatial software - getting his bang for the buck. Rich also has helped teach numerous metadata classes across New Mexico.
About the Awards ...
The Wheeler Peak Award for Lifetime Achievement - NMGIC thought it would be appropriate to name the state's award for "highest" achievement after Wheeler Peak, as it is the highest peak in New Mexico, with an elevation of 13167 feet / 4013 meters. Wheeler Peak itself was named in honor of Captain George Montague Wheeler, a pioneering explorer and cartographer, and leader of one of the "Four Great Surveys of the American West", the Wheeler Survey. The coordinates for Wheeler Peak are 36°33'24.68"N 105°25'01.01"W (hey, we are GIS folks after all).
The Red Chile and Green Chile Awards for Outstanding Service are given to individuals who have greatly contributed to the New Mexico geospatial community. While New Mexico is fortunate to have a wealth of "GIS talent", the awards for outstanding service are meant to convey our gratitude for going above and beyond in helping others and in community spirit.
The awards were the brainchild of Leland J. S. Pierce, current NMGIC President, who felt there was a need to honor the people who made a difference, day in / day out. Leland worked with a committee to create the awards and solicit nominations, keeping in mind that the people chosen to receive the initial awards must exemplify the highest standards of "devotion to the cause". Each year, the previous awardees will join together to determine if anyone merits recognition for an award; for some years, it is possible that no awards will be bestowed.
The NMGIC 2009 Awards can be found here.
