Welcome to the 2010 Briefing Series for Members of Congress and Staff

First in the 2010 series

The Landsat Program: A Clear View of Society and the Environment from Space

Science requires perspective and objectivity. The USGS provides both from the Landsat series of satellites. Multispectral imagery from Landsat — unique among the world's observation satellites in it's coverage, versatility, and continuity — fuels advanced research about the state of the Earth. Since 2008, when the images were made available free of charge, there has been a burst of innovative science applications. Come learn about what Landsat can do from the researchers doing it.

• Tony Willardson (11.4 MB)
• Randy Wynne: Forestry Applications of Landsat: Already Operational! (3 MB)
• Bryant Cramer: The Landsat Program: A Clear View of Society and the Environment from Space (8.4 MB)
• Landsat Slideshow (9.9 MB)

• Senator Tim Johnson
  
• Senator John Thune
  
• Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
  

• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)

Speaker Biographies

Tony Willardson is the Executive Director of the Western States Water Council. Organized in 1965, the council brings about effective cooperation among Western states in the conservation, development and management of water resources.

Randy Wynne is a professor of forest biometrics and geomatics at Virginia Tech and a member of the Landsat Science Team. Randy earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995 and in 2002 he received the Department of Energy’s Outstanding Achievement Award. His academic focus is the application of remote sensing to forestry, natural resource management, ecological modeling, and earth system science.

Bryant Cramer is the Associate Director for Geography at USGS. Bryant came to the USGS after spending 30 years at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where he held positions at the Johnson Space Center, the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and NASA Headquarters. Bryant is a double doctor: he holds an M.D. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in engineering from Northwestern University.

For information on the Briefing on Capitol Hill, please call 703-648-4455.