Lawrence R. Pettinger has been named the ASPRS 2005 Fellow Award winner. The ASPRS designation of Fellow is conferred on active Society members who have performed excep¬tional service in advancing the science and use of the mapping sciences (photogrammetry, remote sensing, surveying, geographic information systems, and related disciplines). This award will be given in March at the ASPRS 2005 Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
The designation of Fellow is awarded for pro¬fessional 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 nominee 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.
Larry Pettinger has 35 years of experience in remote sensing research and operational applications (land use, wetlands, forestry, and wildlife management), program development and coordination, and technology transfer. As a remote sensing scientist and a senior member of the Land Remote Sensing Program staff at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Headquarters in Reston, Virginia, he represents USGS in developing national and international remote sensing programs and policies. Recent activities include revision of U.S. National Space Policy; USGS support of the NASA Earth Observing-1 satellite Science Validation Team; and review of applications to NOAA for licenses to operate commercial remote sensing satellites. He coordinates USGS input to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, and to the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Pettinger is also the Executive Secretary of the Interior Geographic Data Committee Remote Sensing Working Group. He received the Department of the Interior Superior Service Award in 1994 in recognition of his accomplishments in these areas.
Pettinger holds a BS degree in Forestry with Honors (1967) and an MS degree in Wildland Resource Science (1972) from the University of California, Berkeley. As an Environmental Scientist with the Earth Satellite Corp. in Washington D.C. (1971-75), he worked on Project RADAM (Radar Mapping of the Amazon), a statewide remote sensing-based wetland inventory, regional agricultural crop forecasting, and comparative studies of Landsat and Skylab satellite data. While working at the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota from 1975 to 1982, Pettinger analyzed Landsat data and aerial photography for vegetation, land cover, and wildlife habitat applications. He was lead instructor and developed customized training materials for several domestic and international remote sensing training courses. Pettinger has published more than 35 journal articles, reports, and symposium papers on remote sensing analysis and applications, including a USGS Professional Paper on digital classification of Landsat data for vegetation and land cover mapping. He contributed to the ASPRS Manual of Remote Sensing (First Edition).
Pettinger joined ASPRS in 1967 and received the Wild Heerbrugg Photogrammetric Fellowship Award in that year. He is completing a second 3-year term as Potomac Region National Director, and is a member of the National Bylaws and Membership Committees. He was Secretary-Treasurer, Vice President, President of the Potomac Region (1983-86); Treasurer of the Dakota Chapter of the St. Louis Region (1978-82); and chaired the ASPRS Inter-Society Liaison Committee (1989-91). Pettinger received the ASPRS Alan Gordon Memorial Award in 1996 and the Ford Bartlett Award in 2002. He represented ASPRS on the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation Board of Directors (1986-89 and 1997-2004), and is also a member of the Society of American Foresters and The Wildlife Society.
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. For additional information about www.asprs.org.