Kari J. Craun and Herbert W. Stoughton have been named the 2012 ASPRS Fellow Award winners. 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). 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 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 March at the ASPRS 2012 Annual Conference in Sacramento, California.
Kari J. Craun is currently the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC). Craun received a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1984 and a master’s degree in Photogrammetry from Purdue University in 1987. She was selected for the USGS, National Mapping Division’s Graduate Training Program, attending the Ohio State University in the PhD program in the Department of Geodetic Science and Surveying. She is currently pursuing another Master of Science degree in Geospatial Information Science through an on-line program at Northwest Missouri State University.
As Director of NGTOC she manages a 230-person organization (including both government and on-site contract staff) with an annual budget of approximately $40 million, including both appropriated and reimbursable funding sources. The NGTOC performs a wide range of functions in support of maintaining a seamless, current, nationally consistent coverage of base geospatial data for the United States. The Center also develops digital and graphic products, including USGS topographic maps and The National Atlas digital and graphic products. The Center manages several broadly-scoped contract mechanisms for acquisition of geospatial products and services through the commercial sector. NGTOC also conducts geographic, cartographic, and information research, geospatial data production, information management, and data and information dissemination for a wide variety of customers. As Director of NGTOC, Craun makes frequent contact with Senior Executives within USGS, state and local government officials, representatives from other Federal agencies, private sector CEO-level employees, and Congressional representatives and staff.
Prior to her appointment as NGTOC Director, Craun served as the Chief of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Partnership office for the USGS Central Region, supervising USGS geospatial liaisons to 15 states in the Central United States. These liaisons develop partnerships for acquiring and sharing geospatial data across organizational boundaries. She also served as Chief of the Mid-Continent Mapping Center (MCMC), the predecessor organization to the NGTOC, providing leadership to that organization. She also served as the Assistant Chief for MCMC, and led the National Mapping Program Branch responsible for the development of geodetic and survey standards and associated technology.
Craun participated in the 4-year USGS effort to exchange information about the management of a national-scale mapping program with the Chinese national mapping organization, the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, and represented the United States at the Cambridge Conference in 2009, an international meeting of the Directors of national mapping organizations around the world. She served ably as the USGS representative on the Technical Mapping Advisory Council to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to recommend ways to improve the accuracy, accessibility, and usability of Flood Insurance Rate Maps. At the USGS, Craun has been recognized repeatedly for her accomplishments, including the Department of the Interior’s Meritorious Service Award, and numerous special achievement and performance awards.
Craun has been an active member of ASPRS since 1987, serving as its President during 2006-2007. Prior to her election as ASPRS Vice-President in 2004, she served as a National Director for ASPRS Central Region from 2000-2004, and was the President of the ASPRS Central Region in 2001. She was the Conference Co-Director for the 2001 Annual ASPRS Conference in St. Louis, and was elected to serve on the ASPRS Executive Committee. She was the 2007 recipient of ASPRS’ Claude Birdseye Award. She is currently serving on the ASPRS Central Region Board. She convened two workshops or special meetings following hurricanes Katrina and Rita (in 2006 and 2007) during ASPRS conferences in San Antonio and Tampa to coordinate recommendations for improved geospatial emergency response. These recommendations were published in PE&RS in late 2006/early 2007. She also co-authored the Guidelines for Procurement of Commercial Geospatial Products, and has served on a number of review panels for awards, including the Davidson Award, ESRI Best GIS Paper award, Intergraph Scholarship, and the Z/I Imaging award.
In addition to her service with ASPRS, she is currently President of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS), a small non-profit professional society serving approximately 350 members and with an annual budget of $150,000. The mission of CaGIS is to support research, education, and practice in cartography and GIScience in order to improve the understanding, creation, analysis, and use of maps and geographic information, thus enabling effective decision-making and ultimately improving the quality of life. CaGIS provides for the exchange of original concepts, techniques, approaches, and experiences by those who design, implement, and use cartography, geographic information systems, and related geospatial technologies. CaGIS is the United States’ adhering body for the International Cartographic Association. CaGIS has been a long-time Member Organization of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), but separated from ACSM, effective in 2011. Craun is leading the newly independent CaGIS during its first year as an autonomous professional organization. Prior to her current leadership position in CaGIS, Craun was instrumental in the coordination and conduct of the joint CaGIS/ASPRS AutoCarto2010-Fall 2010 ASPRS conference. Based on the success of the 2010 conference, CaGIS and ASPRS are planning to work together in the future on another jointly- sponsored fall conference, possibly in 2013.
For the past three decades Herbert Warren Stoughton has been a teacher, consultant, and expert witness in numerous matters relating to the use and application of photogrammetric generated data. Stoughton earned his BSE (Civil Engineering), MSE (Geodetic Engineering) and PhD (Civil Engineering) degrees at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Professor Ralph Moore Berry, who had been a photogrammetric and geodetic engineer at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey from the 1930s to the 1950s. During the summers of his undergraduate years, Stoughton learned the topographic mapping procedures necessary to support photogrammetric mapping at the U.S. Geological Survey. This field experience and the knowledge gained would be invaluable in Stoughton’s career.
After earning his baccalaureate degree, Stoughton worked on photogrammetric mapping projects with O’Brien, Gere & Quinn (Syracuse, NY) and the large municipal utility – the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD of SC). This latter assignment introduced Stoughton to all the aspects of contract monit
oring and contract quality control assessment for surveying and mapping products. He joined ASPRS in 1962. In 1969, Stoughton returned to the University of Michigan for graduate studies. He completed two photogrammetric studies in cooperation with graduate students in the College of Dentistry employing photogrammetric principles to study dental issues. He wrote the analytical photogrammetric computer programs and tutored the graduate students in how to reduce and evaluate the numerical results for their investigations.
Stoughton taught surveying at the State University of New York College of Technology at Alfred, teaching himself how to set up and maintain stereoplotters. The institution had five stereoplotters designed and built by four different organizations, including an experimental prototype from the U.S. Army Topographic Command. He constructed a photogrammetry teaching laboratory for the stereo-plotters and a mono-comparator. His only sources of information were a series of photographs (including the ASP Manual of Photogrammetry). His work and credentials earned him the ASP Certified Photogrammetrist (No. 302).
In 1980, Stoughton joined the Defense Mapping Agency Geodetic Survey Squadron where he was called upon to evaluate photogrammetric products to support Department of Defense weapon systems geodetic requirements. His first assignment, as a project manager, was to develop a field survey program to support the calibration of the SR-71 on-board photographic sensor hardware. His procedure reduced the estimated manpower requirement from one man year to less than one man month. For his effort, Stoughton received a letter of commendation from the Director of the DMAAC. Stoughton introduced multi-quadric interpolation which was used to estimate (interpolate) values of gravity, deflections of the vertical, point datum transformations, contouring, and co-location using irregularly spaced data. At the time, he wrote and published a monograph for surveyors on the principles of photo identification and paneling for photogrammetric mapping. For several years, he has presented seminars on the role of the land surveyor in photogrammetric mapping, addressing the issues of writing technical contract specifications as well as assessments of acceptability of photogrammetric mapping products and issues relating to quality control, litigation, negotiation, and arbitration.
Since the late 1980s, Stoughton has been a subject matter expert in litigation about mapping and photogrammetric products. His command of the history of topographic and photogrammetric mapping has been sought by attorneys involved in complex litigation. For the past several years, Stoughton has served on the review sub-committee for the ASPRS Evaluation for Certification Committee.
About ASPRS
Founded in 1979, The ASPRS Foundation, Inc. is an independent 501(c)3 organization established to provide grants, scholarships, loans and other forms of aid to individuals or organizations pursuing knowledge of imaging and geospatial information science and technology, and their applications across the scientific, governmental, and commercial sectors. The Foundation is the primary funding source for all non-sponsored awards and scholarships recognized by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.