W. Stanley Wilson, Ph.D.
NOAA; Chief Scientist, Satellite and Information Services

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Gilles LeClerc
Canadian Space Agency; Director General of Space Technologies

A geophysicist by training, Mr. Gilles Leclerc joined the Canadian Space Agency as it was created in 1989. He occupied the positions of Project Engineer, Program Manager and Director of Technology Management and Applications before becoming Director General of the Space Technologies Branch in 2004, where he is responsible for research and development on advanced space systems and their applications in earth observation, satellite communications and exploration. Between 1997 and 2000, he was on secondment to the Canadian Embassy in Paris as Science Counsellor. He is a Member of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute and of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Dr. Philip Bogden
SURA Coastal Ocean Observing Program (SCOOP); Acting Director Gulf of Main Observing System (GoMOOS); CEO

Dr. Bogden is Acting Director of the SURA Coastal Ocean Observing Program (SCOOP). He is directing the coastal research initiative to create a robust integrated data grid linking coastal ocean observations along the entire east coast from Maine to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to serving with SCOOP, Dr. Bogden is the CEO of GoMOOS, the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System. GoMOOS is a national program designed to bring hourly oceanographic data from the Gulf of Maine to all those who need it. He is leading several projects that will augment GoMOOS activities by establishing new levels of interoperability between ocean observing systems and federal agencies.

Previously, Dr. Bogden held faculty positions at Yale University and The University of Connecticut. His research specialities are coastal oceanography and data assimilation.

Miki Schmidt
NOAA Coastal Services Center

Mr. Schmidt began his career at the NOAA Coastal Services Center in 1996. After serving as a manager of the Center's geographic information systems (GIS) program for four years, Schmidt became deputy branch chief of the Coastal Information Services branch, which leads the Center's GIS, remote sensing, habitat, and hazards activities. In 2004, he was named chief of the branch.

An expert in geospatial technologies, Schmidt has had a long career with the federal government. From 1988 to 1991, he served as a civilian remote sensing scientist for the U.S. Army's Strategic Defense Command. He then worked for NASA's remote sensing program until 1996, working with the private industry to develop remote sensing products.

Schmidt holds master's degree in geography and a bachelor's degree in marine science, both from the University of South Carolina.

Robert Peter Bukata, Ph.D.
Environment Canada - National Water Research Institute

Dr. Bukata received his doctorate in physics and mathematical physics from the University of Manitoba in 1964. He then spent seven years on the faculty of the Southwest Center for Advance Studies in Dallas, Texas where he was a Principal Investigator for cosmic ray studies on NASA’s solar-orbiting deep-space probes Pioneers 6, 7, 8, and 9 and Earth-orbiting satellites Explorers 35 and 41. Monitored by NASA to ensure astronauts not be subjected to solar radiation hazards, his Pioneer sensors resulted in postponement of Apollo launchings on at least two occasions.

In 1971 he established a program of agricultural remote sensing for Provincial Government of Manitoba. In 1972 he joined Environment Canada’s National Water Research Institute and established a novel spectro-optics research program that developed bio-geo-optical models to determine optical properties of organic and inorganic color-producing agents (CPAs) and extract concentrations of these co-extant CPAs from full spectral measurements of inland water color.

Dr. Bukata is the author of “Satellite Monitoring of Inland and Coastal Water Quality: Retrospection, Introspection, Future Directions” and the principal author of “Optical Properties and Remote Sensing of Inland and Coastal Waters”.

Ross S. Lunetta
Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA

Ross is a Senior Research Environmental Scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. He currently serves as the Team Leader for the Land-Cover Characterization and Change Detection research program at EPA. Current research interests include the application of advanced airborne and spaced-based remote sensor technologies to characterize landscape condition and identify changes corresponding to anthropogenic activities. Other interests include the development of strategies, methods, and designs to integrate in situ water quality monitoring with airborne and satellite remote sensor technologies to extend and enhance current surface water quality monitoring capabilities.

John Schott
Professor of Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

John R. Schott is the Frederick and Anna B. Wiedman Professor of Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Dr. Schott heads the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing (DIRS) Laboratory within the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science where he has been a member of the faculty since 1980. Prior to joining RIT, he was a Principle Physicist at Calspan Corporation where he spent nine years conducting research on development of quantitative remote sensing techniques. Professor Schott has served as the principle Investigator on a wide range of research programs for government and industry. This includes NASA programs such as the Heat Cupacity Mapping Mission, Landsat Image Data Quality Assessment (LIDQA), EOCAP hyperspectral and Landsat 7 and numerous programs for the defense/intelligence community including a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) for the Office of Naval Research and NIMA University Research Initiative (NURI). He serves on the Director of National Intelligence's Intelligence Science Board, as well as, numerous other review boards for the civil and intelligence community. Dr. Schott's research has focused on quantitative spectral analysis of remotely sensed imagery of the earth. This work has included the design, fabrication and operation of RIT's airborne Modular imaging Spectrometer Instrument (MISI) and the development of the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) model which is widely used by government and industry to support the design and evaluation of remote sensing instruments and algorithms. Dr. Schott's work has led to over one hundred publications including a remote sensing text/reference.

This talk will emphasis the evaluation of sensing technology and the derived products with an emphasis on Lake Ontario. It will range from aerial film and thermal line scanner data to satellite based imaging spectrometers. The goal is to take a narrow slice through some of the methods we’ve used to look at the lakes to help put in perspective our views of the present and future.

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Tom is the originator of NASA World Wind and is leading its continued development. He is a software consultant with 20 years of experience leading the design, production and deployment of innovative software solving historically difficult problems in business, engineering and education. He has managed joint projects with Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, IBM, SAP and Sun Microsystems, and has collaborated extensively in industry standards groups. Tom has published two software technology books with O’Reilly & Associates, several technical articles, and produced an international standard. He holds an engineering degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He can be reached at tom@tomgaskins..com.

Presentation Topic: Maritime Domain Awareness: Building the Connections

Abstract: Maritime Domain Awareness, MDA, is “The effective understanding of anything associated with the global maritime domain that could impact safety, security, the economy or the environment.” It involves fusing data and information from disparate sources, distilling it to a useful level, and distributing it appropriately to decision makers. Its foundation is key partnerships, leveraging technology to facilitate effective processes. This presentation will address the concept and strategic underpinnings of MDA, national level policy initiatives to achieve MDA, a summary of technology efforts aimed at improving MDA, and a vision for providing effective MDA to field level activities. This presentation will also cover U.S. – Canadian cooperation in MDA and the vision for moving forward.

Bio: Commander Robbins is a U. S. Coast Guard Reservist and has been on active duty since October 2001. As a Civilian, Commander Robbins is a commercial airline pilot with American Airlines. Commander Robbins has been assigned to the Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Program Integration Office since October 2003 and is responsible for coordinating U. S. Coast Guard MDA efforts with U. S. Defense Department and International partners.
Commander Robbins graduated from the U. S.Coast Guard Academy and was commissioned as an Ensign in the U. S. Coast Guard in May 1983. Following commissioning, he was assigned to the USCG Cutter Rush (WHEC 723) in San Francisco California. He completed the Student Engineer Program and was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in December 1984. In March 1985 he attended U.S. Naval Flight Training and on completion was assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater Florida as a C-130 pilot. In May 1988 he was promoted to Lieutenant and in May of 1989 reported aboard Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak Alaska. During his tour in Kodiak he earned the designation of Aircraft Commander and in January 1991 he was assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento California. While at Air Station Sacramento he earned designations of Instructor Pilot and Flight Examiner, the highest possible pilot designation, and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. After three tours as a C-130 pilot, Commander Robbins transitioned to helicopters, completing training as an H-60 pilot in August 1994. He was once again assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater and subsequently earned designations of Aircraft Commander and Instructor Pilot, this time as an H-60 pilot. In July 1998 Commander Robbins resigned his active duty commission to fly aircraft commercially and joined the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve. His first reserve assignment was at the U. S. Coast Guard Headquarters Command Center where in 1999 he was promoted to his current rank of Commander. In April of 2001 he was assigned to the Joint Staff as a Watch Team member in the National Military Command Center. In October 2001 Commander Robbins was recalled to active duty and completed staff assignments at the Pentagon and U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Office of Defense Operations before being assigned to his current job in the Maritime Domain Awareness Program Integration Office.