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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
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A

Committee and Staff Biographies

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

ROBERT P. DENARO (Chair) is vice president of Advanced Driver Assistance Product Marketing at Nokia Location & Commerce. Mr. Denaro came to Nokia through its purchase of NAVTEQ, a company that specialized in digital roadmap data and services for navigation, and he lead NAVTEQ’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems business. Mr. Denaro joined NAVTEQ from Rand McNally & Company, where he was senior vice president and general manager of Global Business Solutions, responsible for business-to-business applications and consumer technology products and services in mapping and routing. Before joining Rand McNally, Mr. Denaro was vice president and director of Motorola’s Consumer Telematics Products, a division that he launched after heading the company’s global positioning system (GPS) business for 5 years. Earlier in his career, Mr. Denaro launched Trimble Navigation’s Fleet Management and Vehicle Tracking Division and was co-founder of TAU Corporation, producer of the first commercial differential GPS systems. He started his career in the U.S. Air Force, where he served for 9 years, initially working on research, development, and flight testing of the first cockpit digital map displays and ultimately carrying out research, development, and field testing as an Air Force captain at the Navstar GPS Joint Program Office. Mr. Denaro is chair of the Department of Transportation Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program Advisory Committee and was previously a member of the National Research Council Mapping Science Committee. He is a member of the Transportation Research Board ITS Committee and a member of the International Cartographic Confernce 2017 U.S. Organizing Committee. Formerly, he was a member of the Board of Directors

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
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of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, a Policy Board director of the 511 National Traveler Information Number Deployment Coalition, vice president of the Institute of Navigation, vice chairman of the U.S. GPS Industry Council, and lecturer for the NATO Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. He holds an M.S. in electrical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, an M.S. in systems management from the University of Southern California, and a B.S. in engineering sciences (astronautics) from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

GEORGE H. BRIMHALL (NAE) is a professor of geology in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences of the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught and conducted research for nearly 33 years. Previously, he taught in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University and worked as a project and underground mine geologist for the Anaconda Company. Dr. Brimhall’s research interests include digital field mapping, exploration and mining geology, ore deposit genesis and geochemistry, surface process geochemistry, and mineral resources issues. He has been active in the Society of Economic Geologists and the Geological Society of America; he was associate editor of the Geological Society of America Bulletin from 1992 to 1995. Dr. Brimhall was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001 and received the University of California, Berkeley Noyce Distinguished Teaching Award in 1999. He holds a Ph.D. in geology from the University of California, Berkeley.

ROBERT S. CHEN is director and senior research scientist at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of Columbia University. He served as CIESIN’s deputy director from 1998 to 2006 and as CIESIN’s interim director from 2006 to 2007. Dr. Chen is also the manager and co-principal investigator of the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, a data center in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Observing System Data and Information System. He is secretary-general of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology of the International Council for Science and an ex officio member of the National Research Council Board on Research Data and Information. He has contributed to activities of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for more than a decade and serves as an ex officio member of the IPCC Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impacts and Climate Analysis and co-manager of the IPCC Data Distribution Center. Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds master’s degrees in technology and policy and in meteorology and physical oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His undergraduate degree was in earth and planetary sciences from MIT.

ANDREA DONNELLAN is a geophysicist at the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and a research

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×

professor at the University of Southern California. Dr. Donnellan integrates satellite technology with high-performance computer models to study earthquakes, plate tectonics, and the corresponding movements of Earth’s crust. She is NASA’s Applied Sciences Program area lead for natural disasters and principal investigator of NASA’s QuakeSim and other projects. Dr. Donnellan has also been the project scientist of a mission to study natural hazards, ice sheets, and ecosystems and deputy manager of the JPL Science Division. She has conducted field studies in California in the region of the Northridge earthquake, in the Ventura basin, and on the San Andreas fault. She has also carried out field work on the West Antarctic Ice Streams, in the Dry Valleys, and in Marie Byrd Land of Antarctica; on the Altiplano of Bolivia, in Mongolia; and on Variegated Glacier in Alaska. Dr. Donnellan received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 1996, the Women in Aerospace Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2003, the Women At Work Medal of Excellence in 2004 and was the MUSES of the California Science Center Foundation Woman of the Year in 2006. She has held a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and has been a visiting associate at the Seismological Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Donnellan has a B.S. in geology from the Ohio State University, an M.S. in computer science from the University of Southern California, and M.S. and Ph.D. in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology.

MICHAEL EMCH is associate professor of geography, a Fellow at the Carolina Population Center, and an adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His expertise is in infectious disease ecology, neighborhood determinants of health, and geographic information science applications in public health. He leads the Spatial Health Research Group, which conducts research that explores spatio-temporal patterns of disease, primarily infectious diseases of the developing world (www.unc.edu/depts/geog/spatialhealthgroup/). Disease patterns are studied with a holistic approach by investigating the role of natural, social, and built environments in disease occurrence in different places and populations. Diverse statistical and spatial analytical methods are informed by theory from the fields of medical geography, epidemiology, and ecology. Those theories and methods are used to examine diverse topics, such as the role of population–environment drivers in viral evolution, how social connectivity and spatial connectivity simultaneously contribute to disease incidence, and the use of environmental indicators to predict disease outbreaks. Dr. Emch holds a Ph.D. in medical geography from Michigan State University, M.A. in geography from Miami University, and B.A. in biology from Alfred University.

IAN JACKSON is the chief of operations at the British Geological Survey (BGS). In 2000–2007, Mr. Jackson was the director of information at BGS. He is a member of a European Commission (EC) team drafting regulations for the

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×

new EC spatial data infrastructure directive, Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE), and serves on the council of an International Union of Geological Sciences commission. From 1997 to 1999, he was the project manager of a major European Union-funded project to create a European geoscience metadata service. Mr. Jackson has worked for BGS for over 35 years, initially on mineral assessment programs in the United Kingdom and overseas and later as a field geologist undertaking applied geologic mapping in the North-East England coalfield. Use of relational database and computer-aided design systems to handle the large borehole and mine plan datasets associated with these projects led to his appointment as the manager of the BGS Digital Map Implementation project in 1990. That was followed by responsibility for BGS Information Systems. During his career with BGS, he has also undertaken geoscience information systems consultancy in Canada, Australia, South America, and Europe. He was responsible for the development of the UK digital geologic map database and closely involved in designing the BGS program for 3D modeling. Mr. Jackson is a graduate of the University of Newcastle, UK.

JOHN A. KELMELIS is a professor in the School of International Affairs of Pennsylvania State University and an affiliate professor in the Department of Geography. Previously, Dr. Kelmelis served as senior counselor for Earth science in the office of the science and technology adviser to the secretary of state, where he provided policy advice to the White House, the Department of State, and other high-level government entities on geology, hydrology, biology, geography, and related sciences and technologies in establishing and executing U.S. foreign policy. He concurrently served as senior science adviser for international policy in the office of the director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where he served as principal staff adviser on incorporating science into international policy. Dr. Kelmelis has coordinated the USGS Global Change Research Program, directed the White House Scientific Assessment and Strategy Team, managed the U.S. Antarctic Mapping Program, and conducted research on many geographic scientific topics. From 1997 through 1999, he served as the chief scientist for geographic research at the USGS, where he provided research and guidance on infrastructure resources in the United States (such as drinking water, abandoned mine lands, urban hazards, and ecosystem restoration in South Florida, the Chesapeake Bay, and San Francisco) and international issues and research. From 1999 to 2004, he served as chief scientist for geography, providing scientific leadership for The National Map, land remote sensing, and geographic analysis and monitoring programs. He is active in professional societies, including the American Geographical Society and the Association of American Geographers. Dr. Kelmelis has provided scientific and technical leadership to various national and international committees, including the Planning Committee of the Global Dialogue on Emerging Science and Technology 2008 (in Africa), the U.S. African Command Transition Team, and the U.S. Department of State Working Group on Populations at

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×

Risk. He has led official U.S. delegations to several countries and has worked on and participated in many UN events. His current research addresses the linkage of scientific findings to the policy process. Dr. Kelmelis received a B.A. (magna cum laude) from Central Connecticut State College, an M.S. from the University of Missouri–Rolla, and a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University.

XAVIER R. LOPEZ is director of Oracle Corporation’s Spatial Technologies. He is responsible for incorporating location and semantic technologies across Oracle’s database, application server, and business applications. He has 18 years of experience in geospatial technologies. He has been active in numerous academic and government research initiatives on geographic information; has served on the National Academies Transportation Research Board and on the boards of directors of the Geographic Information Technology Association and the International Geographic Information Foundation; and was editor of the Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association. He is author of a book on spatial information policy and of over 100 scientific and industry publications pertaining to spatial information technology. He is the recipient of Fulbright, Ford, and University of California, Berkeley postdoctoral fellowships. He holds a Ph.D. in spatial information engineering from the University of Maine and an M.A. in urban and regional planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was an independent major in geography at the University of California, Davis.

DENNIS OJIMA is senior research scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory of Colorado State University (CSU), where he was interim director in 2005–2006. He is also a senior scholar and codirector of mitigation programs at the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment and assistant professor in the CSU Rangeland Ecosystem Science Department. His current U.S. research contributes to the North American Carbon Project. His research is in global change effects on ecosystem dynamics and regional climate change assessment for the Central Great Plains and in international efforts in Central Asia, Mongolia, and China. His research with the Chinese Academy of Sciences includes development of regional carbon management. Dr. Ojima is also member of the U.S. National Committee for the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment and was a member-at-large of the Governing Board of the Ecological Society of America (2005–2007). He received a B.A. in botany from Pomona College, an M.S. in botany from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in rangeland ecosystem science from Colorado State University.

BRIDGET R. SCANLON is a senior research scientist in the Bureau of Economic Geology of the Jackson School of Geosciences of the University of Texas at Austin. The primary objective of her research group is to assess sustainability issues with respect to water resources in the context of climate variability and

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×

land-use change in semiarid regions. Her group is working in the southwestern United States, India, and China and collaborating with groups in West Africa and Australia. Her research focuses on evaluation of the effects of land-use change on groundwater resources; quantification of groundwater recharge on the basis of soil physics, environmental tracers, and numerical simulations; assessment of paleoclimate effects on groundwater recharge in semiarid and arid regions; and evaluation of groundwater contamination related to geogenic and anthropogenic sources. Dr. Scanlon has participated in focus groups on global recharge in the International Atomic Energy Agency and has served on National Research Council committees on radioactive-waste disposal and integrated observations in the hydrologic sciences. Dr. Scanlon received a B.S. in geology from Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland), an M.S. from the University of Alabama, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky.

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF

MARK D. LANGE (Study Director) is a program officer with the National Research Council’s Board on Earth Sciences and Resources and director of the Geographical Sciences Committee. He is a geomorphologist and has expertise in river and coastal processes, Geographic Information Systems, and science policy. He was a Tyler Environmental Fellow and a U.S. Congressional Fellow where he managed federal environment and natural resources policy for a member of Congress. He is a member of the Association of American Geographers and the American Geophysical Union and holds a Ph.D. and graduate certificate in geographic information sciences from the University of Southern California.

PEGGY TSAI is a program officer with the National Research Council’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. She joined the National Research Council in 2004 and has worked on various studies ranging from agricultural biotechnology to animal health to international agriculture. She began her work with the National Academies as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Ms. Tsai received an M.A. in science, technology, and public policy from George Washington University and a B.S. in microbiology and molecular genetics with a double major in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

NICHOLAS D. ROGERS is a financial and research associate with the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, National Research Council. He received a B.A. in history, with a focus on the history of science and early American history, from Western Connecticut State University in 2004. He began working for the National

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×

Academies in 2006 and supports the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources on a wide range of areas from earth resources to mapping science.

ERIC J. EDKIN is a senior program assistant with the National Research Council’s Board on Earth Sciences and Resources. He began working for the National Academies in 2009 and has supported the board on a broad array of earth resource, geographic science, and mapping science projects.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×
Page 89
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×
Page 90
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×
Page 91
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×
Page 92
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×
Page 93
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×
Page 94
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2012. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13506.
×
Page 95
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Science is increasingly driven by data, and spatial data underpin the science directions laid out in the 2007 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Strategy. A robust framework of spatial data, metadata, tools, and a user community that is interactively connected to use spatial data in an efficient and flexible way--known as a spatial data infrastructure (SDI)--must be available for scientists and managers to find, use, and share spatial data both within and beyond the USGS.

Over the last decade, the USGS has conducted breakthrough research that has overcome some of the challenges associated with implementing a large SDI. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey is intended to ground those efforts by providing a practical roadmap to full implementation of an SDI to enable the USGS to conduct strategic science.

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