Roger M. Hoffer has been selected as the next Honorary Member of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). His nomination was recently approved by the ASPRS Board of Directors. This is the highest award an ASPRS member can receive, and there are only 25 living Honorary Members of the Society at any given time. Candidates are chosen by a Nominating Committee made up of the past five recipients of the award and chaired by the most recent recipient. Dean Merchant served as the current chair.
Initiated in 1937, this life-time award is given in recognition of individuals who have rendered distinguished service to ASPRS and/or who have attained distinction in advancing the science and use of the geospatial information sciences. It is awarded for professional excellence and for at least 20 years of service to ASPRS. Hoffer, who has been a member of ASPRS since 1965, will receive the award at the ASPRS 2008 Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon.
Hoffer is a Professor Emeritus of Forestry and Remote Sensing, Colorado State University. He received his B.S. in Forestry (with High Honors) from Michigan State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Watershed Management from Colorado State University. Following two years as an officer in the U.S. Army, in 1964 Hoffer went to Purdue University, where he was a co-founder and Program Leader of the internationally recognized Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing. In 1988 he moved back to Colorado, where he continued his remote sensing research and teaching in the Department of Forest Sciences, Colorado State University.
Throughout his career, Hoffer’s research has focused on the spectral characteristics of earth surface features, and on the interpretation and analysis of satellite multispectral scanner data, synthetic aperture radar data and color infrared photography, with particular emphasis on forestry and land use applications. He has been a Principal Investigator of ERTS-1 (i.e., Landsat-1), Skylab, Landsat-2, X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, Simulated Thematic Mapper, and Shuttle Imaging Radar-B (SIR-B) research contracts from NASA, as well as numerous other contracts and grants involving computer-aided analysis of remote sensor data for earth resource applications. He had the privilege of analyzing the very first Landsat-1 data set. He is the author or co-author of more than 300 papers and publications. He served as the Major Professor for 70 M.S. and Ph.D. graduate students. Hoffer retired in 2002 after 38 years as a teacher, researcher, and advisor.
Hoffer has traveled the world as an invited speaker giving papers and lectures on remote sensing. He has served as a consultant to several national and international agencies, including the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress, U.S. Geological Survey, the Agency for International Development, as well as a member of many NASA panels involving the design characteristics of future satellite systems, such as the Thematic Mapper, EOS, etc., and on review panels evaluating NASA’s earth resource applications programs.
A President of ASPRS from 1989-1990, Hoffer also has served ASPRS in many other capacities at both the regional and national levels. He was a Regional President, Director of the Remote Sensing Applications Division, Co-chair of the Technical Program Committee for the National Convention in 1992 and 2004, and the Membership Committee Chair. He is a Fellow of ASPRS and has received numerous ASPRS awards, including the 1978 Alan Gordon Memorial Award, the Birdseye Award, Outstanding Service Award, Ford Bartlett Award, Presidential Citation for Meritorious Service, the Rocky Mountain Region 2007 Career Achievement Award, and several others.
Hoffer was selected as the Best Teacher in the Forestry Department at Purdue University in 1979. In 1986, he was one of six candidates selected by NASA for an Astronaut Payload Specialist position on a Shuttle Spacecraft mission. He has also been recognized by Colorado State University with the 1994 Distinguished Faculty Award, as the 1997-1998 Honor Alumnus of the College of Natural Resources, the Troxell Award for Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Students (twice), the C.S.U. Jack E. Cermak Outstanding Advisor Award, and the 1996 Xi Sigma Pi Outstanding Faculty Award.
About ASPRS
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.