RUSSELL G. CONGALTON, ALAN M. MIKUNI and NANCY K. TUBBS have been named the 2007 ASPRS Fellow Award winners. The ASPRS designation of Fellow is conferred on active Society members who have performed exceptional service in advancing the science and use of the mapping sciences (photogrammetry, remote sensing, surveying, geographic information systems, and related disciplines). The designation of Fellow is awarded for professional excellence and for service to the Society. Candidates are nominated by other active members, recommended to the Fellows Committee, and elected by the ASPRS Board of Directors. Up to 0.3 percent of the Society’s active members may be elected as Fellows in any one year. The nominees must have made outstanding contributions in a recognized Society specialization whether in practice, research, development, administration, or education in the mapping sciences. Members of the Fellows Committee and the Executive Committee are ineligible for nomination. This year’s awards will be given in May at the ASPRS 2007 Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida.
RUSSELL G. CONGALTON
Russell G. Congalton is a professor of remote sensing and GIS in the Department of Natural Resources at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Congalton received a BS (Natural Resource Management) from Rutgers University in 1979. He earned an MS (1981) and a PhD (1984) in remote sensing and forest biometrics from Virginia Tech. In his current position he is responsible for teaching courses in photogrammetry and photo interpretation, digital image processing, and geographic information systems. He conducts basic research involving spatial data uncertainty, accuracy assessment, and validation and applied research in using remotely sensed and other geospatial information to solve natural resource issues including forest management, wildlife habitat assessment, endangered species evaluation, change detection, and ecosystem analysis.
Congalton joined the faculty at the UNH in 1991 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 1994 and to full professor in 1999. Prior to joining the faculty at UNH, he was an assistant professor of remote sensing at the University of California, Berkeley from 1985-1991. From 1991-1993, Congalton held a Visiting Remote Sensing Scientist Position with the U.S. EPA Environmental Sciences Lab in Las Vegas, Nevada. Other significant remote sensing experience includes a post-doctorate research scientist position at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station in 1984, an internship at the USGS EROS Data Center in 1981, and membership on the SPOT Image Academic Advisory Council from 1994 - 2000. In addition, Congalton has served as Chief Scientist of Pacific Meridian Resources from 1989-2000, with Space Imaging Solutions from 2000-2004, and with the Sanborn Map Company from 2004 until the present.
An active member of the ASPRS since 1979, he has been awarded four ASPRS Presidential Citations for Meritorious Service (1987, 1989, 1990, 1992) and an ASPRS Outstanding Service Award (2000). Since 1997, Congalton has been the National Workshop Coordinator responsible for organizing and overseeing all Educational Workshops at APSRS Spring and Fall conferences. In addition, he served as President of ASPRS in 2004-05 and as the ASPRS delegate to the ISPRS Congress in Istanbul in 2004. He was the primary force behind rejuvenating the New England Region of ASPRS and has served as Region Secretary/Treasurer since 2004.
Congalton has authored or coauthored more than 100 papers and conference proceedings. He is the author of five book chapters, is co-editor of a book on spatial uncertainty in natural resource databases entitled, Quantifying Spatial Uncertainty in Natural Resources: Theory and Applications for GIS and Remote Sensing, and is the co-author of the book entitled, Assessing the Accuracy of Remotely Sensed Data: Principles and Practices. His papers have won awards four times including: 1994 ASPRS John I. Davidson Award for Practical Papers (2nd Prize), 1996 ESRI Award for Best Scientific Paper in Geographic Information Systems (3rd Prize), 1998 ASPRS John I. Davidson Award for Practical Papers (1st Prize), 1998 ESRI Award for Best Scientific Paper in Geographic Information Systems (2nd Prize).
He is also the Remote Sensing/Land Cover Principal Investigator of the NSF GLOBE Program, a scientist-teacher-student environmental education and research partnership involving over 90 countries and 15,000 schools. Much of the work in this project is developing scientific protocols and learning activities for student understanding of land cover mapping and remote sensing. He has been part of the GLOBE Program since 1995.
ALAN M. MIKUNI
Alan M. Mikuni received his BS in civil engineering from California State University at Fresno (then called Fresno State College) in 1970 and became licensed as a professional engineer in California in 1975.
His career began at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a civil engineering student trainee in 1966, working summers engaged in field survey and photogrammetric mapping operations. Upon graduation in 1970, he entered duty as a civil engineer at the USGS engaged in all phases of topographic mapping. In 1995, he was selected as Chief of the Western Mapping Center in Menlo Park, California. In 2001, he was appointed to his current position within the U.S. Federal Government’s Senior Executive Service in the position of Western Regional Geographer. As the Western Regional Geographer, Mikuni is responsible for the implementation of all aspects of the mission of the USGS’ Geography Discipline in the Region. He provides executive leadership on critical national USGS programs, management of Regional geographic science, and along with fellow Regional executives ensures the execution of all USGS programs in the Region.
Mikuni was the project manager on the first USGS implementation of the Brooks Act AE Selection Process on the National Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle Program. He served as the project manager on this program for the first three USGS contracts. He established an innovative program to provide non-monetary rewards to USGS employees. In 1999, his efforts led to the establishment of the USGS Science Impact program which uses geography to demonstrate the value of natural science in public decision-making. Mikuni continues to work to expand Science Impact through the establishment of external partnerships with the Center for Science Policy, universities, scientists, and public decision-makers. Mikuni’s distinguished career within the USGS has led to his elevation to the highest levels of management within the organization as a Senior Executive.
He has been an active, contributing member of ASPRS since 1968, was ASPRS National President during 2000-2001, and served as conference co-chair for the 2006 Annual ASPRS Conference. He currently serves as co-chair on the Convention Planning and Policy Committee and as a member of both the Certification and the Professional Conduct Committees. His responsibilities on the Certification Committee include review of the Certified Photogrammetrist applications. In addition, he serves as chair of the Kenneth Osborn Scholarship Committee and has served as the Northern California Region President and Director of the ASPRS Professional Practice Division.
Mikuni is a Fellow of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is currently nominated and running unopposed for the position of Vice President of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, a position which will automatically progress to the position of President in 2008. His participation in the geospatial community also extends to membership in the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Association of American Geographers, and the Senior Executives Association. He currently serves on the Geomatics Engineering Advisory Council for California State University at Fresno. In 1996, the Department of the Interior recognized Mikuni with its highest honor award, the Distinguished Service Award, for career contributions to the Department. In addition to his involvement in professional society activities, Mikuni serves as the President of the Fremont, California Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. In this role, he has made significant contributions to the promotion and support of Japanese Americans in professional development.
NANCY K. TUBBS
Nancy K. Tubbs attended the University of Minnesota and graduated from Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1978 with a Bachelor of General Studies (History and Geography). She received a master's degree in Environmental Policy and Management, with a concentration in Natural Resource Management, from the University of Denver in November 2000. She began her career in 1978 working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Merrick and Co. Engineering, and Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Colorado State Office in Denver until 1984. She transferred to the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Rocky Mountain Mapping Center in Denver where she participated on all mapping production activities and was selected for several specialized technical and managerial training. In June 1991, she returned to the BLM National Applied Resource Sciences Center in Denver as a cartographer where she served as the lead editor for the Bureau’s 1:100,000-scale mapping program. While at BLM she participated in the Office of Personnel Management’s Women’s Executive Leadership Program.
In January 1997, Tubbs transferred back to the USGS, as their Western Region State Liaison for Oregon, located in Portland, Oregon. She is responsible for developing partnerships with other federal, state and local agencies as well as universities, NGOs, and industry supporting mutual beneficial mission goals. She represents the USGS in coordinating National Mapping activities with other USGS disciplines in the Pacific Northwest (PNW); with federal, state, regional, and local agencies in the region; and with academic and private sector entities in Oregon and Washington. She is actively involved in the implementation of The National Map in the PNW and USGS’ Homeland Security coordination related to the 133 Urban Areas program in the PNW. She also represents the USGS on the Oregon Geographic Information Council and on the regional Inter-organizational Resource Information Coordinating Council. She is an active member of several state framework subcommittees in Oregon and Washington as well as at the regional level.
Tubbs is a past National Director, President, Vice President, and Newsletter Editor for the Rocky Mountain Region. She co-chaired the first GIS in the Rockies Conference in 1989, and also served on the planning committee for the 1990 conference. More recently she served as the Scholarship Committee Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President, and President for the Columbia River Region. She was actively involved with the planning for the ASPRS/URISA regional GIS in Action Conference in Portland from 1999-2001.
At the national level Tubbs served as the Assistant Convention Director for the 1990 ASPRS Annual Conference in Denver and received an ASPRS Presidential Citation. She represented ASPRS on the joint GIS/LIS Steering Committee for 1995-1997, and served as the GIS/LIS Chair for 1997 in Cincinnati. She also served as the ASPRS GIS Division Director during 1999-2000, and as GIS Assistant Division Director from 1997-1998. She has served on several other ASPRS National Committees, including: Convention Policy and Planning, Strategic Planning, Membership, Professional Conduct, and Education. She co-chaired the technical program for the ASPRS Annual Conference in Portland in 1999.
Founded in 1934, ASPRS is an international professional organization of 6,000 geospatial data professionals. ASPRS is devoted to advancing knowledge and improving understanding of the mapping sciences to promote responsible application of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems and supporting technologies.